Chris Waters: Time still on Yorkshire CCC’s side as they strive for Vitality T20 Blast success

One jests, of course, but the competition increasingly feels like the cricketing equivalent of Brexit, with barely an end to it these days as administrators milk the 20-over cash cow for all she is worth.

Fourteen group games per county is, one suggests, a tad excessive; surely 10 would be sufficient like we used to have at one stage.

But “it is what it is”, as the saying goes, and at least T20 is better than the wretched 100-ball tournament that starts next year, a tournament that could wreak lasting damage on T20, 50-over and the County Championship as well, and which, apart from that, is apparently the best thing since sliced bread, dontcha know.

One advantage of such a protracted T20 group stage, of course, is that it does allow counties who make a slow start to catch up the rest.

As such, Yorkshire will not be ungrateful for it after yesterday’s washout in Northampton, where last week’s heatwave felt like a dirty rumour.

It was Yorkshire’s second no-result after their opening match against Nottinghamshire at Emerald Headingley fell foul of the weather, with two defeats and one win sandwiched in between.

Yorkshire lost to Derbyshire at Chesterfield in their first proper outing, beat Leicestershire at Grace Road and then lost their first Roses clash of the summer at Headingley last week, with the return game at Old Trafford on August 9.

The upshot, after five of their 14 group games, is that Yorkshire have only one win and four points on the board as they seek to qualify for the knockout stages for only the second time in the last seven seasons.

That record, allied to the fact that they have never won the competition, is one of the worst in the country, particularly given the club’s resources and the fact that they have had some quality overseas players.

For some reason, Yorkshire have never quite cracked T20 in the same way that they have cracked the Championship, and in recognition of that they are trying to pick more horses for courses T20 players this year as opposed to what might simply be termed their best 11 players.

Maddeningly, though, they just haven’t been able to get into their stride because of the weather and the disappointing results against Derbyshire and Lancashire, games that could easily have gone the other way.

At Derbyshire, Yorkshire looked to have a winning total on the board at halfway, Jordan Thompson’s powerful half-century and Jonny Tattersall’s unbeaten 39 helping them to 164-8.

But at a Chesterfield ground where their record is a bit like that of the England football team in penalty shootouts, they lost by five wickets with five balls left, not helped by a freak injury when pace bowler Matthew Fisher dislocated his bowling shoulder while diving to stop a boundary.

That very much summed up the “here we go again” feeling that has been present around Yorkshire’s T20 cricket, as did the similarly freak accident that ruled out leg-spinner Josh Poysden – an important part of the club’s T20 plans – for the rest of the season, Poysden struck on the head last week while he was bowling in the nets.

For Yorkshire to lose one bowler to injury might be considered unfortunate, for them to lose two, however, was positively star-crossed.

Against Lancashire, the White Rose fell 10 runs short of a target of 171, with a number of soft dismissals not helping the cause.

It was one of those matches when smarter batting might have got them over the line, with overseas signing Nicholas Pooran left with a bit too much to do.

Pooran has now departed after a five-match spell which was – as it turned out – only three matches.

Overall, the West Indian did a useful job with scores of 12, 67 and 43, his 67 at Grace Road – from just 28 balls with six sixes and six fours – coming out of a remarkable total of 255-2, second only to Yorkshire’s English record 260-4 against Northamptonshire at Headingley two years ago.

And there, in a nutshell, is the frustration with Yorkshire – and the challenge that lies ahead.

To be able to make totals of that size proves beyond doubt the talent in the ranks.

For this is a side which, when it clicks, can live with any in the country, and which has the big-hitting firepower to match any too. It is a side, on paper, that can go all the way.

Yorkshire now have back-to-back home matches against Worcestershire on Friday and Birmingham Bears on Sunday, matches when they will hope to build on their stuttering start to this year’s competition with two handsome wins.