Fit-again Ben Coad keen to make mark for Yorkshire CCC in remainder of 2022 season

The pace bowler only recently returned to action after a right groin problem which began on the club’s pre-season tour to Dubai in March.

After a couple of false starts in which he tried to ease his way back in league cricket, Coad finally made his first first-team appearance of the campaign at the end of last month.

Now the 28-year-old, who Yorkshire have missed badly along with Matty Fisher, who has not played since the opening County Championship game in April due to a back stress fracture, is aiming to make up for lost time as the club pursues silverware in the Royal London Cup and a strong finish in the Championship.

“The business end of the season is where you’ve got to really perform, and I definitely want to try and make an impact,” said Coad. “There’s still a lot of cricket to be played, and hopefully we can finish the season really well.

“We might not be challenging for the Championship trophy, but there’s a trophy up for grabs in the one-day comp, and then I want to help us get as far up the table as possible in the Championship. There’s still plenty to play for in the next few weeks.”

Coad, who took four wickets on his comeback appearance against Hampshire in the Championship, is feeling more confident with every outing. After a relatively expensive return of 2-54 from eight overs in the opening Royal London Cup match against Northamptonshire, albeit on a York featherbed that made containment difficult, he has been outstanding in the last three games, returning combined figures of 30-2-74-3.

“It’s coming out alright – I’m still a little bit rusty and more match-fitness is needed, but I’m feeling pretty good, all things considered,” he added. “I think this comp has helped because it’s obviously only 10 overs a game rather than, say, 40 overs a game.

“It’s a bit easier to manage it this way rather than to come straight back into a block of Championship matches, and I’m feeling better with every appearance. It’s just rhythm; at the start, when I was playing some second-team cricket, I felt awful – my run-up was terrible, my action was terrible – but I’ve taken a bit of time to get back and it’s given me time to get that rhythm back as well.”

As with Fisher, his new-ball partner, injuries have been no stranger to Coad over the years. This one has been particularly difficult due to its recurring nature.

“I’ve never had a recurring injury like this one, so it’s been very tough to have trust in my body,” said Coad. “But when I was playing second-team cricket, I had a long chat with Smudge (second-team coach Tom Smith), who obviously had a lot of injuries in his career, and we just made sure that we took our time with the injury and built that confidence back up in my body.

“The first time I did it was on pre-season, just turning, just doing this running sort of drill. I just turned and it went, but, coming back, it was bowling that did it again.”

Coad went on: “It was my right adductor, basically my right groin. Every time I got close to being back, it went again. I played a couple of league games and it ended up going again, so we took a bit longer than we had done before and did a thorough rehab on it. Touch wood, I’m over it now.”

A resilient character who, when fit, has consistently proved himself one of the best bowlers around in Championship cricket, Coad’s return is the equivalent of a new signing for Yorkshire.

Although a tilt at the Championship title is now beyond them, Yorkshire will want to improve considerably on their current sixth-placed standing – a quest in no way hindered by the availability of a bowler in Coad who has taken 196 wickets in 49 first-class appearances at an average of just 20.27.

Nor will that availability hamper the club’s quest to win a first one-day title in 20 years; they have started out with three wins in four in the eight-match group stage of the Royal London Cup.

Remarkably, Coad is the oldest swinger in town in that side even though he is 17 months short of his 30th birthday, a stark illustration of the youthful nature of a team that is performing well under captain Jonny Tattersall and assistant coach Ali Maiden, who is leading the group while head coach Ottis Gibson is away at The Hundred.

“I feel old among this group of players,” said Coad. “I’m 28, I thought I was still quite young, but then you realise that you’re the oldest player out there. It’s good, though, to see the lads we’ve got coming through because there’s some serious talent in our team.

“I’m happy to be that senior figure, if that’s needed, but the lads are all switched on enough to know their own roles.”