Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire’s head of the performance pathway James Martin is the men’s Academy lead coach for 2025.
Yorkshire are aiming to go back-to-back in the Under 18s County Cup final on Sunday, facing Glamorgan at Kibworth Cricket Club (10.45am).
Players from the Yorkshire men’s Academy and Emerging Players Programme were victorious this time last year when they beat Middlesex in a nip-and-tuck final at the Leicestershire venue.
This year, a core of the same team will be confident of keeping hold of the trophy and bring it back to Headingley.
James Martin, Yorkshire’s head of the performance pathway, has been their lead coach this year and said: “The way that this group has stuck together and grown through their lived experiences of white-ball knockout cricket has been really positive.
“Those who were involved last year have brought different players along with them, like a Pete Greenfield, a Joe Hayes, a Charlie R Taylor and Jay Singh.
“They are just a few who weren’t in that side last year, but they’ve fitted in seamlessly. That’s just testament to the group we have.”
Yorkshire have been captained throughout the competition by new rookie professional Will Bennison, the batting all-rounder who was also involved in the triumphant team last year and made his first-team debut in Tuesday’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup win against Kent at Canterbury.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Batting all-rounder Will Bennison – also featured in the cover photo – has been captaining Yorkshire in the U18s County Cup. Last month, he signed rookie professional terms at Headingley.
They have beaten Northumberland, Cumbria, Scotland and Worcestershire along the way.
Bennison is the competition’s leading run-scorer with 306 to his name, including a best of 119 off 91 balls in the quarter-final win over Scotland. He’s also the county’s leading wicket-taker in the competition having struck nine times with his leg-spin.
“The lads have showcased their skills and done it under pressure every single time,” said Martin.
“They were really tested in that semi-final against a good Worcestershire side. We bowled them out for 186. But they were 120-odd for three at one stage. To drag it back and then chase two down was very impressive.
“Ed Burch took three wickets and Will Bennison four. Will then got runs in the chase, 96 not out, added to a fifty for Joe Thompson.”
Winning is not the primary objective at Academy and EPP level, while the same goes for second-team cricket too. But once you get to this stage of a competition, it certainly is.
“Ultimately, development is fundamental, and it’s key to the paths and journeys of each of the lads and the girls we have at the club,” continued Martin.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Academy seamer Brad Sylvester is aiming to become a two-time U18s County Cup winner.
“But, they’ve fundamentally got to learn how to win games of cricket as well.”
At Academy level, Yorkshire play in three county competitions, this 50-over County Cup, the T20 Cup and the three-day Championship.
The White Rose finished third in their T20 group, winning three of five games added to a tie and a defeat.
In the three-day Championship group, they won one, lost two and drew two, finishing fifth out of six teams.
“It’s all positive,” was Martin’s assessment of the summer so far.
He added: “I can’t fault the way the lads have approached their cricket. They’ve had a lot of it since their exams finished in June time.
“We’ve used the Championship a little bit differently this year, as well. Even though we’ve got a core group of Under 18s, we’ve tried to get some 15 and 16-year-olds into the team.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Academy fast bowler Jay Singh is one of those who was not part of last year’s title triumph but has impressed this year and will be key to Yorkshire’s hopes of success on Sunday.
“Charlie Richardson played in some of the lead-up games. He’s an Under 15s left-arm spinner, for example, and took wickets against Surrey.
“Looking to expose some of the younger lads to three-day cricket earlier will hopefully stand them in good stead when they’re Under 17s and 18s and only aid their development.
“Ultimately, it’s about managing each player’s journey.
“The twos played down at Hampshire at the back end of July, so we used that as an opportunity to put some of our younger players into our three-day (Under 18s) Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Lady Bay.”
Glamorgan, meanwhile, have beaten Oxfordshire, Herefordshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire and last year’s beaten finalists Middlesex en-route to the final.
