Yorkshire’s young talent presented with an opportunity to prove itself

LAST year, while most pundits predicted Yorkshire would be relegated in the County Championship, I forecast they would do much better than expected.

Sure enough, Andrew Gale’s young team finished third in the table, and but for a batting collapse on the last day of the season might have won the title.

Of course, the law of averages dictates that I was bound to get something right one day, but I hope I am wrong this time when I say Yorkshire will struggle to replicate last year’s achievement.

If they can finish third or better this summer, that would be a magnificent effort given they are without their star performer of the past four seasons – Jacques Rudolph.

The Kolpak player has returned to South Africa in an effort to resurrect his international career.

He takes with him the virtual guarantee of 2,000-plus runs in all competitions, which leaves not so much a void as a chasm.

Rudolph’s departure clearly means Yorkshire must find the runs elsewhere – and there is no obvious supply line.

Although they plan to give opportunities to Joe Root and Gary Ballance, two young talented batsmen knocking on the door, it is unrealistic to expect them to make a Rudolph-esque impact.

As such, the biggest question going into the season is whether Yorkshire’s batting will stand up to scrutiny.

Their decision to effectively replace Rudolph with a bowler in the form of new signing Ryan Sidebottom is a risk – one that could make or break the campaign.

Mindful of the effect England call-ups could have on their bowling, with Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad having played important roles this winter, Yorkshire have opted to strengthen their attack.

They say there was not enough cash to sign a batsman and bowler as they grapple with debts of £20m.

Consequently, much will depend on Adam Lyth and Anthony McGrath emulating last year’s success, when they joined Rudolph in passing 1,000 runs.

Lyth, 23, has great potential, but he may find it tougher this year and needs to be given time to develop.

At 35, McGrath is in his twilight days – albeit eminently capable of another fine summer.

The former England all-rounder fought back well last year after the runs tailed off in his time as captain.

Joe Sayers is happily on the mend after missing the second half of last year with Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome, which renders his season difficult to predict.

Yorkshire need Sayers more than ever now Rudolph has gone, but such illnesses are not shaken off lightly and he needs to be carefully nursed back to health.

Jonathan Bairstow made big strides last year and will be targeting 1,000 runs for the first time, although he looks likely to have the additional pressure of keeping wicket, with Gerard Brophy set to challenge for a place as a batsman.

A potential fly in the ointment could come in the form of England Lions’ call-ups, which could have a detrimental effect on a batting line-up in which Gale, Sayers, Lyth and Bairstow are all fighting for international places.

There is little doubt Yorkshire go into the season with one hand tied behind their back as one of the few counties not to have signed an overseas player.

The lack of cash prevented that possibility, although Sidebottom, in fairness, is on an overseas salary.

Yorkshire circumnavigated the regulations to have Rudolph as an overseas player in everything but name, but the lack of a foreign import is far from ideal.

No county, however, places more stock on fielding home-grown players than Yorkshire, who could regularly have at least nine in their line-up in 2011, with just Brophy (South Africa), Ballance (Zimbabwe) and Azeem Rafiq (Pakistan) born outside Yorkshire.

Sidebottom, proud son of Huddersfield, will boost a bowling attack that is arguably the best in the country at full strength. The club have so many good seam bowlers it would take a week to list them, while the spin department is similarly blessed.

With the quality of bowling at their disposal, one would expect Yorkshire to win games even in the absence of Bresnan and Shahzad.

There is tremendous variety and plenty of options – not only in four-day cricket, but in the one-day game too, where Yorkshire will be looking to improve on their semi-final appearance in the CB40 and to reach a Twenty20 finals day for the first time.

Of course, it is possible for a team to win the Championship more for the strength of their bowling than batting.

Last year, Nottinghamshire won the title without anyone getting 1,000 runs; Yorkshire, in contrast, had three players past that figure, while Bairstow (918), Gale (876) and Adil Rashid (732) also scored heavily.

If Sidebottom can take 50 wickets and Steve Patterson and Rashid maintain their progress, Yorkshire have the firepower to take the necessary 20 wickets to win Championship games.

That should hopefully erase any possibility of relegation in a competition tight enough to mean the loss of a world-class player like Rudolph could be the difference between finishing third-top or third-bottom.

In 2010, Yorkshire were something of an unknown quantity.

Few people expected them to do well because they were top-heavy with youngsters, some of them untried.

This year, teams will know more about Yorkshire, more about how to bowl to their young batsmen, more about how to play their young bowlers.

In short, it is going to be tougher.

But one thing Yorkshire have is great spirit, a burgeoning captain in Gale and a fine coaching team led by Martyn Moxon.

Yorkshire might win a trophy this year, they might not; for the record, they have not won any silverware since lifting the old Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy in 2002.

But whatever lies ahead, there is definitely a sense of a team moving forward.

Given decent weather and luck with injuries, it is a team that will hope for another good year.