Yorkshire earn Graves’s praise after promotion

YORKSHIRE’s executive chairman Colin Graves, who had some brutally honest words to say this time last year when the club were relegated in the County Championship, last night paid glowing tribute to the players after they secured promotion back to Division One.

Graves, the multi-millionaire businessman whose personal fortune bankrolls the club, felt he did not get sufficient return on his investment when Yorkshire were demoted in 2011.

He branded the performances “a bloody disgrace” and urged the players to take “a long, hard look at themselves” in a broadside that echoed in the Broad Acres and beyond.

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But 12 months on from those no-nonsense comments, Graves’s mood could not be more different after Yorkshire sealed promotion on the season’s penultimate day.

“I think the players deserve all the credit in the world for what they have done this year,” said Graves, after Yorkshire’s elevation was confirmed by the defeat of third-placed Kent against Glamorgan at Cardiff.

“It shows they’ve got the right mentality and the right attitude about them, and there’s nobody more pleased than me, or more pleased for them than me.

“I’ve no regrets about saying what I said last year because I think, quite frankly, it needed saying.

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“If it’s had the desired effect then I’m even more glad because the players have responded this year and proved that what happened on the pitch last year should never have happened.”

After Yorkshire celebrated promotion at Chelmsford, attention now turns to whether they can clinch the Second Division title.

They will do that if they beat Essex today – the home team closed on 28-2 in pursuit of 388 for victory – and if Derbyshire fail to beat Hampshire at Derby.

Yorkshire would also be crowned champions if they draw with Essex and Derbyshire lose.

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Derbyshire’s game is intriguingly poised; Hampshire are 142-6 going into the final day, a lead of 139.

There is also the small matter of prize money to be determined. The Second Division champions receive £35,000 and the players £87,000 to be split among themselves, while the runners-up receive £10,000 and the players £52,000.

However, regardless of what happens today, Yorkshire have achieved their main objective – one Graves believes has been engineered through a collective effort after the club reacted to relegation by revamping their coaching staff.

Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie was brought in to run the first team and ex-Kent and Sri Lanka coach Paul Farbrace to take charge of the second XI, with both men reporting to director of cricket Martyn Moxon, who was handed more of an overseeing role.

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“I think the way the new coaching structure has worked this year has been one of the biggest plus points for me,” added Graves.

“The whole coaching set-up, the atmosphere, the way it’s gone about its business has been very professional because the previous structure simply wasn’t working.

“I think it’s helped the players a hell of a lot by changing the coaching staff and they’ve responded well to the changes we’ve made.

“Everybody who’s seen Yorkshire this year has said that we look like a real unit and a lot of that, I believe, is down to the coaches.”

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The acid test for the coaches will come next year when Yorkshire will attempt to mark their 150th anniversary by winning the title.

Graves stressed they will not be going into Division One to make up the numbers and said they would be looking to strengthen their squad.

“We believe we can do well in the First Division next year and that’s got to be the target,” he said.

“We need to look at the resources we’ve got, which is what we’ll be doing at the end of the season, and look at where we need to strengthen in one or two areas if we need to do that.

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“The problem we’ve got is that if Joe Root goes off to play for England, that would be three players away with England in Root, Tim Bresnan and Jonny Bairstow, which would leave a big hole in the team.

“We can’t just sit there and say we’re happy with what we’ve got because, if England take those players, we’re going to miss them.”

Top of Yorkshire’s shopping list is likely to be a fast bowler.

With Bresnan regularly unavailable and Ryan Sidebottom ageing, the club have grown increasingly dependent on Steve Patterson and Moin Ashraf.

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“If you ask any county, the one thing they all want is good quality pace bowlers,” said Graves.

“If we could get somebody like a Mitchell Starc for the entire season, for instance, it would be a big bonus because Starc was a revelation when he played for us this year.

“Unfortunately, I have a feeling that he is going to be tied up with Australia next year, so I doubt whether he would even be on the radar. We’ll just have to assess the situation and look at what’s out there.”

Graves confirmed Yorkshire would once more look to go down the overseas route in Twenty20, with Starc and David Miller, the South African batsman, having played a key role in helping them reach Finals Day for the first time and the money-spinning Champions League.

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“Getting a couple of overseas players on board for Twenty20 proved to be a really successful move,” he said. “We talked about doing it the year before and didn’t do it, which we came to regret.

“But we tried it this year and it’s worked out well. We got two fantastic players who played brilliantly for us, and we’re looking to go down the same route once again next year.”