Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Captain Lauren Winfield-Hill wants her Yorkshire side to sharpen up in certain aspects of the game.
Captain Lauren Winfield-Hill believes Yorkshire are far enough into their Tier 1 journey to expect more consistency than they are displaying at present.
The White Rose have won two of their opening seven matches in the Metro Bank One-Day, though there is an argument to suggest they could have won every game so far. They have certainly been competitive in each.
Encouragement because of that? Yes, absolutely.
Frustration that they haven’t done? Yes, absolutely.
“I’m definitely feeling both of those,” she said. “There are times when I’m really hacked off, and then there are others where I’m like, ‘You know what, we’re doing some good things here’.
“We’re having some really good conversations, and the shape of training is very good. Everyone’s working so hard.”
Winfield-Hill has been speaking ahead of Yorkshire’s latest 50-over clash, against Warwickshire at Scarborough on Saturday, starting at 10.30am.
They head into that on the back of defeat against Hampshire at York on Wednesday, when they fell short of chasing a 213-target from 38 overs. Winfield-Hill and company finished on 196-8, losing by 16 runs on DLS.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill celebrates as Ami Campbell takes the catch to dismiss Hampshire’s Ella McCaughan off Maddie Ward’s bowling at York yesterday.
“It’s a blend of encouragement and frustration,” she continued.
“It’s sort of like changing the narrative as well, isn’t it, because I think the first few games were a bit of a free hit where it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re a new Tier 1 team’.
“Now, it’s like, ‘No, we’ve been in every single game apart from maybe Surrey’. And we could have quite easily had a couple more victories on the ladder.
“But it is what it is, we are where we are. We just need to tighten up in a few areas.
“If we do that, we can beat anyone. We’ve shown that already. We’ve beaten two good sides in The Blaze and Lancashire already, and we’ve come close against some others.”
The two victories which Yorkshire have achieved have come when defending a target. They are yet to get over the line chasing one.
“I think we’ve just got to do it once and then believe we can do it,” said Winfield-Hill. “In these chases, in that middle order, when it gets up to 6s and 7s, just that extra bit of belief that we’re not that far behind the game.
“What did we lose by the other day, 15 or 20. We just need to take it deep with a set batter or two in.”
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Sterre Kalis will face the team she played for on loan last summer.
This is the last game of the opening block of 50-over matches.
The competitions hibernates for a month and makes way for the start of the Vitality Blast, which begins next Friday. A win would certainly give the White Rose some momentum heading into a new stage of the season.
“We’re just looking for more consistency – a sustained performance over 100 overs and not just being good in patches,” added Winfield-Hill.
“If we can come out of this 50-over block with a win, it can really kick us on for the T20s.
“I think we’ll be fine in that because it’s a bit different. Individual brilliance can sometimes get you on the right side of a result, and I think the way in which a lot of our girls play sort of suits that style.
“But we have to lock that away for now and try and finish the 50-over stuff strong on Saturday.”
While Yorkshire are sixth in the table with two wins from seven, Warwickshire are fourth having won three from the same number.
On Wednesday, they beat champions Lancashire at Southport by four wickets chasing 227. Batting all-rounder Charis Pavely impressed with a wicket and 63.
Picture by Gareth Copley/Getty Images. Warwickshire’s Charis Pavely is the leading run-scorer in this summer’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup with 463 from seven innings.
Captained by off-spinner Georgia Davis, they are coached by former Yorkshire men’s assistant coach Ali Maiden, who has ben with them since leaving Headingley at the end of the 2024 summer.
The Bears also have Australian opener Georgia Redmayne as their overseas player.
She plays her state cricket with Queensland alongside Winfield-Hill and Jess Jonassen.
