Yorkshire expected to respond to double Dutch loss

Yorkshire’s season plumbed new depths when they crashed to a four-wicket defeat with 12.3 overs to spare in Sunday’s CB40 match in Amstelveen.

It was Yorkshire’s second defeat against the Dutch this season following an embarrassing two-run reverse at Headingley in April.

But director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon is optimistic there will be a positive reaction from his players as they seek to pull further clear of the relegation zone.

Yorkshire are third-bottom of Division One – one place and 11 points above the safety line, having won two of their 11 games this season.

“We will bounce back,” promised Moxon, whose side will be aiming to put further distance between themselves and rock-bottom Hampshire, who are without a Championship victory this summer.

“What this side have got is fight and character, and, although we didn’t show much of that against Holland, it is definitely there.

“We’ve seen it before in four-day cricket when our backs have been against the wall and I’m confident that we’ll see it again.

“I expect the lads to come out fighting at the Rose Bowl.”

Although there is no way of dressing up a defeat to the Netherlands, who a county team would expect to beat nine times out of 10, Yorkshire already had no chance of qualifying for the CB40 semi-finals.

The die was cast when the Dutch beat them in Leeds – a game that set the alarm bells ringing.

Chasing 191 to win, Yorkshire crashed to 27-5 before Rich Pyrah, Adil Rashid and Ryan Sidebottom at least gave their efforts some respectability.

Yorkshire produced a similarly inept batting display on Sunday, managing to reach only 123 all-out.

In the Championship, however, Yorkshire still have everything to play for.

And, if they can get a win this week, it would leave Hampshire a mountainous task to avoid the drop.

Indeed, perhaps the most encouraging thing from Yorkshire’s point of view is that there would appear to be two worse sides in Division One – namely, Hampshire and Worcestershire.

Hampshire have accrued 39 points from nine games and Worcestershire 81 from 10, and it would be a major surprise if either survived.

Yorkshire will clearly not want to give Hampshire a sniff, however, particularly as the southern county have two games in hand.

But even a defeat at the Rose Bowl would not mean the end of the world for Yorkshire, who conclude their campaign with fixtures against Sussex (home), Warwickshire (home), Warwickshire (away) and Somerset (home).

Yorkshire will be boosted on the south coast by the return of star batsman Jacques Rudolph, who was rested for the fixture in Holland.

Rudolph’s presence alone gives Yorkshire significant hope they can gain a sizeable points haul during their remaining games, the South African having returned to the club until the end of the summer on a cut-price deal.

Former England pace bowler Sidebottom is also back in the ranks, although Yorkshire are without Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, who are on England Lions’ duty.

The Lions take on Sri Lanka A in a four-day match starting at Scarborough today, with the Yorkshire duo looking to further impress the England selectors.

In Root’s absence, Anthony McGrath keeps his place in the Championship squad, while Gerard Brophy will deputise for Bairstow.

Opening batsman Joe Sayers is also in the four-day party, having been overlooked in recent weeks.

Moxon believes Yorkshire will benefit from the shake-up to the squad. “We’ve got some fresh faces coming in for the Hampshire game, so that will help,” he said.

“We’ve got some experience coming into the side and I’m sure that will stand us in good stead.

“It’s obviously another massive game and important that we turn in a good performance.

“We had the better of the game against Hampshire when we played them at Headingley earlier in the season, so there’s no reason why we can’t get a result.”

Moxon believes Yorkshire’s campaign has been one of fine margins.

“I use three words – focus, attitude and mentality,” he added.

“When we’ve got that, we’re a very good team. When it’s slightly off, however, we’re not a very good team.

“That, for me, has been the key to our season.

“We’ve played some good cricket in patches and it’s just been that carelessness that’s cost us dear.”