The finale to the LV= Insurance County Championship season has in the past been billed as super September. Yorkshire, though, are bidding to avoid a sticky September.
Ahead of the summer’s final four games, starting with the Roses clash against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford on Monday (10.30am), Yorkshire sit sixth in Division One with one win and five draws from 10 games.
They are 19 points clear of second-bottom Somerset.
Yorkshire have been forced to look over their shoulders on the back of three defeats in their last four games, all against title chasers Surrey and Hampshire.
The county have played some good cricket this season in the Championship, dominating a number of games without being able to finish them off.
Ahead of his first red ball game as captain, Jonny Tattersall said: “It’s not as if we’re a million miles away.
“It’s just more the consistency side of things that we’ve missed.
“That’s just individuals taking responsibility when they’re out there, being consistent enough to build that pressure and create those moments.
“We just haven’t been able to do it often enough this year.
“But hopefully we can find that something different which can turn draws into victories.
“We have to figure out a way to get some victories on pitches which have obviously been difficult to get results on.
“There have only been a handful of teams in both divisions who have managed to find results regularly this season. We’ll give it 100 percent, and hopefully we can just change the grain of what’s gone before.”
Lying in wait are a Lancashire side who are on the fringes of the title race.
They are third in Division One, 34 points behind leaders Surrey with only three games remaining. They realistically need to win all of their games and hope for a favour or two from elsewhere.
Dane Vilas and co head into this game on the back of two Championship wins in July as well as reaching the final of the Royal London Cup earlier this week.
“We’ll go and enjoy it,” said Tattersall. “It’s always nice to play in a Roses match, and to win one is that bit extra special.
“But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t bring anymore points than a game against an Essex, who we have coming up at Headingley (next week).
“Fingers crossed we can play some positive cricket and get some positive results in these first couple of games, and then we’ll not be looking over our shoulders too much.”
Despite this being his first red ball game in charge, Tattersall has already got his feet under the captaincy table after leading the side in the recent Royal London Cup, which ended in a group stage exit and a near miss on knockout qualification.
“It’s been excellent so far,” he said. “It’s been challenging, but I’ve enjoyed it.
“It would have been nice had we managed to get through to the quarter-finals of the Royal London.
“But I probably wouldn’t have done too many things different. It was just in a few key moments in games that we didn’t take that responsibility that individuals would have liked. But that’s the game.
“We’re a young side who can all learn from that. We’ll get another go next year, and we need to be better for it.”
Clearly the main goal is to finish the season strongly as a team, but Tattersall is also keen to ensure his predecessor as captain Steve Patterson is sent out on a high as he brings down the curtain on his fabulous Yorkshire career.
“Patto’s shown this year that he’s still a good operator. He’s still picked up wickets and has been his usual self,” he said. “It will be great to get him back in the team.
“Hopefully he can be a big part of a few wins, and he can have the send-off he deserves.”
While the one-day Cup did not end in knockout qualification, a young side still played some impressive cricket at stages, winning four games.
Tattersall said: “It’s a different format and a different pace, but we want to bring the energy we showed with the ball and in the field – with the bat as well – into Championship cricket. If we can do, it will be a big help.”
Tattersall took the gloves in the three Championship games before the break for the RL50, but he did not in the latter competition in order to get used to the rigours of captaincy.
Harry Duke had an impressive campaign with bat and the gloves, opening up the option of returning to the four-day side.
“We’ve got so many options,” Tattersall added. “And if I end up taking the gloves, there’s no reason why Dukey couldn’t play as a batter because he’s shown some really nice form.
“It’s good that we’ve got these selection headaches because we are going to need to find that formula which will get us some results.
“It might be that we need to make a change or two over the next four games, so we need as many options as possible.”
The reverse fixture at Headingley, in May, was a high-scoring draw.
Coach Ottis Gibson returns to take charge after working in the Hundred during the Royal London Cup.
And the Bajan has called for one last big push from his squad during the final month of 2022 as they bid to end a busy season on a high.
“There should be no complacency of thinking, ‘We’re safe’. Absolutely not,” he said.
“We need to see some good strong performances from whoever takes the field on Monday.
“We need some good, strong performances from our senior players, and there will be opportunities for our young players to keep projecting themselves forward and make a name for themselves.
“What I’ve said all along is I’ve come here to move the team forwards. And to do that, we need our best young players playing well.
“Even though it’s so late in the season and it’s been a long, gruelling season, we still want people who are hungry to perform well.
“If as a player you’ve had a good season, there’s still an opportunity to make it a great one. If you’ve not had a good season, you can still turn it around.
“We’ve been nearly in the Championship this season, but I want us to pick the learnings out of that so when we get in the same positions again – be it this year or next – we are in a position to make better decisions.
“We’re excited to get over to Old Trafford and put on a good show. They’ve had a good season, but we’re confident we can come away with a positive result.”
Squad
Jonny Tattersall (Captain), Fin Bean, Dom Bess, Ben Coad, Harry Duke, Will Fraine, George Hill, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Adam Lyth, Steve Patterson, Matthew Revis, Jack Shutt, Jordan Thompson, Matthew Waite.
Matthew Fisher will travel with the squad as he continues his rehabilitation from a back injury.
