Yorkshire in prime position for return to top flight

MARTYN MOXON has delivered his verdict on the opening half of Yorkshire’s County Championship season, insisting the club are well-placed to secure promotion back to Division One at the first attempt.

Yorkshire are third in the table with 89 points from eight games, level with second-placed Kent and 32 points behind leaders Derbyshire, on whom they have a match in hand.

It represents a solid start and one that has pleased the county’s director of cricket.

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After no play was possible on Saturday’s final day against Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay, which meant the last three days of the game were washed out, Moxon said: “We’re firmly in the mix, there’s no doubt about that.

“We’re up towards the top of the table rather than the bottom and are in a handy position to strike, if you like, in the second half of the summer.

“What we need now is better weather because it’s been difficult to get into a proper rhythm.

“I know it’s the same for most counties, which is why the table is so tight, but we can only hope the weather improves and that the table comes down to who plays the best cricket rather than who’s luckiest with the weather.”

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Only 21 points separate second place from seventh, emphasising the equalising effect of the elements as much as the respective skills of the sides.

Significantly, Moxon believes Yorkshire have the capacity to improve. “I think we can still play better,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve played to our full potential at this moment in time.

“We’ve played pretty well overall, but it’s difficult to gauge having lost so much time.

“The only game I can remember us being behind the eight-ball, as it were, was the first game against Kent at Headingley, when they got a big score; other than that, we’ve been pretty good.”

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Yorkshire were certainly below-par with the ball in that match, Kent scoring 537-9 declared on the back of a ninth-wicket stand of 153 between Matt Coles and Mark Davies.

However, Moxon believes that side of Yorkshire’s cricket has lately picked up.

“On the bowling side of things I think we’re improving,” he added. “We’ve been better with the ball in the last few weeks, we’ve been more consistent, we’ve created more pressure, and we’ve carried a threat.

“Mitchell Starc has come in and made an impression, and the bowlers, in general, have done well.

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“Batting-wise we’ve looked solid, so there are plenty of positives at the halfway stage.”

Saturday’s washout means Yorkshire have lost 1,151 of a possible 3,072 overs in the Championship this summer – 37.47 per cent of playing time.

An unbeaten record of two wins and six draws is a decent return in that context, for it has been difficult to force victories in between the downpours.

It might be that as few as three or four wins from their remaining eight games would be enough to take Yorkshire up, depending on the weather, although five victories would probably guarantee it.

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Either way, Moxon has seen enough in the first half of the summer to back up his belief there are no easy games in the Second Division.

“None of us thought it would be easy going into the season, and so it’s proved,” said Moxon, whose team face a month of Twenty20 cricket before the Championship resumes in mid-July.

“It’s certainly not just a case of turning up and winning. You’ve still got to earn the right in the Second Division, and there are some very good teams in the league.

“Derbyshire, for example, have done very well, and we’ve still got to play them twice, which could go a long way towards deciding our fate.

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“Overall, though, I have to say I’m pleased with things. I’m pleased with the way the new coaching staff have settled in, and pleased with the effect they have had on the squad.

“The spirit within the players, as well, has been very good; the way people who have been left out the side have taken it and responded positively to de-selection, for example, has been heartening to see.

“Competition for places is there, and there’s a real determination in the squad to bring about success. We just need some good weather now to, hopefully, show that we deserve to be back in the First Division.”

For the record, in the only cricket possible at Colwyn Bay, Glamorgan totalled 117-3 from 34 overs on day one.

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There were two wickets for Starc and one for Azeem Rafiq, which were enough to earn Yorkshire a bowling point in addition to the mandatory three for a draw.

Remarkably, punters at Penrhyn Avenue saw fewer overs than when Yorkshire last visited Colwyn Bay in 2004, when only 51 were possible.

If my mathematics are correct, and on a symmetrical scale of decline, that means there will be just 17 overs when Yorkshire next play at the ground. You have been warned...

Yorkshire’s story so far...

Yorkshire’s County Championship results:

April 5-8 v Kent at Headingley. Drawn. Kent 537-9 dec (MT Coles 103*, RWT Key 97, BP Nash 67, SA Newman 64, M Davies 58); Yorkshire 364 (JM Bairstow 107, AU Rashid 58) and 146-4 (JE Root 76).

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April 19-22 v Essex at Headingley. Drawn. Yorkshire 246 (PA Jaques 126) and 214-4dec (JE Root 67); Essex 199 (RS Bopara 117*; RJ Sidebottom 5-30) and 26-2.

April 26-29 v Kent at Canterbury. Drawn. Yorkshire 247; Kent 350-9 (BP Nash 132*).

May 2-5 v Leicestershire at Scarborough. Yorkshire won by an innings and 22 runs. Yorkshire 447 (JM Bairstow 182, A McGrath 90, AW Gale 80; WA White 5-90); Leicestershire 116 and 309 (MAG Boyce 122, JJ Cobb 69, WA White 67; SA Patterson 5-77).

May 9-12 v Gloucestershire at Bristol. Yorkshire won by four wickets. Gloucestershire 351-9dec (KS Williamson 111, CDJ Dent 62; TT Bresnan 5-81) and 48-0 dec; Yorkshire 1st inns forfeited and 402-6 (PA Jaques 160, GS Ballance 121*).

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May 16-19 v Hampshire at Headingley. Drawn. Hampshire 427 (SM Katich 196, MD Bates 103) and 191-2dec (MA Carberry 61*, SM Katich 61*); Yorkshire 399-9dec (A McGrath 106*, PA Jaques 93, GS Ballance 76).

May 30-June 2 v Northamptonshire at Headingley. Drawn. Northamptonshire 253 (AJ Hall 79) and 250-6 (AG Wakely 66); Yorkshire 416 (JE Root 125, JM Bairstow 68).

June 6-9 v Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay. Drawn. Glamorgan 117-3.

Games to come:

July 11-14 v Hampshire at Rose Bowl; July 18-21 v Derbyshire at Chesterfield; July 27-30 v Leicestershire at Grace Road; Aug 1-4 v Northamptonshire at Northampton; Aug 15-18 v Derbyshire at Headingley; Aug 28-31 v Gloucestershire at Scarborough; Sep 4-7 v Glamorgan at Headingley; Sep 11-14 v Essex at Chelmsford.