Yorkshire’s defence of the County Championship gets under way at home to Hampshire on Sunday, with their head coach, Jason Gillespie, confident that the opportunity to become the first side since the 1960s to claim a hat-trick of titles is being embraced by the club. The White Rose has dominated domestic first-class cricket in England over the past two years, with last season’s second successive coronation accomplished through 11 wins and 286 points, the most since the competition was split into two divisions in 2000.
It is little surprise, therefore, that Andrew Gale’s team of high achievers are favourites to make it three in a row, a feat that would mean emulating the Yorkshire team that, under the late, great Brian Close, monopolised the trophy from 1966 to 1968.
For Gillespie, who has overseen four defeats in 64 championship matches since his appointment in November 2011, this chance to match their predecessors and create more history at the club is being viewed as a stimulus rather than a burden.
“It’s not every day you have an opportunity to potentially challenge for a third trophy in a row and what a wonderful opportunity that is,” says the former Australia quick. “The lads are embracing it. I’m just delighted that they’ve done the work to put themselves in this position.”
Could overconfidence creep in as a result of last year’s record-breaking efforts? “We’ve put it behind us. It was a fantastic summer and the team rightly celebrated that achievement. But once pre-season came around you could see them refocus on how they can get better as individual players and as a team.
“There is certainly no complacency in the squad; it has been spoken about. And while people talk about how well we won it last year and that points tally, it masks some of the tight spots we found ourselves in. We know it will be a massive challenge again.”
The challenge comes in a beefed up Division One – Surrey and Lancashire make it eight Test-ground counties out of nine in the top flight – and once again coping with England call-ups, the by-product of their success in red-ball cricket.
Last season’s top-scorer, Jonny Bairstow, will be seen less by his county after nailing down a Test place over the winter and the enforced retirement of England’s No5 James Taylor because of a heart condition could lead to Gary Ballance being beamed up once more.
Joe Root’s appearances have long been treated as a bonus, but while he continues to rest before an expected return against Nottinghamshire on 1 May, Bairstow and Ballance will be in the side to face Hampshire.
Yorkshire’s solitary winter recruit, David Willey from Northamptonshire, may be held back from making his debut, however, even though his fellow all-rounder Tim Bresnan, who took 45 wickets last year and scored 849 runs, often digging them out of those tight spots, is out today and for the first four matches at least due to a torn left calf muscle.
Despite Hampshire’s first-day collapse of 87 for seven in the rain-affected draw with Warwickshire, and home and away wins over them last season, Gillespie is not taking the visitors lightly. “Hampshire are a good side with some quality players but we will have plans in place. We’re looking for our lads to research their opposition themselves and only if they’re unsure speak to the support staff. The best source of information is your team-mates, so we’re encouraging these conversations in the dressing room.”
Yorkshire’s success is in part down to their depth in seam bowling, which has been raided less often than the batting by England’s selectors. Willey’s acquisition further bulks up a stable that includes Bresnan, Jack Brooks, Ryan Sidebottom, Steve Patterson, Liam Plunkett and the emerging teenager Matthew Fisher.
Sidebottom, who topped the club’s averages last summer with 41 wickets at 17.9, is the senior man and in explaining how the 38-year-old will be managed this season, and hopefully next if a contract extension can be agreed, Gillespie outlines the club’s overall philosophy on rotation. “We want to get at least a season of Championship cricket out of Siddy – 16 games – spread over two years. We have spoken with him about it and, if we feel there is a need to give him a game off and down time, we will take that option because we have depth.
“People talk about playing your best attack every time and I don’t disagree. But is a bowler who has just punched out 40 overs in your best XI for the next game after a short turnaround? If he’s tired or carrying a niggle, maybe he’ll perform at only 80% and that may not be in the best interests of the player himself and the team, especially when you have another player waiting in the wings who is 100% ready to go.
“We want to go into every game with four fit and strong fast bowlers who are well rested and ready to go. Lads will be disappointed that they are not playing, but we have spoken about having that squad mentality if we are going to compete for trophies.”
While Yorkshire intend to compete on all three fronts – the signing of Willey and Gillespie’s own winter role, coaching Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash, were done with this in mind – their mission to enter the history books in the County Championship begins now.
Yorkshire (from): Lyth, Lees, Ballance, Gale (c), Bairstow (wk), Leaning, Rashid, Plunkett, Patterson, Sidebottom, Brooks, Willey, Rhodes
Hampshire (from): Carberry, Alsop, Vince (c), Smith, Dawson, Ervine, Wheater (wk), McLaren, Wood, Crane, Tomlinson, Wheal, Edwards
