Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire head coach Rich Pyrah is relishing the chance to give more opportunities to the county’s up and comers over the next month.
Rich Pyrah says the next month of Metro Bank One-Day Cup cricket will be a “big challenge” but an “exciting” one as Yorkshire look to put the disappointment of Vitality Blast Finals Day behind them.
The White Rose Women are well placed in the race for the 50-over semi-finals, having won three of their four games so far to sit second in the table on 15 points, four behind leaders Middlesex, who have won four from four.
Yorkshire are five points clear of fifth-placed Worcestershire with five games remaining and 25 points still available.
Yorkshire face Middlesex at Headingley on Saturday, starting at 10.30am.
It’s the first game in this competition since mid-May and an immediate chance for the county to gain revenge for the Vitality Blast final defeat to Middlesex at Northampton on Saturday just gone.
The challenge Pyrah spoke of comes from the fact that Yorkshire will now lose five senior players from the team which lost to Middlesex at the weekend.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Middlesex celebrate winning the Vitality Blast 2 title last Saturday, beating Yorkshire in the final. Their captain Saskia Horley is holding the trophy.
Club captain Lauren Winfield-Hill, Sterre Kalis, Beth Langston and Rachel Slater are all in the Hundred, which starts next week, as is Georgie Boyce, who was only on loan for the Blast anyway.
Yorkshire have, however, completed the signing of Scottish seamer Hannah Rainey from Lancashire on a two-year deal. She will join on loan for the remainder of this season and should debut on Saturday.
“We’re going to give opportunities to young Yorkshire girls,” said head coach Pyrah.
And that’s where the excitement comes, from continuing to find out about the up and comers who are not on professional contracts.
“It’s about giving them opportunities this year and developing them, and we’ll be better for it in the long run,” continued Pyrah.
“We’re going to have a completely different team, and we don’t think Middlesex will have lost anyone to the Hundred. So it’s time for some young girls to get some opportunities and try and step up.
Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images. Yorkshire have completed the signing of Scotland seamer Hannah Rainey on a two-year contract, which is preceded by a loan spell for the remainder of this season.
“We set out at the start of the winter to build a team, build an environment, find a way of playing quickly, and we’ve done that.
“We’ve given a lot of opportunities out, and some of them have grasped it and grown and improved. Some have still got a lot to do, so we’re finding out quickly.
“The rest of the 50-over comp is about giving opportunities.”
Since losing the first game of the summer to Worcestershire at Headingley in 50-over cricket, Yorkshire have beaten Sussex away, Derbyshire away and Leicestershire at home.
“We’ve got some big scores, some match-winning performances, but generally we’ve bowled pretty well,” reflected Pyrah. “We’ve squeezed teams really well in middle periods with the spin.
“The spin has been pretty strong all the way through, in both T20 and 50-overs.
Picture by John Heald. Ami Campbell is the leading run-scorer in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup 2 competition.
“The challenge for us now is where are we going to get our big runs from, losing the likes of Lauren and Sterre, Georgie Boyce as well.
“Ami Campbell has been superb, but she will need support.”
Middlesex beat Yorkshire by 10 wickets in the Blast final to claim that title.
They are captained by all-rounder Saskia Horley. Finty Trussler is their leading run-scorer with 234, while seamer Gayatri Gole is their leading wicket-taker with 11.
Yorkshire’s Ami Campbell is the leading run-scorer in the competition with 238 from four matches, three innings.
