Anthony McGrath reacts to “baffling” Leicestershire defeat
IT is safe to say that Yorkshire will be glad to see the back of Grace Road this season.
After imploding with the bat in the Vitality Blast, losing 7-35 to go down by 12 runs a fortnight earlier, they had an all-round shocker in the County Championship, losing by an innings and 39 runs to the First Division's bottom club inside three days.
It was only their third innings defeat to Leicestershire in Championship cricket, and their first in Leicester itself since 1911, so long ago now that the hosts were still playing at their previous home of Aylestone Road.
For Anthony McGrath, the Yorkshire head coach, there were no excuses for a poor display.
“Pretty much from ten past eleven (on day one) to now, we’ve been abject, terrible, and it’s just baffling why we keep putting these performances in every now and again,” he said.
“I’ve got to give congratulations to Leicestershire first and foremost because they’ve been fighting for their lives and I know it’s their first win in the Championship this season, but from us it’s baffling because it’s a performance that’s come from nowhere again.
“Having played so well over the past month generally, this has been up there with our worst performances, and it was only last week (against Warwickshire at Scarborough) when we were a couple of wickets away from winning and being something like second or third in the league.
“We spoke about not being complacent coming into this game, and I genuinely don’t think we were complacent, because I’ve not sensed that at all, but it’s about finding that belief because we’ve got the tools to be a very good Division One team competing at the top end, so it’s more of a mentality thing in my opinion.”
Yorkshire were bowled out for 229 in their second innings after conceding a first innings lead of 268. They went into day three on 32-2, still a long way adrift but hopeful of putting pressure back on their opponents - just as they did when hitting back to beat Somerset recently.
“The really good teams and individuals on days like this find a way of getting a draw out of it,” added McGrath. “You watch round the grounds - the top teams will find a way of getting out of trouble, as we did ourselves against Somerset but not this time.
“It’s just the mentality more than anything because the skills are there, everyone knows that. I think it's just the attitude to go to that next step and being brave and actually someone standing up and saying, ‘Yes, we're going to be the guys to push Yorkshire to new levels’.”
Despite this setback, which leaves Yorkshire in the lower reaches of Division One, the table remains tightly packed and McGrath believes they are heading in the right direction.
“It's not happening as quickly as I'd have liked, or thought maybe 12, 18 months ago, but we're definitely getting there and I don't want to say that lightly after a defeat like this,” he said.
“Losing like this isn’t easy to take, but I don't think we're far away, and it’s just about the guys recognising that you get one chance at this, really, particularly if you want to be a top team and a top club, which we are, and we'll 100 per cent get there without doubt.”