White Rose aiming to have some fun lifting the trophy

“SIMPLICITY… HAVE SOME FUN” it will say – just as it has said before every game Yorkshire have played in the tournament this year.

It may not be rocket science, it may not be the cricketing equivalent of inventing the wheel, but it is, according to first team coach Jason Gillespie, the ethos that has carried Yorkshire to the brink of their first domestic trophy for a decade.

If Yorkshire can follow that advice one more time, through their semi-final against Sussex (11.00am) and then through a final against Somerset or Hampshire (6.45pm), the “HAVE SOME FUN” element of Gillespie’s message will doubtless be extended into the wee small hours.

Of course, there is far more to the business of coaching cricket teams and to Yorkshire’s progress to finals day than four words scribbled on a tactics board.

Imposing totals with the bat, formidable performances with the ball and fielding so sharp you could cut your teeth on it are the reasons they have metamorphosed from the Twenty20 also-rans of recent seasons to potential champions.

And yet those four simple words somehow crystallise Gillespie’s philosophy towards cricket and life.

The former Australia fast bowler is a firm believer that neither should be unduly complicated.

“On our tactics board it says, ‘SIMPLICITY… HAVE SOME FUN’. That’s all,” said Gillespie.

“In my experience, the best cricket teams keep it simple and enjoy themselves as much as possible. That’s vital.

“At the end of the day, why do we play cricket? We play because we love it. I coach because I love it. We don’t want to lose that love of the game.”

The message has rubbed off on the Yorkshire players since Gillespie arrived during the close season.

However, the positive vibe has been mutual.

“The players have driven our efforts in T20 cricket this year,” said Gillespie modestly.

“When I first got here, I got a feeling the lads weren’t satisfied with their own performances, and they’ve worked really hard to improve.

“We sat down as a group and came up with some slightly different ways to tackle one-day and T20 cricket.

“As a coach, you can put down any plan you want but it comes down to players doing that plan.

“That’s been the big thing with our T20 cricket. Whatever plan we’ve had, we’ve stuck to it rather than chopped and changed as we’ve gone along.

“I’ve said to the boys that before we think about changing the plan, have you executed the plan right? Thankfully, they’ve been executing it brilliantly.”

The plan may be simple but does contain certain tangible elements – particularly in terms of fielding.

When Joe Root effected “that” catch in the quarter-final win against Worcestershire, spectacularly palming the ball back from the boundary into 
the hands of team-mate David Miller, it was no chance occurrence.

“We practice that sort of thing in training,” said Gillespie.

“Rooty, Azeem (Rafiq) and Gary (Ballance) have requested if they can have a few of those, so I try and hit the ball as close to the rope as possible to enable them to flick it back.

“The important thing when you’re fielding on the boundary is to know where your feet are.

“I learnt from Bob Simpson when he was coach of Australia and who said to me, ‘Son, everyone talks about keeping your eye on the ball, but sometimes, with high balls, you have to take your eye off the ball for a second just to get your feet into the right position.”

Gillespie has also encouraged a throw-on-sight policy – even if no one is backing-up the stumps.

“What I’ve said to the fielders is that it’s not your fault if it goes for overthrows,” he added.

“There’s 10 others guys on the field and it’s up to someone else to try to stop the ball.

“Our fielding has been great all tournament and I remember the game at Leicester where we were really up against it but we out-hustled them in the field and somehow won.

“We’ve got run-outs just through our intensity, so throwing at the stumps is a team rule.”

Having ended his county career at Glamorgan in 2008, after leaving Yorkshire the previous summer, Gillespie knows all about the Cardiff venue.

“It’s an unusual shaped ground, quite wide at the sides and reasonably short straight, especially towards the River Taff end,” he said.

“Just looking at the stats, and from feedback I’ve had, the ‘wicket’ has been pretty low and slow this year and favoured 
spin, so we will take that into account.”

Yorkshire are likely to play two spinners in Rafiq and Adil Rashid, with back-up from Root.

But whoever plays, Gillespie believes Yorkshire can approach the day in south Wales with freedom.

“Before the quarter-final I told the guys I was so proud of their efforts and that they had nothing to lose, and it will be the same against Sussex,” he added.

“We’ll be the underdog and we’ll be going there with an open mind to enjoy the day.”

SIMPLICITY… HAVE SOME FUN.

It sounds like a pretty good plan.