Yorkshire to bring back England trio ahead of schedule to tune up for Championship

YORKSHIRE have been granted permission to charter a special flight to get their England players back from one-day international duty ahead of schedule to enable them to take part in practice sessions before Sunday’s County Championship match against Hampshire at Headingley.
Yorkshire's chief executive Mark Arthur (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe).Yorkshire's chief executive Mark Arthur (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe).
Yorkshire's chief executive Mark Arthur (Picture: Jonathan Gawthorpe).

The club asked the England and Wales Cricket Board for permission to charter a plane that would enable Tim Bresnan, Adil Rashid and Jonny Bairstow to fly straight back after Friday’s one-day international in Dublin, along with Hampshire batsman James Vince.

The four players will arrive in Leeds late on Friday night and will have Saturday to prepare for the Championship fixture.

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The England squad are not due home until Saturday lunchtime when they fly into Birmingham, meaning Bresnan, Rashid, Bairstow and Vince would potentially not get to Leeds until late afternoon and be unable to practise with their respective clubs.

It is unclear who would pay for the flight with the various logistics still being discussed.

However, it emphasises the value that counties place on preparation and also the difficulties they face in terms of a saturated international schedule.

England were not due to finish their Test series in the West Indies until yesterday – they lost at Barbados inside three days – and yet they are straight back in action almost before the ink on the Kensington Oval scorecard has dried.

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Although the Test team have been rested for the game in Dublin, Rashid and the Durham pace bowler Mark Wood flew back early from the Caribbean to prepare for a match that will still be presided over by head coach Peter Moores and assistant Paul Farbrace, who have headed straight there from Barbados.

Mark Arthur, the Yorkshire chief executive, cited the “exceptional circumstances” at play and said the club are striving to find the best solution.

“The timing is difficult for all parties concerned with this one-off match taking place in Ireland,” he said.

“We fully understand the difficulties the ECB face and we are working with them in order to get our players back in readiness for the Championship match.

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“The logistics mean that if we stuck to the scheduled flight coming back into Birmingham on Saturday, then Adil Rashid and Jonny Bairstow would not have had any red-ball practice prior to the Hampshire match.

“They didn’t feature in the Test series and so, if we charter a plane and fly them back immediately after the one-day international along with Tim Bresnan, it means they can all practise along with the rest of the lads on Saturday.”

Yorkshire are pleased to have their Caribbean contingent available once more – minus Joe Root and Gary Ballance – with Rashid, Bairstow, Adam Lyth and Liam Plunkett all set to return after missing the first three Championship games.

Yorkshire have gained two draws and a win in their absence to sit fourth in the table.

“At the beginning of the season, we said we wanted to still be in the mix after the first three Championship games,” said Arthur.

“The fact that we are is all credit to the players and coaches.”