Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Anthony McGrath spoke this afternoon about Yorkshire’s defeat to Hampshire at Headingley.
Anthony McGrath pulled no punches in his assessment of Yorkshire’s start to the new season after defeat against Hampshire at Headingley today.
Head coach McGrath said there were “worrying signs” from last week’s performance in their draw against Glamorgan at Cardiff, which preceded a 241-run defeat here.
The former England all-rounder and Yorkshire captain spoke to the media after defeat was confirmed this afternoon, the county bowled out in their second innings for 211 chasing 426.
He also confirmed Joe Root’s availability for the county’s next Rothesay County Championship match against Sussex here, starting a week on Friday, whilst giving a positive update on the fitness of captain Jonny Bairstow.
McGrath also spoke about the fitness of seamers Jhye Richardson and Jack White, who were subbed out of this game because of food poisoning on days two and three respectively.
They will both be available to face Sussex. Though, as things stand, they are “not good”.
McGrath said: “There were warning signs last week.
“I spoke down at Glamorgan about how we played there – a few worrying signs with the bat, a few with the ball. Unfortunately, they’ve continued this week.
“We were well below our standard, and we’re just not getting it right.
“It’s frustrating from the optimism of pre-season and how we finished last year. The work we’ve put in has just not transformed onto the pitch. With bat and ball we’re way, way short, which is very, very disappointing.
“The week off probably comes at a good time.
“The good news is we have a bit of squad depth to come in and make some changes, which we will do, but we’ve got to get it right pretty quick as a team.”
McGrath continued: “If I were a supporter watching that, I’d be thinking, ‘What the hell have these guys been doing for the last six months because it looks like we’ve just forgotten how to play?’
“That’s obviously not the case.
“We showed a little bit of resolve today. But we’ve got to make sure that when we start against Sussex these two performances don’t happen again for the rest of the season.
“There’s nothing in our pre-season we can use as any kind of excuse or reason for those performances. We’ve just not been at the races for whatever reason.
“It’s nothing to do with preparation or practice. So it’s got to be the personnel, the balance of the team.
“Obviously, that’s on myself and the leadership group who pick the team. We’ve got to make sure we get that right for the next game.”
Root is inked in to play against Sussex and Bairstow pretty much the same after missing this one with a fractured right thumb.
“He’s got another 10 days or so, so I think he’ll be absolutely fine,” said McGrath. “He’s not hit any balls or caught any balls yet, but it’s healing nicely. I’d be amazed if he wasn’t (fit to face Sussex).”
On Richardson and White, McGrath said: “They’re not good, really.
“We’re not quite sure how it’s happened, but they’ve both had food poisoning. Both ate separately the night before, but Jhye’s came on a little bit quicker.
“We had to send him home, and then Jack tried, came back the next morning, but he was sick and was up all night again yesterday. Hopefully it won’t be longer than a couple of days.”
And going back to this week’s game, McGrath added: “Look, we’ve got to give credit to Hampshire as well.
“I thought Kyle Abbott was fantastic. We all know how good a bowler he is.”
