Picture by YCCC. Moeen Ali poses in Yorkshire colours shortly after signing during the winter.
A World Cup win, an Ashes triumph, now how about a Vitality Blast win together? Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali have done a lot in the game together, but they’re not done yet.
“He’s a great man is Mo,” said captain Bairstow ahead of the all-rounder’s Yorkshire debut at Trent Bridge tomorrow night.
“He’s been a good friend over a long period of time, and we’ve shared some really special memories together in Test Cricket, One-Day Cricket, T20 Cricket, you name it.”
The two England legends won the 2019 World Cup together having previously triumphed in the 2015 Ashes. Both were on home soil.
A hat-trick would be just perfect, with Yorkshire chasing their maiden Vitality Blast title, something which starts for them against Nottinghamshire Outlaws (6.30pm).
This fixture is the second part of a daily double header at Trent Bridge, with Yorkshire’s women beginning their Blast campaign against The Blaze from 2.30pm.
All-rounder Moeen, aged 38, has signed a two-year Blast only contract with Yorkshire, while Bairstow has taken over the captaincy for this competition from Gloucestershire-bound Dawid Malan.
They form part of a considerably more experienced Yorkshire line-up for this competition, with Australian seamer AJ Tye having signed an identical deal to Moeen, with Pakistani duo Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf in as overseas players.
Picture by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images. Jonny Bairstow has taken over the Yorkshire captaincy from Dawid Malan in this competition.
Hasan will miss tomorrow because of international duty, and Dutch all-rounder Logan van Beek is available to step in if required. Sam Whiteman is also closing in on a return to fitness following injury, and he is on a three-year all-format contract with the White Rose.
“We’ve got some new faces in that group who, off the back of the Championship stuff, will bring a new energy into the group as well,” said Bairstow. “We’ve got a bit more experience that we haven’t necessarily had over the last few years.
“Those experienced guys hopefully can bring in ideas a know-how, and we can go about it the right way.
“It hasn’t happened, has it (in T20s for Yorkshire).
“We’ve reached Finals Day three times, which is nowhere near good enough. There’s got to be a reason for that.
“We’ve brought guys in who have won at the Perth Scorchers, we’ve got Mo who has won all around the world.
“The two signings we’ve had as well in Hasan and Faheem, and they will bring a different skillset, which is really exciting for us as a group because it’s about learning, getting better and executing your skills.
“I like to think of it as pillars of experience.
Picture by Sajjad Hussain/Getty Images. Pakistani all-rounder Faheem Ashraf is set to debut for the White at Trent Bridge tomorrow.
“You’ve got myself at the top, Mo in the middle and the guys at the back end. Couple it with our youth and exuberance and skill that we have, I think it’s a really good blend.”
On Moeen’s involvement, Bairstow added: “He’s done it within the game, and to bring that wealth of experience, that calmness and skillset to the group will be great.
“He will also be a great guy to lean on from my point of view.”
As Bairstow alluded to, Yorkshire have only reached Finals Day on three occasions and not since 2022. They finished eighth in last season’s nine-team North Group.
This season, there’s a new format for the Blast.
First of all, we are down to 12 group games per county instead of 14.
The 18 counties are split into three groups; North, South and Central and Midlands. You play each of your other five group rivals twice and then two other random counties from elsewhere. One will be at home and the other away.
The top two from each group advances to the quarter-finals alongside the two best third-placed finishers.
Picture by Matt Roberts/Getty Images. Proteas all-rounder George Linde has signed for Notts’.
Yorkshire’s random games outside of their group opponents are Gloucestershire at Headingley and Hampshire down at the Utilita Bowl.
The White Rose are in the North Group alongside Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Leicestershire and tomorrow’s opponents Nottinghamshire.
Notts finished fifth in last season’s North Group, narrowly missing out on a quarter-final place. Champions in 2017 and 2020, they have not qualified for the quarter-finals since 2023.
They have signed South African spin-bowling all-rounder George Linde as a specialist overseas player for the Blast, while experienced all-rounder Benny Howell has joined from Hampshire alongside powerful Scotland opening batter George Munsey.
The Outlaws continue to be captained by wicketkeeper-batter Joe Clarke and are coached by Peter Moores.
The reigning county champions, they currently sit top of the four-day Championship Division One table with two wins and four draws. Only 20 points separate leaders Notts and eighth-placed Yorkshire, who have won two, lost two and drawn two so far.
But that competition can be parked for approximately three weeks.
It’s all eyes on the Blast, with this the first of two matches in three days for the White Rose, who host Derbyshire at Headingley on Sunday.
