Dual role only temporary for tireless Yorkshire CCC team player Fin Bean
FIN BEAN will not be overburdened with the dual role of opening the batting and keeping wicket for longer than necessary as the Yorkshire star drew praise for rising to the challenge in the club’s hour of need.
Bean performed both tasks during the County Championship match against Sussex at Headingley last week - and also during the second part of the opening game of the season against Glamorgan in Cardiff, when first choice wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow suffered a fractured right thumb.
Harry Duke took the gloves for the fixture in between against Hampshire at Headingley but with captain Bairstow returning to the team as a specialist batsman as his injury heals, Duke missed out against Sussex and it was back to Bean behind the sticks.
He responded with a good performance with the gloves and followed a four-session stint as Sussex started the match with 502 in their first innings by walking straight back out again to score 105 as Yorkshire replied with 511, following that with another 86 overs of keeping as Sussex made 324-8 before hands were shaken on the draw.
Anthony McGrath, the Yorkshire head coach, said it was a temporary situation and was full of praise for the 24-year-old.
“I don’t think it’s sustainable going forward, opening the batting and keeping, but Fin is keen to do it and I think it shows more than anything his character,” said McGrath.
“To keep for as long as he did (against Sussex) and then go out and bat like that, under pressure, it was a fantastic effort and then he kept really well again second innings.
“Fin’s worked really hard on the keeping, and he did well down at Glamorgan in the first game when Jonny got injured. It was another really good week for him.”
McGrath said Yorkshire will continue to monitor Bairstow’s fitness as attention now turns to the Championship game against Somerset at Taunton that starts on Friday. The club does not want to take any chances and risk making Bairstow’s thumb any worse.
“Its just that conundrum, I guess, of if he gets hit again while keeping how much does it put him back, given that we're only at the early stages of the season,” said McGrath.
“Obviously, Fin's gone well, but as I say I don't think it’s a long-term thing in terms of him opening the batting and keeping to be fair to ‘Beany’.
“But if he has to do it for another week, then we’ve seen that he absolutely can do it so we’ll have to make a call on that. It’s just how comfortable Jonny is catching the ball.”
McGrath must also decide whether Jhye Richardson, the Australian pace bowler, plays at Taunton after a tough game against Sussex. Richardson’s match figures of 34-1-190-2 were the most expensive of his career.
“He was gutted because he thought he’d let everyone down, but sometimes you just get it wrong,” said McGrath. “He was wanting to do well and striving to do well, but I think as a unit we didn’t get it right on that first day.
“That can happen, but we’ll make a decision on whether Jhye plays at Somerset once we’ve seen the pitch. He won’t play all the next three games with how we’ve structured his time here, so he’ll miss either Somerset or Warwickshire.”