Momentum key for McGrath as Yorkshire CCC looks to exploit revamped T20

Last year there was a seven-week gap between the end of the T20 group stage and the quarter-finals, leading to a loss of momentum and narrative.

“The difference with the competition this year is that it doesn’t have a break for a couple of months because you can really lose some edge,” said McGrath.

“This time teams go straight through, so it’s all about timing and people standing up, which is what we’re getting at the moment and what we’ve got to continue.

“Sometimes, if there’s a long break, you can have injuries, you can lose your overseas players, all those kinds of permutations, but hopefully we can stay healthy this time and keep playing well.

“Look, we’re not there yet, and anything can happen, but we’ve just got to remember how we’ve been playing and keep that belief, which I always talk about.”

McGrath was speaking ahead of Monday night’s match between Lancashire and Derbyshire at Old Trafford, where defeat for the Red Rose would send Yorkshire through without bowling another ball.

The White Rose are second in the North Group with two games left - away to Lancashire on Friday and at home to leaders Notts at Headingley on Sunday.

The quarter-finals take place on Wednesday week, with the three group winners - along with the best second-placed side (currently Yorkshire) earning a home tie. Finals Day is at Edgbaston on Saturday week.

“We’ve just spoken about winning our own games as opposed to looking at other results,” added McGrath.

“We’ve got two more to come - a big game at Lancs for obvious reasons, and then Notts at Headingley.

“We’ve just got to take care of our own points and the pleasing thing is that we backed up the win against Durham last Friday with another win and a good all-round performance against Leicester (on Sunday).

“We kind of owed Leicester one for losing down there and in the Championship as well, so we had that bit of extra motivation.”

Following a slight wobble, sparked by that 12-run defeat at Leicester in early June, Yorkshire have reasserted themselves in T20.

They followed that Leicester defeat with another at Hampshire and could then only tie at Derbyshire, but back-to-back wins have seen a return to the sort of form that saw them start the competition with four victories from five.

Key to their good work overall has been the impact of their experienced players - Jonny Bairstow, Adam Lyth, plus new signings Hassan Ali, Moeen Ali and A.J. Tye.

Bairstow and Lyth are the club’s leading run-scorers, the opening pair having provided solid foundations for the likes of Moeen and Matty Revis to exploit.

Hassan is the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 22 at 11.18 and although Tye made little impression with the ball in the first six games, he has really stood up in the last four, taking 12 wickets as well as striking at nearly 200 across the competition with the bat.

“We said in pre-season that we needed to improve in the powerplay with bat and ball, and particularly at the death,” said McGrath.

“Everyone thinks that T20 is a young man’s game, which it is to a degree, but you can’t beat experience, particularly when you’re trying to close a game out.

“Anyone can beat anyone in this format of the game, of course, but I think we’ve played some good cricket throughout.

“We talked about wanting to be braver with the batting, and I think how we responded at Derbyshire (coming back to tie), then chasing down 200 on Friday against Durham and then posting 200 again against Leicester has been a brilliant effort from the batters, and then when you’ve got world-class death bowlers like Hassan and A.J. you’ve always got a chance.”

Yorkshire recruited such players for what they could teach the rest of the group as well as their potential influence on the field.

McGrath believes it has worked out nicely.

“We're tapping into the knowledge of these players and they’re very generous with their time,” he said.

“Mo, A.J., Faheem (Ashraf), Logan (van Beek), Hass… they’ve been invaluable at training and in the dressing room as well as on the pitch.

“Very rarely are we having to get messages on the field, or anything like that, because there’s already a vast amount of knowledge and experience out there.

“That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to sign such experience because of the knowledge that they can pass on to our younger players.”