THE stature of the 50-over game in County Cricket has been something that has seemingly dwindled with each passing year.

With more eyes on The Hundred over the next few weeks, participants in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup will find it harder to fight for headlines and column inches as the ECB pours the majority of its efforts into ensuring the newest format of the game remains front and centre.

For Yorkshire, the eight group games that lie ahead - starting with today’s trip to The Kia Oval to take on Surrey - offer an opportunity for some of their less experienced players to gain valuable game time.

With Dawid Malan, Adam Lyth and Jordan Thompson on Hundred duty - alongside England regulars Harry Brook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid - Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson is looking forward to seeing who steps up and makes a bold claim.

STEPPING UP: James Wharton is one of a number of Yorkshire players who will have a chance to shine in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup. Picture: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

Captain Shan Masood is available for part of the group stage before heading home to Pakistan to play in a two-Test match series against Bangladesh that starts in Rawalpindi on August 21.

“We try to use this as a development competition,” said Gibson, who has been unable to take his team out of the group stage in the past two seasons after Yorkshire reached the quarter-finals in 2021.

“We’ve done that for the three years I’ve been here. I want to give the likes of Will Luxton and those guys a real good opportunity to go and bat in good positions, make big runs and hundreds and advance their careers.

“I was so proud of him when he made that hundred against the West Indies in that warm-up game (in early July). That was fantastic for him.

NEW COMP: Yorkshire CCC head coach, Ottis Gibson Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

“Others like James Wharton and Finlay Bean have been in good form. Those guys, I’m looking forward to watching them play in this competition.”

And while some allowance may be forgiven to some of the youngsters stepping up over the next three weeks, there will be no let-up in the desire to win - particularly having failed to make it out of the group stage in the recently-completed T20 Blast.

“When you give people opportunities, you still want them to go and produce,” added Gibson, “That’s where the pride comes in. You give them opportunities, they go and do well and you feel justified.

“You still have to go and earn that opportunity. We’re not just going to go out and hand somebody a cap because just to say, ‘I’ve given them a cap’. You want them to perform really well.

“And while we say development, it’s also about developing winning habits.”

Yorkshire’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup Fixtures

Thu, July 25 (11am): Surrey (A) - The Kia Oval
Sun, July 28 (11am): Nottinghamshite (A) - Trent Bridge
Weds, July 31 (11am): Sussex (H) - Clifton Park, York
Fri, Aug 2 (11am): Gloucestershire (H) - Clifton Park, York
Tue, Aug 6 (11am): Essex (H) - Scarborough
Thu, Aug 8 (11am): Leicestershire (H) - Scarborough
Sun, Aug 11 (11am): Warwickshire (A) - Rugby
Wed, Aug 14 (11am): Glamorgan (A) - Cardiff

Surrey CCC v Yorkshire CCC: Opportunity knocks to meet challenge of Metro Bank One-Day Cup