Picture by YCCC. Dairen Hirst Spalding has been one of the stars of Yorkshire’s D40 Pursuit group triumph. Cover photo, Daniyal Zaman.
Yorkshire’s D40 Pursuit side are bidding to go from “bridesmaids” to the bride over the next couple of weeks having qualified for knockout cricket with six group wins from six.
North and Midlands winners the White Rose will face Somerset, the winners of the SouthWest, at Kidderminster in Sunday’s semi-final.
The winners will face either Middlesex or Essex in the final on August 30.
The Pursuit side is Yorkshire’s second string disability team, full of their up and coming stars.
“This is the culmination of two or so years’ work,” said Pursuit coach Darren Spooner. “It’s been about progressing these lads, and there are already five or six of this squad playing a level above in the Quest team.
“We’ve sort of been the bridesmaids in this group section for the last couple of years, finishing second in the table. But we have got stronger year on year, and it’s come together for us this summer.
Yorkshire have been strong in both disciplines. For example, they bowled Shropshire out for 73 defending a target of 191 in mid-May and, last time out last month, chased a 40-over total of 236 to win by nine wickets.
In opener Daniyal Zaman (247, six matches), they have the second leading run-scorer in the competition, and Ollie Wills and Lewis Daniels (11 and 10) are second and third on the leading wicket-takers’ list. Archie Atkins-Sloan’s nine dismissals behind the stumps is also a competition high.
“We’ve never actually been at full strength this season,” continued Spooner.
“Warwickshire – who we played last game – were probably the strongest team in the league from top to bottom. But we found a way.
Picture by YCCC. Captain of the D40 Pursuit side, Archie Atkins-Sloan
“If you put a score in front of this team, whatever it is, they’re just desperate to get it done.”
No surprise, Spooner name-checked that win against the Bears in Solihull when asked about the key moments of the campaign.
“There was that game,” he said.
“But the first game against Shropshire at Allscott Heath was a big one for us because we went into that game light on numbers and chased down 116 pretty confidently.
“They were a first-team, and we knew they could do some damage. But we limited them nicely.
“Lancashire at Higham at the end of May was a tough one.
“They had the experience of Tom Meskell, who has been involved with England and went on to score a first-team hundred against us a couple of weeks later.
“He did actually come in at 10 that day, but you still know that he can turn a game on its head with the quality that he has.
“He got 40 against us that day. At a pivotal moment, Jacob Grimes, who only has one hand available to him, took a brilliant one-handed catch on the boundary. That saved us 60 runs or so, and we knocked off the runs (162) pretty comfortably.”
Spooner added: “You know, the whole campaign has just been a joy to watch.
Picture courtesy of Darren Spooner. Yorkshire’s D40 Pursuit coach Darren Spooner.
“So, to get the group stage part of it done is nice. But to get through the semi-finals, hopefully, and then go and win the final would be the icing on the cake.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a Yorkshire D40 side will host Sussex in the annual showcase fixture at Headingley, starting at 11am.
The White Rose side will be a mixture of the county’s Quest and Pursuit sides, their first and second teams.
It will provide the Pursuit players with the ideal warm-up for their semi-final at the weekend.
Quest captain Cameron Cooper will lead Yorkshire tomorrow.
Yorkshire team for Headingley: Cameron Cooper c, Curtis Sugden, Archie Atkins-Sloan, William Baxter, Dan Copping, Lewis Daniels, Rob Hewitt, Dairen Hirst Spalding, James O Conner, Joshua Sanders, Jasper Spooner, Jack Thornton, Daniyal Zaman.
