Cricket: Defeated Yorkshire now set their sights on £1.6m prize

Yorkshire booked their place by reaching the Twenty20 Cup final, which they lost by 10 runs against Hampshire in Cardiff.

The two English finalists, along with Auckland Aces, Trinidad and Tobago, Sailkot Stallions and the winners of the ongoing Sri Lanka Premier League, compete in the qualifying phase of the Champions League event, which takes place in South Africa from October 10-28.

The top two teams in qualifying then join the other eight already confirmed qualifiers – Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers, Highveld Lions, Titans, Delhi Daredevils, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings – to battle for a £1.6m winners’ cheque.

Bairstow, who will link up with Yorkshire after the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka next month, insists the club can give a good account of themselves in the face of stiff opposition.

“We’ll be going out there with our heads held high to take on whoever’s standing in front of us,” he said. “It’s a new experience for us and one that we’ll relish.

“Getting to the Champions League is financially lucrative for Yorkshire and certainly very good for us as a young set of players.

“It’s good experience for every single one of us to hone our skills against the best players in the world, be they players from the Big Bash in Australia or players from the Indian Premier League.”

Bairstow was one of the main reasons Yorkshire won through to the Champions League, which they reached by beating Sussex in their Twenty20 semi-final at SWALEC Stadium.

The England man’s unbeaten 68 rescued Yorkshire from 36-3 and enabled them to post 172-6 before Sussex were restricted to 136-8.

“I was pleased to make a contribution like that in the semi-final,” said Bairstow, who had managed only 27 runs in his previous five innings in this summer’s tournament. “The boys have worked really hard throughout the competition and I really wanted to help them out.

“I’ve been in-and-out and not played every game for Yorkshire so to make a contribution was very pleasing. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t go all the way but the lads did the club and all the fans proud.”

Yorkshire looked the in-form side going into the final but were unable to take that last little step.

After Hampshire totalled 150-6, Yorkshire closed on 140-8 – despite a scintillating 72 not out from David Miller, whom Yorkshire hope will be available for the Champions League event.

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale echoed Bairstow’s comments and said his side would go to South Africa with plenty of confidence.

“It was obviously disappointing to lose in the final but we’ve come a hell of a long way in a short space of time in Twenty20 cricket,” said Gale.

“We’d like to think we can go to the Champions League now and really compete with the best teams in the world.