As the season draws to a close it’s good to reflect on a close fought, exciting and engrossing County Championship season. So often the county game is relegated in the media to a few sentences underneath some story about an injury to the big toe of a footballer’s wife. In cricketing terms, how much more edifying a full account of the unfolding drama of this year’s County Championship would have been, rather than the depressing revelations of a sordid gambling scam and repetitive accounts of innumerable international mismatches.
Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire Captain, is leading a dynamic, young side in the right direction
There is a view that too much cricket is played in England and that a radical overhaul of the domestic structure is needed. I wouldn’t argue with this; however it would be a mistake if the outcome of any structural review leads to a diminution of the number of games in the County Championship. If any reduction is needed it is in the Twenty20 competition and, above all, in the ever expanding International Calendar – including the frequently sterile representative games played by the Lions and the U19 side.
The two division format of the Championship has been a success, though increasingly an elite is developing, which puts at risk the well-being of those clubs currently adrift in division two. This year the two promoted clubs from 2009 were relegated and the two relegated clubs were promoted. In the long term, it may be that some of the nine clubs in division two may not be able to continue competing in a fully professional way. I would regret this and rather than allow it to happen, urge the Counties to consider a ‘conference’ structure with semi-finals and a final.
On the positive side, who could not have been engrossed by this year’s competition? Worcester’s late charge for promotion was exhilarating. Warwickshire’s great escape was due reward for a terrific last six weeks. Somerset thrilled us with their exciting batting and Nottingham’s quartet of wily seamers – Franks, Adams, Pattinson and Sidebottom – took them, deservedly, to the top.
Most heartening of all has been the resurgence of Yorkshire; a team predicted by pundits to be relegated and a team which, for the past two or three years, has struggled to win any games at home. The emergence of Yorkshire’s Asian cricketers has been, in many respects, the most pleasing aspect of their renaissance. Adil Rashid and Ajmal Shahzad are well known to most cricket followers and they have contributed greatly to Yorkshire’s progress this year. Shahzad has stayed fit and bowled sometimes long and pressured spells for the team. Rashid has contributed massively with both bat and ball. He still seems to lack the ability to devastate the opposition with six or seven wickets but he is a frequent breaker of stands and is the ‘turn-to’ bowler when problems arise. His batting is wristy and forceful, providing ballast to the innings.
In addition to these, 18 year old Moin Ashraf made valuable contributions in the last two games of the campaign. His fresh and eager seam bowling invigorated a tiring team and his whippy action accounted for nine wickets at a very low cost. He will probably start in the first team next season and may end up as one of the most talked about young players in the country. The same might also be true of Azeem Rafiq, especially if Rashid is recalled to England duty. He is an exceptionally talented young cricketer with a confident, even arrogant, demeanour. His Twittering demonstrated a tendency to rashness which he needs to control if he is to make the most of his abilities.
He and David Wainwright offer Yorkshire exciting spin options that would enable the team to bear the loss of Rashid. Meanwhile, the seamers have provided the biggest reason for pleasure among Yorkshire supporters. The acrimonious departure of Matthew Hoggard, the retirement of Deon Kruis and the England calls upon Tim Bresnan and Shahzad were cited as reasons why Yorkshire would be relegated – it was believed that the cupboard was bare.
Adil Rashid will be central to Yorkshire's future success if England continue to ignore him. He had a fine 2010 with bat and ball
Steven Patterson and Oliver Hannon-Dalby have disproved that belief. Patterson, in particular, has been a revelation. He isn’t fast and his stumbling delivery stride seems awkward; however, he is accurate and clever. He exerts control and by so doing enables Yorkshire to attack from the other end. He’s also contributed usefully with the bat. Patterson will never be taken seriously by England but I predict that in the next five years he will take more wickets than any other Yorkshireman and will be central to the Club’s future successes. Hannon-Dalby made a great start to the season and played a lot – perhaps a little bit too much for his own well-being. He is very tall and can deliver disconcerting bounce. At present he lacks a bit of guile but is a real enthusiast and may well add much more pace as he gets stronger. I’d like him to work on his fielding – perhaps he could make himself into a specialist, close to the wicket. He’s a liability in the deep.
Experience is provided by Gerard Brophy, Anthony McGrath and Jacques Rudolph. The former may not have expected to play so often but the viral infection suffered by Joe Sayers gave him the opportunity to bat at six and keep wicket instead of young Jonny Bairstow. He has not let anyone down and deserves the benefit season he is being given next year. McGrath could easily have slipped out of the side after losing the captaincy. It’s to his immense credit that he responded to disappointment with some magnificent performances which on a couple of occasions enabled the team to force a win. He totalled 1200 runs in the championship and over 2000 in all matches. He’s the beating heart of the side – particularly so if, as expected, Jaques Rudolph has played his last game for Yorkshire. His batting has been sublime all year in all competitions and his experience must have been invaluable to the new Captain, Andrew Gale. His role in the slip cordon has not been given due attention either. He has been a wonderful contributor and his professional ethic is exemplary. ‘I’ve never met a nice South African’, so the satirical song says. Rudolph proves the exception to a highly debatable rule!
If McGrath and Rudolph have enriched Yorkshire’s past then the future will be in the hands of Bairstow and Adam Lyth, both of whom will play for England within three years – I am sure of it. Lyth has had a wonderful season and amassed 1500 runs at an average of 50 plus. He has opened the innings despite having a preference for the middle order and learned an immense amount from Rudolph. He is a dasher and at times can be loose outside the off stump – like very many left handers – but his driving is exquisite; his timing as good as anything I’ve seen for Yorkshire – including one Michael Vaughan. He reminds me somewhat of Ian Bell and also of a Yorkshire star of the 80’s and 90’s – Ashley Metcalf. I believe he will prove to be a better player than either of these, just as he’s a better fielder than both. Bairstow is a special favourite of many Yorkshire members. His father was much loved and is much missed. He would have burst with pride last week if he could have seen his son thrillingly counter-attack against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, in the match which Yorkshire won and which set up the riveting Championship finale. He has been instrumental in securing at least three Yorkshire victories this season. His 900 runs have come at key times for the club. At 20, he’s the man for a crisis!
Adam Lyth looks set for a big future. He will surely feature for England at some stage if he continues to impress for Yorkshire
Finally, Gale has provided the inspiration for a dynamic young team. His Captaincy has been of a high order throughout the season; he has the respect and admiration of his young team and works well with Martyn Moxon, the much maligned and now vindicated Director of Cricket. His own contributions with the bat have been vital – his 151 not out against Nottinghamshire in the first innings of the penultimate week’s match was the best of the season by a Yorkshireman. It may be that the continuity of his efforts with Yorkshire will be broken by representative honours. I’m not sure if he’s quite nimble-footed enough to make an England batsman but he’s got everything that goes into the making of a Yorkshire legend.
And so the season ended two weeks ago. For me, it ended at Headingley which was the only place I wanted to be. Yorkshire’s young side learned a lesson – never to underestimate the opposition. They batted with a craziness you’d not find in most headless chickens; they hung their heads in shame as they took it in turns to trudge back to the pavilion; they knew that in nine overs they’d tossed away all the hard work of the past five months. They’ll not make the same mistake again. This team are quick learners and they have great pride. They lost their game with Kent and with it their chance of the Championship but, my word, Kent had to work hard for their 90 runs to win!
At the end Yorkshire received a rousing round of applause. The Headingley crowd are notoriously begrudging with their praise – but on this day they acknowledged that their new team is something really special. They have graced a wonderful County Championship season and so long as there are teams like this Yorkshire to follow, there will always be grit, flair, exuberance and passion in the four day game.
By Paul Spencer
September 28, 2010
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