Yorkshire v Essex: Anthony McGrath relishing key clash against former club as Fin Bean gears up for homecoming

A draw? Well, that would leave matters more or less as you were, gentlemen, a possibility that cannot be discounted with the Kookaburra ball. This will be the second of four successive Kookaburra rounds which, as McGrath rightly said the other day, make no sense at all - except, of course, to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The head coach, who watched his team secure a bore draw against leaders Nottinghamshire with the Kookaburra at Trent Bridge last week, where 1,145 runs were scored for the loss of 21 wickets, added of the Essex clash: “It’s an exciting one on paper.

"Both teams are probably disappointed with their starts to the season, and where they think they should be, so it's a chance for both teams to prove that they're better than they're showing.

“I think, having seen the wicket at York for the T20 (against Durham earlier this month), it should be another good cricket wicket, and hopefully there will be a bit more in it for the bowlers.

“I think there’ll be bounce and carry, and it should be a good game with hopefully a result at the end of it.”

At least Yorkshire steadied the ship at the “Bridge”, holding their own against a Nottinghamshire team who had inflicted on them the second of two straight defeats before the Championship broke for the T20 Blast.

The highlight was a double hundred for Fin Bean, the opener whose 224 dwarfed the 164 runs he had scored in his previous 12 Championship innings this season.

“Everyone was really pleased for him,” said McGrath.

“It's been a tough start to the season for Fin, but I think the mark of a good player is that when he does get in, he doesn't give it away.

“He's had some low scores, but he showed that once he gets in, he's got those powers of concentration and he sticks to his areas where he looks to score. I thought it was a really composed innings, and for Fin to go on and get that big score was brilliant and hopefully that kick-starts his season now.”

For the man himself, this week’s match is a homecoming.

Bean, 23, has played his club cricket at York for the best part of a decade, and credits the club with helping his development.

“They've done a lot for me,” he said. “They backed me as a young player when I was scratching around, couldn't get it off the square. They backed me in the first-team and that set me up.

“I played junior cricket there - been there 10 years or so - and there’s some great people at the club.”

Bean could be forgiven for feeling 10-foot tall when he walks to the crease at Clifton Park after a display at Trent Bridge that emphasised his skill.

The left-hander faced 489 balls and batted for almost nine-and-a-half hours in a marathon effort of fierce concentration.

“We spoke beforehand about batting long periods of time, and I think that’s been one of my biggest strengths growing up, and I’m just glad I was able to do that,” said Bean.

“The result pitches have been tough for me personally this year - a couple of mistakes on my behalf, too, and things like that, and you can find yourself on a bit of a bad run.

“I’ve just tried to stick to what I do and the belief was always there, but obviously this will give me confidence and hopefully I can kick on.”

This will be York’s first Championship match since 2019 - and only their third-ever, albeit the first of those was at the old Wigginton Road ground in 1890.

Aside from his personal connection to Clifton Park, Bean is a fan of outgrounds in general, where spectators can often find themselves closer to the action.

“I don’t know whether the outgrounds get more spectators but it feels as though they get more,” he said.

“The atmosphere is better - just like it is at Scarborough.

"You can’t beat Scarborough, I don’t think.

“They do a great job at York, and hopefully this will be a really good week for the club.”

Yorkshire are set to hand a debut to Abdullah Shafique, the Pakistan batsman who had been recruited for two Championship games but could not play at Trent Bridge due to visa delays.

Given the arbitrary nature of Dawid Malan’s involvement in red-ball, it seems reasonable to suppose that Shafique will replace him.

“We’ve managed to get Shafique here after all the complications, which is great news,” said McGrath.

“Getting someone who can play in both formats was important (Shafique will also play four T20s) as we know that we’ve been light on runs.

“He should add that international class and give us some experience.”