Confident Yorkshire focus on sealing finals spot

As Yorkshire go in search of the victory against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge tonight (7pm start) that would cement their place in the last eight, Moxon said they should not count their chickens but admits they are strong contenders to win the competition.

Yorkshire’s director of cricket, along with first-team coach Jason Gillespie and second XI coach Paul Farbrace, has presided over some vastly improved showings from Yorkshire in this year’s Twenty20, raising hopes of a first finals day appearance.

Yorkshire need win only one of their last three games to guarantee their quarter-final place and they complete their group campaign against Lancashire at Old Trafford tomorrow (7pm start) and Derbyshire at Headingley Carnegie on Sunday (2.40pm start).

But Moxon, whose side are joint-top of the North Group along with tonight’s opponents after five wins from seven games, cautioned it would be dangerous for Yorkshire to get ahead of themselves.

“We haven’t achieved anything yet,” stressed the former Yorkshire and England opening batsman.

“The way we are playing at the moment it’s our best chance of winning the tournament so far, without a doubt, but you can’t be complacent.

“Games against Notts and Lancashire away are as tough as they come, while Derbyshire will be able to play with a certain amount of freedom now they are effectively out of the running.

“We’ve got to get into the quarter-finals first before we can even think about anything else.”

Although the state of the other groups means Yorkshire are pretty much nailed-on for a quarter-final berth in any case, with the top two from each of the three groups plus the two best third-placed teams going through, Moxon’s pragmatism is thoroughly justified.

Yorkshire have not won a domestic trophy since 2002, but the last trophy they did win, the Barbados Twenty20 Cup on their pre-season tour last Spring, a competition which involved several English first-class counties, appears to have created a confidence and belief among the team which has translated into their Twenty20 performances at home.

“It all started in Barbados,” said Moxon.

“We beat some very good sides over there and really set out our stall to carry that form on when we got back to playing Twenty20 cricket in England.

“Barbados laid the foundation and, as winning has become something of a habit, it’s reached the stage where the boys are expecting to win games.

“A couple of the wins we’ve had lately have come from positions where you thought we might end up losing, such as when we were second favourites in the matches away to Durham and Leicestershire, but such has been the confidence and skill of the players that we managed to get over the line.”

Moxon must take his share of credit for the performances, along with Gillespie and Farbrace, with the trio having helped turn Yorkshire into a different force from the one which has stumbled through previous Twenty20 campaigns.

Although each have different roles within the club and are often at separate matches throughout the season, it has been noticeable that they have all been present at the Twenty20 fixtures.

“It was Dizzy’s (Jason Gillespie’s) idea,” explained Moxon.

“He’s in control of the first team, with Farby in charge of the seconds and myself trying to pull the whole thing together, but Dizzy was keen to have all three of us around for the Twenty20s.

“We’ve fed off each other and that’s the beauty of how we’re working at the moment.

“We’re working as a team, and it’s a team that also includes director of development Ian Dews and development manager Richard Damms, who complete the coaching structure we revamped in the winter.”

While Moxon has drawn on the experience culled from more than three decades in the game, Gillespie has had a positive effect on the Twenty20 bowling, with Yorkshire having performed particularly well in that regard as they have systematically located a fuller length from which it is hard to score.

But Moxon believes Farbrace, who has previously worked with Kent and Sri Lanka, has been the unsung hero. “Our fielding in Twenty20 has been absolutely outstanding so far and Farby has been at the forefront,” said Moxon. “He has driven that side of the game in practice sessions and done a magnificent job in that regard.

“We’ve raised the intensity levels of our fielding this year and we’ve seen the results in the games so far. We’ve got a young and athletic team and the lads’ efforts in the field have been absolutely superb.”

Yorkshire are still without captain Andrew Gale (hip), so Azeem Rafiq will continue to lead.