Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Head coach Rich Pyrah and co are dealing with a trio of long-term injuries.
Rich Pyrah has given an injury update from his Yorkshire squad, with Rachel Slater and Maddie Ward having both been ruled out for the season.
Swing bowler Slater suffered a torn meniscus during the latter stages of the recent T20 World Cup with Scotland and has undergone surgery. All-rounder Ward, meanwhile, has suffered a stress injury her foot.
Grace Hall has a similar injury to Ward but could be back towards the end of the summer, while the White Rose medics are currently managing a back injury for Claudie Cooper, who will be fit to represent Sunrisers Leeds in The Hundred later this month.
Head coach Pyrah said: “We’ve got quite a few long-term injuries at the minute.
“Gracie’s obviously been injured for the last two-and-a-bit-months with a bone stress injury in her foot. We’re not sure when she’s going to be available, maybe towards the back end.
“Maddie has the same injury and is out for the season.
“Claudie has a low grade stress reaction in her back. She had a really good 50-over block but felt something heading into the T20s. So we shut her down for a fortnight, she returned and has felt it again. We’ll shut her down for another 10 days or so, but she’ll be fit for The Hundred.”
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Maddie Ward is one of those who has been ruled out for the remainder of 2026.
Pyrah continued: “We also had Liv (Thomas) with her shin injury at the start of the summer.
“It just shows where we’re at with the development of both our girls and the women’s game in general because there’s a lot of counties who are dealing with injuries and are having to bring Academy players onto rookie contracts because their squads aren’t big enough to cope.
“They’re playing professional cricket week in, week out with a professional schedule.
“We’re trying to manage them as best we can, with game time, training, getting a good balance, working with nutritionists, and recovery. But they’re just not robust enough for this amount of cricket just yet.
“I can’t remember a game since probably April where we’ve not had a little niggle after a game.
“We knew we were going to be inconsistent this year, but then you add in the injuries and the managing of the day-to-day bodies and it becomes a real challenge.
“It’s great what the ECB have done. They’ve created this new Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 scenario and have invested loads of money. But we’re going to need bigger squads moving forward with the amount of games we play in a season.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Claudie Cooper has been dealing with a back injury this summer but is expected to be fit for The Hundred. She will represent Sunrisers Leeds, with Rich Pyrah an assistant coach.
“It’s impossible to manage with a squad of 15 or 16 when we’re playing more white-ball cricket than the men. Obviously we don’t play four-day cricket, but there’s a lot of cricket.
“Last year, we were playing Tier 2 and were playing one game a week. You’re able to manage the players a bit more with rest after a game, and the workloads are a lot lower. But there’s been a big jump from last year to this year, and we’re still a very small squad.
“There’s no second-team cricket for us at the moment, so when players are coming back from injury or they’ve missed out on selection, there’s no cricket for them. They’re just relying on training.
“Look, it’s been a challenge. But we’re loving it.
We’re playing Tier 1 cricket, competitive games week in and week out.
“It’s just going to take some time to get things right and get the squad bigger so we can handle this.”
With that in mind, Pyrah, his fellow coaches and players can be absolutely delighted with their efforts over the weekend when they claimed Vitality Blast wins over Somerset at Headingley and Warwickshire at Edgbaston to jump off the bottom of the group table and above Friday’s Roses opponents Lancashire Thunder (Emirates Old Trafford, 3pm).
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jess Jonassen scored a century and took four wickets against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford in late April. Yorkshire won that Metro Bank One-Day Cup clash.
“It’s been so pleasing,” added Pyrah.
“People don’t see what we’re trying to manage day-to-day with the physical side of it.
“We’ve had youngsters come in who have done really well this year. Holly Garton, Ines Blackwell.
“We’re still trying to manage Ines. You forget that she’s just turned 17, and we’re conscious of not playing her too much.
“The balance of our team changes with every injury. Maddie, for example, was batting six or seven and has been our sixth bowler. We don’t have that now.
“But we’re progressing, and it’s credit to the girls. They’ve been brilliant.”
