Yorkshire’s Women will ramp up their preparations for the new summer by facing a trio of Tier 1 counties added to the UAE national side and the Hobart Hurricanes during their forthcoming pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi, which starts next week.
Head coach Rich Pyrah and his squad leave Headingley on Monday for a tour which runs through to April 4.
The county’s 12 contracted professionals will travel, though Jess Woolston is currently sidelined with a stress fracture of her foot and fellow seamer Grace Hall is nursing a rolled ankle. Hall’s injury is nowhere near as serious as Woolston’s, but the likelihood is that she will only train and not play whilst on tour.
Six of the county’s Academy players have been selected to travel. They are Holly Garton, Fran Lonsdale, Amelia Love, Elicia Pollard, Lucy Randle-Bissell and Emma Wrightson.
Yorkshire will take part in a six-team T20 competition from Friday 28 March to Sunday 30. That will be the same format as the Abu Dhabi Counties Super Cup, which the White Rose men featured in last week.
Yorkshire, Hobart and the UAE are joined by county opposition in the form of Essex, Surrey and Nottinghamshire side The Blaze. Each side will play two group games on Friday and Saturday ahead of a Sunday which decides the winner and placings.
Picture by YCCC. General manager of cricket Gavin Hamilton is currently in Abu Dhabi, spending time with the county’s men and women.
Pyrah and co face Hobart at 6am UK on Friday and then the UAE at 2pm UK Saturday. The final is on Sunday at 2pm UK. The competition will be live streamed.
After that, Yorkshire switch their attentions to 50-over cricket and face Surrey and Essex on Tuesday April 1 and Wednesday 2.
“It’s a huge couple of weeks for the girls,” said Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket.
“The majority of them have spent a lot of time indoors this winter, and the chance to put everything they’ve worked on into practice outdoors is second to none.
“Having been here in Abu Dhabi for five or six days, the facilities are outstanding.
“They’ll have 10 full days with only one or two days off. It’s going to be quite an intense tour, but their first game is only a couple of weeks away.
Picture by Gordon Cricket Club. Sterre Kalis has been playing club cricket for Sydney side Gordon. She re-joins with Yorkshire next week.
“I don’t doubt for one second that they’ll use their time well.
“Getting them together as a group is just as crucial.
“There are similarities to the men’s squad – new support team. It’s about getting used to how everyone works. The players have got to get used to the coaches and vice versa.”
With the likes of Rebecca Duckworth, Sterre Kalis and Lauren Winfield-Hill having wintered in Australia, this will be the first time the whole squad has been together in full. Winfield-Hill is back home now, but batters Duckworth and Kalis are flying direct from Down Under to Abu Dhabi.
The fact Yorkshire are not just playing against English opposition will be of benefit to the players, believes Hamilton.
He continued: “They will all be playing their different brands of cricket.
Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com. Grace Hall is nursing an ankle injury, but will travel to Abu Dhabi.
“Every game is going to be different and a real challenge. The girls will have to adapt and be ready for those different styles.
“Rich has got a big job in terms of implementing a style and working out where people are best suited to in terms of roles and things like that. There’s a lot of work to do, but there are plenty of games for them to work on these things.
“It’s that time of year where you want to put yourself on that team sheet for April 19.
“Every professional cricketer wants to be on that team sheet for the first game.”
Yorkshire’s season opener is a 50-over Metro Bank One-Day Cup 2 clash with Worcestershire at Headingley on Saturday April 19, when the home side is likely to include Academy representation.
The aforementioned half a dozen fledglings travelling have the first opportunity to stake their claim.
Picture by Steve Bardens/Getty Images. Off-spinner Claudie Cooper is one of Yorkshire’s new signings for 2025.
Hamilton, who is in Abu Dhabi for a fortnight – one week with the men, one with the women, added: “What an opportunity!
“As an Academy player, to be selected to go on a full professional tour, it’s the kind of thing you dream about. But it doesn’t matter how old you are, you’re going to have a chance this year. The opportunities are there for the taking.
“We didn’t envisage taking six away with us, though we’ve had a bit of disruption with injury.
“If we can get three or four of them ready ahead of Tier 1 in 2026, that’s exactly what we want. And this tour helps us get ahead of the game in that sense.”
A captain for the summer will also be appointed by Pyrah and the management team whilst on tour.
