Yorkshire v Warwickshire: ‘Spineless’ Yorkshire blasted by Moxon after loss

YORKSHIRE boss Martyn Moxon launched a blistering attack on his players after they crashed to an innings defeat against Warwickshire, branding their performance as “spineless” as the spectre of relegation loomed ever closer.

Moxon described Yorkshire’s efforts as “embarrassing” and insisted his team displayed “no stomach for the fight”.

The former Yorkshire and England batsman added they would need to win their last two matches – at Warwickshire next week and at home to Somerset the following week – to avoid the ignominy of dropping into Division Two.

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After Yorkshire crashed to 127 all-out to lose by an innings and 58 runs inside three days, Moxon tore into his team.

“It was our worst performance of the season,” proclaimed the county’s director of professional cricket.

“The best thing I can say about our batting was that it was spineless; it was embarrassing from my point of view.

“At no stage (yesterday) did we seem to have the stomach for the fight.

“It simply wasn’t good enough.

“There are no excuses after a display like that.

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“We can’t hide behind the fact we’ve got a lot of young players, or anything of that nature.

“Take (Joe) Root and (Gary) Ballance out of the team and the rest of them have played enough cricket to have performed better.

“To hide behind youth is nonsense.”

Moxon admitted he questioned himself in the wake of a result that left Yorkshire one place and one point above the relegation zone.

His team will fall back into the bottom two today if Worcestershire avoid defeat against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl, where the home side are staring down the barrel on 84-6 in their second innings – a lead of 59.

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A draw or win for Worcestershire would leave Yorkshire in the second and final relegation place with 111 points from 14 matches.

Worcestershire would climb to 126 points from 13 games with a victory, which would leave bottom club Hampshire with 88 points from 13 matches.

“When things aren’t going well you are always thinking of what you can do differently and what you can do to try to improve things,” added Moxon.

“You are always doing that – all the time, every day.

“One thing we have had throughout the season is fight, but we didn’t have that on this occasion.

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“It’s a test of character now and we’ll see who’s got the character to stand up and turn it around.”

It was not so much the defeat as the manner of it that will give Yorkshire’s supporters cause for concern.

On a pitch on which Warwickshire’s lower-order comfortably added 111 runs for the loss of one wicket during the morning session, building on an overnight platform of 340-6 in reply to Yorkshire’s first innings 297, the home side capitulated in feckless fashion.

Batsmen came and went with indecent regularity against a second-string attack missing Chris Woakes, Boyd Rankin and Rikki Clarke.

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Only Joe Sayers (27) displayed a modicum of staying power, surviving 90 minutes before he was one of six wickets to fall during the final session.

Rich Pyrah top-scored with 28 on a day when Chris Wright (5-31) and Keith Barker (4-56) simply blew Yorkshire away.

Yorkshire began their second innings 185 behind after Warwickshire were dismissed for 482 shortly after lunch.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul had fallen early in the piece, edging Steve Patterson to wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy after lifting his overnight 167 to 193.

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Chanderpaul’s innings was effectively the difference and he received staunch support from Barker, who made 85 before he was eighth out after lunch, caught at cover off Joe Root.

Root’s occasional off-spin also accounted for Neil Carter, stumped for 40, and Chris Metters, who holed out to deep mid-wicket, Root finishing with a career-best 3-33.

There were also three wickets in the innings for David Wainwright but Adil Rashid, Yorkshire’s frontline spinner, went wicket-less.

If Yorkshire’s first innings batting performance was below-par, their second innings effort was significantly sub-standard.

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Rudolph fell for a fourth-ball duck, brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose diving to his left off Barker, before Root drove a wide one from Barker to gully.

When Anthony McGrath was caught behind jabbing at Wright for a 16-ball duck and Ballance lbw to the same bowler caught on the crease, Yorkshire were 25-4 and in disarray.

After tottering to tea on 40-4, they were soon 47-6 as Brophy was bowled by Wright and Sayers lbw to Barker playing around his pads.

Pyrah got a leading edge to mid-off, Rashid was bowled by one that might have kept low and Ryan Sidebottom was taken in the slips.

Wainwright and Patterson added 36 for the last wicket before Patterson was bowled by Carter, Warwickshire’s victory lifting them to second place – three points behind leaders Lancashire.