Tom Kohler-Cadmore is refusing to get too caught up in the talk of a Yorkshire title challenge in the LV= Insurance County Championship, despite being supremely confident in the squad’s ability to achieve that goal.
During pre-season, White Rose players and coaches have regularly fielded questions about squad strength and hopes of securing the club’s third four-day title in eight years.
Ahead of Thursday’s season opener, a clash with Glamorgan at Emerald Headingley, Yorkshire’s opening batsman said: “If you look around the squad, there’s incredible talent.
“There is a Championship winning side in there. I fully believe that.
“There are so many players in that dressing room who already have that experience.
“We’ve got the quality to do it, but it’s just about making sure we don’t get ahead of ourselves because there are other great teams out there.
“Essex and Somerset, their squads are just as strong as they have been for the last two or three years. And they are getting more experience as well.
“For us, we’re excited, we’ve got a great squad. But it’s not about names on paper, it’s about how you perform out there in the middle.
“We have to concentrate on – day in and day out – doing the processes right that will get us there.
“We have to do all those things right to make sure that we’re up there come the end of the season and we can think, ‘Right, a couple of good games here and we could win it’.”
The signing of Dom Bess, the return of Gary Ballance, the early season availability of England Test captain Joe Root and the emergence of some exciting youngsters are all reasons for increased confidence ahead of 2021.
As was last season’s unbeaten Bob Willis Trophy campaign when Yorkshire finished top of the North Group with three wins and two draws from five games.
“Last season was a great experience for us,” added Kohler-Cadmore.
“We couldn’t really have done any more in winning the group and were unlucky not to get to the final.”
Coach Andrew Gale will be without all-rounders Jordan Thompson and Matthew Waite for the Glamorgan fixture.
Thompson is close to full fitness after a calf injury, but Waite picked up a side problem whilst bowling during Saturday’s opening day of the friendly against Durham MCC Universities and the extent of the injury was being assessed by a scan yesterday.
The main selection call for Gale and captain Steve Patterson would seemingly centre around the make up of the bowling attack.
Batsmen Kohler-Cadmore, Adam Lyth, Ballance, Root and Harry Brook are all sure of their places in the side, as is wicketkeeper Jonny Tattersall.
Then it is about fitting Bess, Patterson, David Willey, Matthew Fisher, Ben Coad, Duanne Olivier and maybe even Matthew Revis, who has impressed as an all-rounder during the last few weeks, into five places.
“Competition for places is strong, it’s really good,” said Gale.
“I’ve said to the lads, ‘If you’re going to win a Championship, you need between 18 and 21 players.
“Just because they are not in the team at the start, it doesn’t mean they won’t play a part.
“Things can change fast in professional sport – injuries and loss of form. So the lads who aren’t in that side have got to play their part by staying in form in the second team and knocking the door down.”