“We’re here to win” - Whiteman sets out Yorkshire’s One-Day Cup ambition
YORKSHIRE are not treating the One-Day Cup as a development competition – they are determined to win it, says batsman Sam Whiteman.
The Australian revealed head coach Anthony McGrath had made that message clear to the players before the tournament began.
Yorkshire face Nottinghamshire in a play-off quarter-final at York on Friday, hoping to reach the semi-finals for a second successive season.
“We certainly want to win trophies, and Mags (McGrath) mentioned that before the competition started,” Whiteman said.
“He said it’s not a developmental competition, and we’re here to win.
"We’ve played some really good cricket up to this point.
“We certainly don’t see this as a developmental competition – we’re here to win games and to try and win a trophy.”
Yorkshire lost to Hampshire at Scarborough in last year’s semi-final, and Whiteman believes that disappointment has helped to drive the squad on this time around.
“Obviously, I wasn’t here last year, but I know there’s a certain disappointment that they didn’t go further last time,” said the 34-year-old, who joined Yorkshire on a three-year all-format deal in January.
“I guess that sort of will is driving the group on. I can certainly feel that this year, and hopefully now we can go all the way.”
That determination has been strengthened by Yorkshire’s heart-breaking exit in the Vitality Blast, when they were pipped by Somerset in last month’s quarter-final, Craig Overton snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. They have responded strongly, winning six of their eight One-Day Cup group games to finish second behind Middlesex in Group B.
“It’s been a good response,” added Whiteman, “particularly after losing our first one-dayer as well (against Hampshire at Scarborough).
“We sort of bottled the chase a little bit in that match straight after the quarter-final loss.
“It was tough to take, and credit to the group, we’ve bounced back nicely.”
For Whiteman, the key to succeeding in knockout cricket is being ruthless when momentum swings your way and making sure the opposition are not given a route back into the game.
He pointed to last week’s victory over Derbyshire at Scarborough as a prime example.
Yorkshire struggled to make an early breakthrough with the ball as Harry Came and Martin Andersson put on 140 inside 27 overs.
But they fought back impressively to restrict Derbyshire to 278-8, before Whiteman’s 94 helped Yorkshire complete a five-wicket victory with four balls to spare.
“It’s probably just being ruthless,” said Whiteman when asked about the formula for knockout success.
“The first 20 or so overs with the ball against Derbyshire we were probably slightly off, and if we want to go deeper in the comp, we sort of can’t afford to do that.
“But credit to the bowlers. The way they pinned Derbyshire back in the back 25 (overs) was very impressive.
“So, I think it’s just about being ruthless, and if you get the momentum with the bat and ball, then you’ve just got to run with it.”