Jonny Tattersall is not down-playing the importance of Yorkshire’s next two Vitality County Championship matches against Division Two leading pair Sussex and Middlesex.
With Shan Masood on Pakistan Test Match duty, Tattersall will captain the county in their next two games, leaders Sussex first up at Scarborough on Thursday before second-placed Middlesex visit Headingley exactly a week later.
They are the first of five remaining games as the promotion race hots up.
Yorkshire, who won their last two four-day fixtures through to early July, are third on 123 points, Middlesex are second on 127 with Sussex leading the way on 150.
Wicketkeeper-batter Tattersall said: “The next two games are the season-defining ones, albeit we still have to perform in the three we have after that.
“But if we can win one and make sure we don’t lose to either of those teams, then we’ve definitely got a chance going into the last three games.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Jonny Tattersall will lead Yorkshire in the next two Championship matches with Shan Masood on Pakistan duty.
“We didn’t get the start we wanted with the results in that first block of seven, but we came back really well in the last two games, winning those (Gloucestershire at Scarborough and Derbyshire at Chesterfield) and picking up maximum points at Chesterfield.
“A couple of results have gone our way, and we’re right back on the tails of Middlesex.”
Yorkshire lost two – away against Middlesex and then Sussex – and drew five of their first seven matches through April and May and were languishing towards the bottom of the Division Two table.
So if they can achieve promotion come the end of September, it would be quite the achievement.
“We weren’t planning on not performing at Middlesex and having another poor result at Hove,” continued Tattersall.
“But, aside from that, we’ve played some good cricket.
Picture by John Heald. Ben Coad, with 28 wickets, is second highest wicket-taker in Division Two this season.
“If we can do what we did at Chesterfield and at Scarborough, where we produced literally three days of cricket on the nose and backed it up session after session, I’m sure we’re going to give anybody a challenging game.
“I definitely expect us to be there or thereabouts.
“Obviously Sussex have got a bit of a lead at the minute, and full credit to them – they’ve had a lot of wins this season. But I’m fully expecting the lads to go out and get some more Ws on the board.
“That will put us in a great position come the end of September. Just hopefully the rain stays away.
“If we don’t get the outcome we want, we can only look at ourselves.
“We’ve had opportunities to win games.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Ottis Gibson leads Yorkshire into the first of his five remaining matches as the county’s coach.
“Middlesex, we were poor, we should have won at Gloucestershire second game, we missed an opportunity at Hove and should have beaten Glamorgan at home on a spinning deck. Rain came into play a bit towards the end, but we still had plenty of time to bowl them out and couldn’t do it.
“Hopefully we can take the learnings from those games into the last five.
“If we can get three or four victories, I’m sure we’ll be up.”
Personally, Tattersall is having a decent season with the gloves and bat. With the latter, he has scored 371 runs in nine Championship matches with one hundred and two fifties. The century was a 107 in the innings win against Derbyshire at Chesterfield in Yorkshire’s last red-ball fixture.
He also hit a half-century in last week’s One-Day Cup defeat at Cardiff.
“I feel like I’ve not contributed loads this season, just purely because of the situations in games I’ve been in,” he said.
Picture by John Heald. Jonny Tattersall en-route to a century against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.
“I played all nine Championship, but when we’ve had Root and Brook and other lads have scored heavy runs, Shan, Lythy, Beany – we’ve been good with the bat for the majority.
“It’s been about me coming in and putting the icing on the cake – a little 20 or 30 here or there.
“Obviously, Bristol second game we were in a bit of trouble and I had to come in and make 50 and rescue that.
“But I’ve felt really good when I have got in.”
Meanwhile, it’s not just points and prizes on offer for Tattersall and a trio of team-mates at Scarborough this week, it’s bragging rights too.
Off the field, Tattersall, Fin Bean, Ben Coad and George Hill are taking part in a Yorkshire Supporters’ Association quiz night on Thursday evening – day one – at the Railwaymen’s Social Club at Scarborough Station.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Fin Bean is one of four Yorkshire players taking part in a Lads v Dads quiz night on Thursday in aid of the Yorkshire Supporters’ Association.
They will be taking on their respective dads, Richard, Martin, Ken and Kevin in a Lads v Dads evening, which is being hosted by BBC Radio Leeds commentator Jonathan Doidge (8pm, £2.50 entry and raffle prizes on offer). And the friendly fire has already started.
“Apparently, I’m the third best keeper in my family, so I’ll have to make sure I’m the best quizzer,” said Yorkshire’s stand-in skipper, Tattersall. “The lads are well up for the challenge and want to put one over on our Dads.”
Ken Coad said: “With decades of life and sports experience we’ve got over the boys, they can expect to finish a distant second.”
And Kevin Hill is feeling particularly confident: “With over 200 years between them of lived experience, wisdom and sagacity, this is the real dream team.
“The players may have the fancy strike-rates, groovy playing kit and a world-class stadium they call an office, but let’s see how they perform under real pressure.
“Expect plenty from these proto-polymaths as they look to pummel the pampered pros into a pulp during an evening of quizzing quality the like of Scarborough has yet to witness.”
