Anthony McGrath was delighted with the fight his Yorkshire players showed when they had their backs to the wall at Hampshire last week, but ultimately the opening day batting collapse is a lesson they must learn from insists the county’s new coach.
The White Rose were bowled out for 121 shortly after lunch on the opening day of the new season last Friday, and ultimately it cost them the chance of a Rothesay County Championship victory.
They played plenty of good cricket from then through to the end of day three, when Hampshire completed a five-wicket win, however the harsh reality is that one nightmare session in Division One can cost you dearly.
Ahead of tomorrow’s home clash with Worcestershire at Headingley, starting at 11am, McGrath said: “That is the key, really – we can’t have sessions like that.
“It’s difficult to recover from, especially with an experienced team like Hampshire, even though we nearly pulled it round.
“You want to be controlling games from the start, so we have to eradicate that.
Picture by John Heald. Adam Lyth, courtesy of a brilliant second-innings century, was Yorkshire’s standout performer against Hampshire in their opening round defeat.
“I think everyone’s aware of that. It wasn’t like we were bowled out, overawed and out-classed. It was our own mistakes, so that’s not pleasing, but it’s something we can control.
“It shows the difference between Division Two and Division One, but I’ll repeat, I think we were very competitive. If we can play better, I think we’re going to surprise a few teams.”
Yorkshire will have to do without side-injury victim Ben Cliff, and his fellow seamer Ben Sears, the county’s new overseas signing, is not ready to debut after having an injection in his heel following international duty with New Zealand.
Worcestershire may have been on the wrong end of Tom Banton’s record-breaking 371 against Somerset at Taunton in the opening round. But they impressively held on for the draw – and ex-Yorkshire all-rounder Matthew Waite was key.
Worcester were bowled out for 154 in their first innings before Somerset replied with 670-7 declared. Banton posted Somerset’s highest ever individual score.
But the Pears incredibly batted for 200 overs in their second innings to finish on 485-9. Captain Brett D’Oliveira hit 121 off 340 balls and Waite, having hit 32 not out in the first innings, contributed 87 not out off 319 balls.
Picture by John Heald. Dom Bess was another man who impressed at Hampshire, claiming five wickets in the match.
Worcestershire are in their second season of top-flight cricket having been promoted in defeat against Yorkshire at Headingley at the end of the 2023 season.
New Zealand overseas seamer Jacob Duffy could debut for them this weekend.
“To stay up last year and finish where they did (sixth) shows what a good unit they are,” said McGrath. “They play well as a team.
“They’re probably a bit more battle-hardened in terms of that first division cricket. I think you’ve got to play the long game, particularly in this division, and not just have flashes of brilliance. They just stay in the game.
“So, we’ve got to make sure that we start well and we’re not trying to chase the game again.”
Since Yorkshire almost won three successive Championship titles in 2016, they have only won eight games at Headingley in as many seasons. And if they are going to achieve success in the top-flight this summer, that is a stat they could do with rectifying.
Picture by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images. Since leaving Yorkshire at the end of 2022, Matthew Waite has only played against his home county three times in Championship and T20 cricket. He has only played one match for his current county at Headingley.
McGrath added: “Yes, it’s something we’ve talked about in the winter.
“The results are there for everyone to see. There’s been a lot of draws there.
“So, the wicket, hopefully, will give our seamers some help.
“The balance of the team we’ll have to look at as well, depending on who we select.
“I feel quite happy with the wicket against Lancashire in that friendly, where it did assist and it did carry a little bit more.
“If we can just get a bit more carry and assistance that first couple of days, we know it’s going to be a decent wicket. And I think we’ve got the seamers to exploit that.”
