Rich Pyrah's knowledge of cricket at the sharp end gives him the edge as a coach

He was not always picked in that side for a start, so strong were its constituents, with the club possessing several international stars.

Pyrah, of course, was still a mighty fine player - especially so in white-ball, where he took 241 wickets for Yorkshire in one-day and T20 combined, chipping in with many useful runs and some wonderful fielding.

But his experience of life at the sharp end of the county game, a place where you sometimes have to scrap for selection in teams of superstars, a place where success is hard-earned and nothing comes easily, has served him well in his life as a coach.

“I think it’s one of my advantages as a coach in that I’ve probably been through every phase of the game,” says Pyrah, head coach of the Yorkshire women who start their season today against Worcestershire at Headingley in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.

“I’ve had success, won the Championship a couple of times, been successful in T20 and one-day cricket, but also I’ve had times where I’ve been injured quite a lot, I’ve had times where I’ve not been selected for periods of time, and having been through all those learnings I can help the players.

“Players can struggle with those stages, and being able to help them through those periods is key as a coach. I’ve been coached by coaches who’d been at the top of the game for a long time and they struggled to understand why I wasn’t as good as them, so it’s an understanding of where the players are at and the different stages players go through.”

Pyrah, 42, returned to Yorkshire last autumn following the shattering events that tore down the club. He has no wish to revisit those as one of the coaches and backroom staff who lost their positions, having served as Yorkshire’s bowling coach for five years after his playing days finished, suffice to say that there is no one in the game not glad to see him back.

“I purposefully took a bit of time out of the game,” he says. “It was the first time I’d been out of the game since I was 16 years old, and to go and experience life outside cricket was probably the best learning I’ve had.

“Just going into the real world - I worked in project management, in construction and fit-out for one of my mate’s firms, and dealing with people in construction … there’s a lot of crossovers to management in cricket. Just learnings through that have made me a better person, and coming back now hopefully a better coach.”

Pyrah, who kept his hand in at Cleckheaton, his local Bradford League club, knows better than most what it takes to succeed, having been part of one of Yorkshire cricket’s most successful eras. In the five seasons from 2012-2016 inclusive, they first gained Championship promotion and then finished second, first, first and third in Division One, while they also twice reached T20 Finals Day.

“I will always have very fond memories of that period,” he says. “I think the team that we built … there were a lot of players in that who’d come through the Academy, we all came through together, and I think that’s what made us such a tight-knit group. Then you added in some good signings – bringing Ryan Sidebottom back, and bringing in Jack Brooks and Liam Plunkett.

“It was the best squad I played with and they were wonderful times. To win back-to-back Championships was very special.”

Pyrah, who took the winning catch off Sidebottom at Trent Bridge to clinch the first of those Championships, was one of Yorkshire’s most talented white-ball players. Only two men, in fact, have taken more than his 108 wickets for the club in T20 - Adil Rashid (122) and Bresnan (118).

“T20 and the white-ball stuff was my main area,” he says. “I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the pace of it and the skill. I grew up as a batter and didn’t bowl at all. I made myself into a bowler.

"I always felt as though I had that little bit of an advantage as a bowler because I had that batter’s mindset, which helped me just try and stay one step ahead, which really helped me in T20 with my bowling.

“That’s what I’ve taken into my coaching as well, helping the girls realise certain situations of trying to stay one step ahead and having the right skills.”

Pyrah’s side go into the season on the back of all the controversy surrounding the England and Wales Cricket Board’s decision not to grant them immediate Tier 1 status in the new professional structure. Not until next year will they join the elite, but he is determined to see that in positive terms.

“With the whole Tier 1, Tier 2 situation, I see it as a positive because it gives us chance to develop our own,” he says.

“For example, on our pre-season tour, we had six Academy girls, three of whom were 16-year-olds. If we were a Tier 1 team, when you have to have a minimum of 15 players as opposed to our current squad of 12, that would never have happened, so the development of these young Yorkshire girls is going to be so much quicker than it would have been if we were in Tier 1.

“Looking ahead to next year, we’re not just going to go out and sign seven or eight players either. All the players have signed to Tier 1 teams for a minimum of two years – three and four years for your better players, so that gives us a great opportunity to invest in our youth.”

Pyrah believes it will take “at least two-to-three years to get anywhere near where we need to be”, and has already spoken about a five-year plan to make Yorkshire competitive at the top of Tier 1. He sees the challenge prior to that point as building a good infrastructure as well as a good team, with more backroom staff set to join him and assistant Chris Brice when they get to Tier 1.

Pyrah expects this season to have its “ups and downs” and says: “I purposely won’t talk about results”. However, he admits that “potentially we might do well in Tier 2 this year”, where there are two trophies to go at - the 50-over competition that starts today, and the T20 tournament, along with the new T20 County Cup that involves sides from all three tiers and gives Yorkshire a chance to ruffle some feathers.

“I’m not really targeting anything this year because it’s about developing and making sure we’re in a better place than we were at the beginning of the year, because we know it’s a long-term project,” says Pyrah.

“But, among the group, the players are very excited about the FA Cup-style County Cup. We’ll have Lauren Winfield-Hill and Sterre Kalis available for that competition (the pair also have loan deals with Essex and Warwickshire respectively), and I’d love to compete against some Tier 1 teams.

“But because we will be missing players at various times - we’re also missing four during the Hundred period - then I can’t talk about results because there’s only going to be a small time when we’ve got a full squad together, so it’s about seeing progression and a clear identity of how we want to go about our game, on and off the field.”

For Pyrah, who says that he is “absolutely loving” his role thus far, and who is particularly grateful for the “fantastic support” of the Yorkshire board, that essentially means playing positive cricket and professional behaviours in everything they do.

A calm and composed figure with a relaxed air but a steely side to him, it is not difficult to see why Pyrah commands the respect of his players, who cannot speak highly enough of his management style.

“It’s just about challenging the girls to play a positive, brave brand of cricket and making sure that they’re as professional as they can be and have prepared well,” he says. “I think the girls are sick of me talking about professional behaviours already, to be honest, but it’s one of my big things and it’s so important.

“Professional behaviours, on-and-off the field, are key. If we haven’t got those, then we’re not going to be successful and move forward.

“I’m pretty chilled and level as a coach, I think, but what I do have is high standards.”

Pyrah, who in 2016 was the first head coach of the Yorkshire Diamonds women’s team, and who has also worked as a bowling coach with the England U19s, is at the vanguard of an exciting era in the women’s game.

He would like to coach in The Hundred at some stage (there is no clash in the schedule when Yorkshire get to Tier 1) but is savouring the “massive honour” of his current position.

“I just want to live and enjoy every moment,” he says. “Having a couple of years out of the game … I didn’t know if I’d want to come back.

“During that time away I had a number of offers from other counties to go and work for them, but it just never felt right, the job never felt right, but as soon as this one became available I knew it was right.

“So, in terms of ambition, I just want to enjoy what I’m doing and to build the best infrastructure in women’s cricket at Yorkshire that we possibly can. It’s a fantastic opportunity, and a tremendously exciting time for the women’s game in general, which is changing so quickly.

"You look at the scores in the women’s IPL, for example; they’re getting 200, and teams are knocking 200 off. That would never have happened a year, two years ago.

“That is what I’m trying to speak to our girls about, of changing mindsets, of challenging ourselves to get 180-plus in T20 cricket, and 300-plus in 50-over cricket, because that’s where the game is going.

"It’s so exciting, and this new professional system will only further develop the women’s game.”