Yorkshire CCC refuse to let Covid-19 limit their preparations

So said Benjamin Franklin, and who are we to argue with one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

Nowadays, Franklin’s words are to be found on the walls of businesses and sporting organisations everywhere, a motivational message for all concerned.

They seem especially pertinent, perhaps, in the era of coronavirus, where detailed planning has never been more important amid the maze of Covid guidelines and restrictions.

It is no different at Headingley, where Yorkshire County Cricket Club has been busy devising its pre-season schedule.

Director of cricket Martyn Moxon and his staff have faced something of a logistical challenge, with not only the first and second teams to consider, but also the various pathway players and women’s cricketers.

With only so many hours in the day and facilities to go round, and with group activities still difficult to manage due to the Covid guidelines, Moxon has had to take Franklin’s message to the nth degree.

But the former England batsman is happy with the plans that have been put in place – plans which will see the Yorkshire squad back in cricket training from January 4.

“It has been a challenge due to the Covid guidelines, but we’re not scaling back on our pre-season programme,” said Moxon.

“We’re still going to deliver a programme that gives every player what they need to give them the best chance of being ready for the start of the season.

“Clearly, we’re not going to have as many people as we would normally have together at one time due to the guidelines, and we’ve also had to take into account other facets of the club – pathways, Academy, women’s, and so on, and their need for facilities.

“But we’ve got a programme that covers men’s pro, men’s Academy, women’s pro, women’s Academy and pathways, and it’s worked out well.”

The Yorkshire men’s squad has been undertaking strength and conditioning work in recent days, although only small groups can use the gym at any one time.

With the Covid situation changing by the week, the pre-season schedule is necessarily fluid and will be reviewed again towards the end of next month.

“Initially, the cricket sessions in January will be individualised,” said Moxon.

“It will basically be one-to-one coaching.

“There are restrictions on the number of people that you can have in a net at any one time, the number of people that you can have in an area at any one time, so we’re taking it very cautiously, initially, and making sure that the sessions are one-to-one to reduce any risk of infection, if you like.

“We will review it going forward because there’s no point going beyond January because who knows what regulations will be in place then.”

Although the wider picture looks increasingly encouraging, with a mass vaccination programme under way and the prospect of supporters returning to cricket grounds next year, things are still a long way from being back to normal.

Yorkshire have managed the various challenges well thus far but Moxon is taking nothing for granted.

“It’s obviously still very different in that Covid hasn’t gone away, as we all know,” he added.

“We’ve still got all manner of guidelines to adhere to and have to ensure that things are as safe as possible.

“Even though there’s vaccines being rolled out, the reality is, January to March, we’re still going to be working in a Covid (controlled) environment and having to be very careful that we, first of all, don’t contract the virus and, secondly, not to spread it if we do.

“It’s just something that we’re having to deal with like everyone else, and doing things safely is the biggest challenge.”

The challenge is more difficult in winter, of course, because cricket training can only take place inside due to the not-so-great British weather.

However, there are still things that players can do in their own environment in terms of fitness work.

“As far as S&C is concerned, there are things that players can do in their own time,” said Moxon, “and which don’t necessarily need to be supervised as much as maybe we have done in the past.

“In terms of cricket, though, we have to be really specific about what a particular player is working on and needs, so if there’s a technical element that a player is working on, then that player is probably going to need more contact time (with a coach) than someone who’s just hitting volume of balls.

“It’s all about the balance of who needs more time than someone else if they’re working on something specific, and ultimately the programmes are tailored to each individual.

“We’re having to be more strict, if you like, in terms of identifying what each player needs due to the pressure on time and facilities.”

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