Yorkshire face tough challenge warns Moxon

MARTYN MOXON has warned Yorkshire face a tougher season than last time as they look to end their nine-year search for silverware.

The Yorkshire chief believes it will be harder for his side in 2011 as they seek to halt their trophy-winning drought.

Last summer, a young Yorkshire side surpassed expectations by finishing third in the County Championship and by reaching the CB40 semi-finals.

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It was the closest Yorkshire have come to winning a domestic competition since they lifted the old Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy in 2002.

Although adamant his men are capable of winning some silverware this summer, Moxon is under no illusion.

Yorkshire have lost their main source of runs with the departure of South African batsman Jacques Rudolph, whom they have effectively replaced with a bowler in the form of former England left-armer Ryan Sidebottom.

Yorkshire are also one of the few counties not to have signed an overseas player due to crippling financial constraints at Headingley Carnegie.

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The club – some £20m in debt – recently announced a loss of £2m for 2010, while they are budgeted to lose a further £1m this year.

As Moxon prepared for his fifth season at the helm since returning to the club from Durham, he stressed it was important to be realistic.

“It’s going to be harder this year,” he said.

“As usual, we will go into the new season with the aim of winning all three competitions because it would be wrong to set our sights any lower than that.

“But let’s not get carried away by saying we’re going to win this or we’re going to win that.

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“We just need to focus on the day-to-day things, not get too far ahead of ourselves and try to improve as best we can.”

Moxon admitted Yorkshire’s success last season took him by surprise.

“We surpassed my expectations and no doubt the expectations of quite a few people,” he added.

“To do as well as we did was a great credit to the captain, Andrew Gale, and all the lads because they played superbly and fought really hard.

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“What we’re really looking for this year is continued improvement.

“If we happen to win a trophy along the way, fantastic, but it’s progress we’re looking for most of all.”

Yorkshire have a core of players that could perform together for many years.

Only three first-team players are in their 30s – Anthony McGrath (35), Gerard Brophy (35) and Sidebottom (33) – and they possess one of the country’s youngest squads.

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On paper, Yorkshire look at least a couple of years away from where they would ideally like to be.

But they showed last summer what a bit of old-fashioned team spirit can achieve – a quality that could once more serve them well.

“I’m really excited by the future,” declared Moxon.

“I think we’ve got a very determined, very committed group of young players who want to do well and ultimately be the best team in the country.

“If you take McGrath, Brophy and Sidebottom out of the equation, the players are all in their 20s or late teens.

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“We could potentially have more or less the same side for many years to come, which is an extremely exciting prospect.”

Moxon is currently putting the players through their paces on a 12-day trip to Barbados.

The squad arrived in the Caribbean on Sunday night and will play several games during the coming days.

Tomorrow, Yorkshire play a two-day inter-squad match before attention shifts to a Twenty20 tournament at Kensington Oval involving several counties.

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Yorkshire play Hampshire in a Twenty20 fixture on Saturday and, if they win, will qualify for the finals day the following day.

After that, Yorkshire play Warwickshire in a 40-over game on March 22 and, the following day, play a 40-over match among themselves before returning to England on March 25.

The club have taken 16 players to the Caribbean: Moin Ashraf, Gary Ballance, John Blain, Gerard Brophy, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, James Lee, Alex Lilley, Anthony McGrath, Steve Patterson, Richard Pyrah, Azeem Rafiq, Gurman Randhawa, Joe Root, Joe Sayers, Ryan Sidebottom and David Wainwright.

Left-arm seamer Lilley was a last-minute replacement for Ben Sanderson, who has undergone surgery on a perforated appendix.

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Four Leeds/Bradford university students have been chosen to take part in MCC Universities’ pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi (March 15-25).

Tom Craddock, Rick Moore, Luis Reece and Craig Williamson are part of a 14-man squad.