Somerset v Yorkshire: Gillespie confident Yorkshire will keep on track

YORKSHIRE’S last three visits to Taunton in the LV=County Championship have all ended in defeat. They have also been contests dominated by the bat, as an aggregate of 4,471 runs vividly illustrates.
Jason GillespieJason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie

Despite that, Jason Gillespie believes a bowling attack that has already established the White Rose as genuine title-challengers this season can prosper on a track traditionally considered as one of the most batsman-friendly in the game.

“I appreciate Somerset is regarded as a real, good batting track,” said the Australian ahead of today’s first day. “But I always believe – and this is a Darren Gough thought process – that if you put the time and effort into it, there is always something in the wicket.

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“We will certainly be going there believing our strong attack can do a job. We won’t have Tim Bresnan, Liam Plunkett or Jack Brooks but we do have Richie Pyrah to back up Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Patterson. We also have Moin Ashraf and Ben Coad in the squad as well.”

The inclusion of Coad, a Harrogate-born 19-year-old Academy graduate, follows Plunkett being ruled out with a thigh strain.

Plunkett’s absence means the White Rose attack is lacking two of its major threats, Jack Brooks having been ruled out for six weeks with a broken left thumb sustained in the Championship encounter with Somerset at Headingley earlier this month.

Despite being without Plunkett, Brooks and Tim Bresnan – the latter having rejoined the England set-up ahead of the one-day international series getting under way – Gillespie has tremendous faith in the bowlers at his disposal.

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Yorkshire’s first-team coach said: “That is a good attack, by any standards. Some wickets are seen as favouring batsmen but they usually give you something.

“I watched a game at Taunton on TV a few weeks ago. Somerset were playing Warwickshire and, to me, it looked like there was a little something in it.

“If you bowled on a really good line and length, it really challenged the batsmen and made them play. I think there is something.

“It is a decent batting track, especially if you can get in and then you can go big. But I’d like to think that all our bowlers – if they bowl a disciplined line and length – can make something happen either off the wicket or through the air and cause problems for the batsmen.”

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As the league table indicates, Somerset have had a tough start to the 2013 season with last week’s thrashing by Sussex leaving the West Country county sitting just one place above the relegation zone.

They are still searching for a first Championship win, though they did come close at Taunton in April against Warwickshire when only a valiant last-wicket stand featuring former Yorkshire bowler Oliver Hannon-Dalby lasting the final 22 overs frustrated the hosts.

Even allowing for the nine-wicket defeat to Middlesex at the County Ground a fortnight ago, Somerset remain tough opposition on home soil.

This is something Yorkshire are well aware of after losing by 10 wickets on their most recent visit in 2011, a resounding defeat that followed losses by six and four wickets, respectively, in the previous two years.

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The White Rose will, however, seek comfort from how one-sided the meeting between the two counties was at Headingley before the rain rescued Somerset when 61-6 after being asked to follow-on.

Gillespie said: “I thought we played some really good cricket at Headingley against Somerset. It put us into a position where we potentially could have tried to win that game.

“Obviously, the weather intervened. That happens in cricket and you can’t control it. But we will head to Taunton knowing this is a new game. It is on their own ground and we know how strong Somerset are.

“They have successfully chased big totals (against Yorkshire) in the past and we will respect that. But we will take the conditions into account and just play our own cricket. We will find a way to put ourselves in the position to try and win.

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“We just have to go in with a real positive attitude and, hopefully, we can win the big moments in the game.”

Ahead of today’s first day, Sidebottom and Patterson were rested yesterday in the YB40 game with Middlesex Panthers.

Gillespie added: “This is a very important four-day game so we had to keep them fresh. We are pleased with how the season has begun but I can’t say if we are ahead or behind schedule.

“I have never been one to set out predictions and how many wins you might need or will have. The focus has to be on how we can play our best and most consistent cricket and how we go about that.

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“I always believe the scoreboard will take care of itself if you do the little things right. We have done that this season and had a real attitude of going out to enjoy our cricket as much as possible. We must enjoy each other’s success, which is really, really important. I can see that amongst this group. The lads are in a happy place. They are smiling and happy. They are working hard at their game.”

Yorkshire being fourth in the table with a game in hand on both Middlesex and Durham has, indeed, left the squad in content mood but there will also be a determination among the top order to make amends for their own slow start to the season.

Of the batsmen expected to fill the top four places in the order, only Phil Jaques and Adam Lyth can point to a half-century apiece from the opening five games.

Even then, both men have been dismissed for a duck twice in seven innings, and captain Andrew Gale is another badly in need of runs after hitting 131 runs in seven visits to the crease.

Today’s game starts at noon to give Yorkshire more travelling time from Radlett.