Picture by Jas Ghata-Aura. Yorkshire’s players celebrate a Jack White (third from right) wicket at Trent Bridge last night. Now they return home to Headingley looking for a third straight North Group win.
Anthony McGrath believes the contest between bat and ball which Headingley pitches are producing in T20 cricket makes for fascinating viewing.
Head coach McGrath and his buoyant team return to headquarters tomorrow evening to continue their Vitality Blast campaign against the Bears (6.30pm).
Yorkshire are aiming to secure their third successive win in the North Group, one which would level their record given they currently have two wins and three defeats to their name.
Totals of 200 or more are seemingly the norm now at Headingley.
In Yorkshire’s first two games there, against Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, there has been three of them.
The Steelbacks won the first on the back of their 237-4, though Yorkshire fought back from 9-3 to give them a fright by posting 224-9. Against the Foxes, Yorkshire totalled 213-7 and won comfortably.
Former all-rounder McGrath knows all too well that the balance of power lies with the batters, something which is the case at most venues and not just at Headingley.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Dawid Malan has been in outstanding form in this season’s Blast, scoring three successive half-centuries.
“The guys have more experience in recent years than I have at Headingley, but everyone keeps saying, ‘What a brilliant wicket it is there’,” said McGrath.
“And it has been in the first two games. They’ve both been played on the same pitch.
“It’s the message we’ve said right through from pre-season.
“In Abu Dhabi, we wanted to try and take the powerplay on and get in front of the game. Hopefully, with the power we’ve got, we can get big, big scores.
“It doesn’t always work out like that. But I think when it is a good wicket, you’ve got to try and get in front of the game.”
Yorkshire have powered beyond 200 twice in two home games without the power provided by the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Jordan Thompson, who are edging closer to full fitness following respective calf and side injuries.
McGrath enjoys watching run-filled fixtures, and he sees no reason why a total such as the 248-3 which Harry Brook’s England scored against the West Indies at Southampton earlier this week can’t be matched in the remaining four games at Headingley.
Picture by Jas Ghata-Aura. Adam Lyth has lit up Headingley time and time again in T20 cricket down the years.
“The game against Leicester, after 10 overs, we’re up at more than the 100-mark,” he said. “So, if you get a crazy few overs, 12s to the back end, 230, 240, 250 is not unrealistic.”
On the other side of the coin, however, is the challenge for the bowlers.
And powerful batters on fast-scoring grounds is something which he believes his bowling attack is well equipped to deal with.
“Bowlers are finding a way, and they have to find a way,” he said. “We saw against Leicester that we can shut teams down.
“I keep banging on about our options.
“That’s why we want to have different options in terms of off-spin, leg-spin, left-arm, right-arm, tall players, bowlers who can play around with slower balls.
“Teams can line you up if you’ve got very similar bowlers.
Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com. No spinner has taken more than Dom Bess’s nine wickets in this season’s Vitality Blast.
“We want that kind of point of difference throughout the 20 overs.”
As a prolific T20 wicket-taker in recent seasons, Thompson’s return to the fold will be welcomed when he’s ready – likely inside the next week.
Matt Milnes didn’t play in last night’s win over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge as Yorkshire manage his workloads following the best part of two years on the sidelines with back problems.
And New Zealand fast bowler Will O’Rourke has been superb in the last two games. He claimed 1-12 from three overs against the Foxes and 1-31 against the Outlaws as Yorkshire successfully defended a 176-target.
He only conceded seven runs off his last two overs, the 15th and the 19th of the innings, nailing yorker after yorker.
“He’s only 23, and you forget he’s still very young,” said the coach. “He is learning about T20, and I think it can be harsh if you’re slightly off-line, particularly when the pitches are so good here.
“But I think he’s just going to get better and better.”
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Will O’Rourke has impressed in Yorkshire’s last two matches.
And on the momentum created by wins over the Foxes and the Outlaws, McGrath added: “We have games Friday, Sunday and then next Friday. Hopefully we can keep on this run and get a couple more wins before we go on to the Championship.”
Both Yorkshire and the Bears have won two, lost three so far in the North Group. The White Rose have a marginally better net run-rate.
They are hoping to avenge last Friday’s defeat at Edgbaston.
The Bears will arrive with New Zealand batting captain Tom Latham and Pakistan seamer Hassan Ali as their two overseas players.
