Simplicity with the ball will be required if Yorkshire are to achieve success in this summer’s ongoing Metro Bank One-Day Cup, believes Ottis Gibson and Ben Coad.
The latter, the Vikings new ball seamer, was exceptional in Sunday’s defeat against Nottinghamshire at Welbeck with a career best 4-14 from 10 overs bowled unchanged.
Coad was relentlessly accurate on an outground pitch which aided seam bowling.
Unfortunately, Notts were able to recover from 60-5 to 209 all out, a total Yorkshire (126 all out) fell short of in an 83-run defeat. Home new ball seamer Brett Hutton claimed a superb 6-38 in a similarly unerring performance.
With five outground games to play in succession now for the Vikings – two at York, two at Scarborough and one at Rugby – through to a week on Sunday, coach Gibson has urged his young seamers to follow Coad’s example on pitches which should offer help.
Ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Sussex at York’s Clifton Park, 11am start – the county’s third of eight group games, Gibson said: “I’ve been a bowling coach in England for most of my bowling life. So I keep saying to the young guys, ‘The two skills you need as a fast bowler in England are accuracy and patience’.
Picture by Jack Bird. Ben Coad bowls at Welbeck on Sunday.
“It doesn’t matter how much you can do with the ball if you’ve not got accuracy and patience.
“Every day you start with the same message when you come on to bowl, ‘Be accurate, be patient and see what the wicket is allowing you to do and work from there’.
“These are the lessons I’m trying to teach the young guys.
“When the pitch is in your favour, you must capitalise. Because there are days when it’s a flat one and the ball’s flying everywhere.
“We could have helped ourselves a bit more with our bowling (at Notts during the second half of their innings). But we draw a line under it and move on to the next game.
“It seems like everybody is beating everybody. We just have to find a way of getting some consistency.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Ben Coad is key to Yorkshire’s chances of success in this summer’s One-Day Cup.
“Our fielding was fantastic on Sunday and at the Oval. We’re doing a lot of good things. It was just that one guy (Hutton) bowled us out. That can happen, so we’re not going to dwell too much on it.”
Gibson was asked about the challenges of bowling your full allocation of overs straight through as a seamer, which Coad has done in the first two games. In victory over Surrey at the Kia Oval on Thursday, a rain-affected fixture, he returned 1-25 from seven overs.
“It’s easy to do when you’re getting a wicket every over and four of six balls are going past the bat,” added the former West Indies quick.
“I then want him to stand at mid-off or mid-on and get into the other guys who are bowling and say, ‘Just bowl top of off and let the wicket do the work’.
“There’s a lot of young guys in there, and they’re learning and we’re improving.”
On his own bowling plans, Coad said: “In 50-over cricket, I don’t think you have to change too much until the last 10 overs unless you get certain batters who come in and go harder.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Ottis Gibson refuses to be too concerned by Yorkshire’s defeat at Notts on Sunday.
“So yes, fairly simple. Just hit the top of the stumps for as long as possible.”
While it was a frustration to see Notts recover to post 209 on Sunday, Yorkshire by and large bowled well. The two spinners, Dom Bess and Dan Moriarty, impressed with 3-26 from seven overs and 1-38 from 10 respectively.
The main issue came with the bat, highlighted by Coad top-scoring with 31 from number nine.
“These lads are too talented not to come back and perform. They did at Surrey last week, so they’ll back better than ever,” added Coad.
“I think our record’s been pretty good at York the last couple of years from what I remember. Hopefully we can get a couple of good results and move onto Scarborough.
“I love going to York. They do it really well. There’s a great atmosphere there. Then there’s two at Scarborough next week. They will be four great days.”
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Ben Coad centre, George Hill, James Wharton and Dan Moriarty, from left to right, have their eyes on One-Day Cup success in 2024.
Of the five completed List A matches played at York, since August 2021, Yorkshire have won three and lost two.
Tomorrow, they face a Sussex side who have lost their first two games against Notts and Warwickshire.
They are missing Tom Alsop, James Coles, Tymal Mills and Ollie Robinson because of the Hundred and haven’t signed an overseas player.
They are captained by former England ODI wicketkeeper-batter John Simpson and continue to be coached by former Yorkshire second-team coach Paul Farbrace.
