Hat-trick hero Matty Revis and Yorkshire CCC gearing up for Roses challenge

Better conditions are forecast on Thursday when, touch wood, given the sheer volume of water that has fallen lately, Yorkshire and Lancashire will meet at the venue for the first time for 32 years.

Considering that a planned County Championship match between the sides at Scarborough in 2020 fell foul of Covid, and another the following year due to ongoing restrictions on crowd numbers, there is a certain Sod’s Law feel about efforts to bring cricket’s old rivalry back to the North Yorkshire coast.

However, for Matty Revis and his Yorkshire team-mates, who the rain has followed around lately like a private investigator, they can do nothing about the weather as they gear up for a One-Day Cup game against the side who lost in last year’s final to Kent.

Revis, the 21-year-old all-rounder, had a day to remember, if not quite a result to cherish, when Yorkshire opened their tournament against Kent at the same Scarborough ground on Tuesday.

He became only the fourth man to take a one-day hat-trick for the club before they lost by two runs under the Duckworth Lewis Stern method used to decide rain-affected fixtures.

For the record, Revis followed in the estimable footsteps of Craig White, who achieved the feat against Kent at Headingley in 2000; Darren Gough, now the Yorkshire managing director of cricket (against Lancashire at Headingley in 1998, and against Ireland at Headingley the previous year), and, back in the day, Paul Jarvis, against Derbyshire at Derby in 1982.

It’s a proud list, Revis striking with the final three deliveries of the penultimate over as Kent scored 282-9, with James Bazley and Grant Stewart caught on the deep square-leg boundary by James Wharton before Revis trimmed the bails of Hamidullah Qadri as he made room to try to hit through the offside.

“‘Wharts’ took two good catches running in, and then I just tried to bowl the last one straight to give myself every chance,” said Revis, who finished with 3-57 before Yorkshire reached 117-4 in pursuit of a revised target before play was abandoned.

“I’ve never had a hat-trick before in any cricket, so it was a special feeling, but it was obviously frustrating with what happened at the end.”

Defeat, even at this early stage of the eight-match group phase, means that Yorkshire will want to get some wins on the board quickly as they pursue their first one-day trophy since Revis was not quite one year old in the summer of 2002.

Although their performance was by no means perfect, they should take confidence from having gone toe-to-toe with the defending champions.

“There were a lot of positives there,” said Revis. “I think we fielded really well, and we had them four down for 40 or 50, so on another day you could get lucky and bowl them out for 160/170 and the chase becomes easier.

“Coady and Hilly (Ben Coad and George Hill) were exceptional with the ball, and the way we batted, to nearly get there, was a really good effort.

“We’ll obviously be trying to get one over on Lancs; they’ve put out quite a youngish team, so there’s a few lads who’ll know each other from both sides who’ll want some bragging rights, I’m sure.

“You want to get in front of the eight-ball in this tournament - you don’t want to be relying on other results at the end of the comp - so the quicker that we can get on a run, the better.”

Revis is not resting on his laurels after his hat-trick feat.

Cutting out the boundary balls of which Shan Masood, the captain, often speaks about in terms of the bowling group collectively, is a key objective, and indicative of a young player eager to learn.

“It’s that boundary ball an over that’s the most frustrating,” said Revis.

“It can be tough, and there’s not much margin for error, but it’s just a case of continuing to work hard and striving for consistency.

“I can learn from the other lads; the way that Coady holds his length, for example, is brilliant. The way that he bowls, and the way that he helps out the lads in the changing room as well, is second to none really.”

For now, it’s hats-off to Revis, the hat-trick hero, who grew up watching Yorkshire and for whom a place in the club’s record books means a great deal.

“From supporting Yorkshire as a kid, watching people like Bres (Tim Bresnan) go about their business, Siddy (Ryan Sidebottom) and people like that, it does mean a lot,” he reflected.

“Anytime you can get your name into some sort of history book, or something like that, is always a plus.”

It would be no surprise if Revis provides a few more entries in the years to come.