James Wharton reflected with significant positivity on Yorkshire’s opening day performance against Glamorgan at Cardiff today.
“To lose the toss, bat the whole day and get 361 I think’s a good effort,” he said after contributing 63 to further half-centuries from George Hill and Dom Bess.
Hill top-scored with an excellent 90, while Bess added 50.
“Lots of people got starts, and Hilly played out of his skin. He played unbelievably well, like he has been doing for the last couple of weeks.
“He looked fluent and made it look like he was batting on a different pitch.”
Of that pitch, Wharton continued: “The pitch has nipped and offered something all day. That’s how we feel, batting on it and looking at it. As the ball got older, it might have done a bit less, but it’s definitely offering plenty.
“We’re hoping for a bit of deterioration, but it can sometimes get flat, which we’re aware of. But we’ve sort of covered all bases in attack with four seamers and two spinners.”
Wharton went beyond 500 Championship runs for the season today with his third score of 50 or more, including a best of 188 against Derbyshire at Chesterfield in late June.
In his 12 innings, he has reached double figures in every one, reaching 20 in nine of them. But there was a definite air of frustration from the 23-year-old that he didn’t go on and convert into a second century of the season.
He said: “It’s very bitter rather than sweet. It’s incredibly frustrating. I absolutely rode my luck today and got out softly.
“I don’t know why I was trying to keep it down (caught at wide long-leg pulling at James Harris). It should have gone for six. But we’re in a great spot. That’s the main thing.
“The first and foremost is that we’re winning games, and any little contribution from anybody is vital at the minute because the most important thing is getting back up to where we should be.”
Second-placed Yorkshire started this game 15 points clear of Middlesex in third. Middlesex have started their game against Derbyshire well, but Wharton insists that Yorkshire’s concentration is solely on events in South Wales.
“We’re in the driving seat, and we just need to focus on what we’re doing,” he added. “They’re behind us.
“We’ve got to take 10 wickets tomorrow and go on and win this game. That’s all we’re thinking about. Forget about the league table – we just want to win the game.”
