Steve Patterson praises Yorkshire players’ fitness ahead of delayed start to cricket season

STEVE PATTERSON says he is impressed with the responsibility shown by Yorkshire’s players as they continue their preparations for a truncated 2020 season of county cricket.
Yorkshire return to training after the long lay-off due to the Coronovirus Covid 19 pandemic. Pictures: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.comYorkshire return to training after the long lay-off due to the Coronovirus Covid 19 pandemic. Pictures: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
Yorkshire return to training after the long lay-off due to the Coronovirus Covid 19 pandemic. Pictures: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

Yorkshire’s squad are into the third week of their training schedule ahead of a campaign slated to begin on August 1.

The Championship, set to be renamed for this year as The Bob Willis Trophy in memory of the former England captain, who died last December, will launch the season and will see counties split into three regional groups of six with each team playing five games before the top two teams meet in a five-day final at Lord’s.

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There will also be 10 group games per county in a regionalised T20 Blast followed by quarter-finals and a Finals Day at Edgbaston.

Yorkshire's Steve Patterson returns to training.Yorkshire's Steve Patterson returns to training.
Yorkshire's Steve Patterson returns to training.

The final schedule has yet to be signed off, but it is thought the first four ‘Championship’ games will be played before the T20 Group stage takes over ahead of a return to the longer format.

Yorkshire’s players first returned to Headingley a little over two weeks ago, having been placed on furlough throughout the majority of the Covid-19 crisis.

Initially training by themselves, last week saw them step up to practice in groups of up to six people for the first time, with even larger groups introduced this week.

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Jonny Bairstow, not chosen for the current Test match series between England and the West Indies, has been involved in the sessions. He has been joined by seasoned regulars such as club captain Patterson, Gary Ballance and Adam Lyth, along with David Willey and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, both of whom were called up to England’s initial 55-strong training group put together earlier this summer.

Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow batting in training with David Willey.Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow batting in training with David Willey.
Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow batting in training with David Willey.

Prior to their phased return to Headingley, due to the terms and conditions of being placed on furlough, Yorkshire’s players have been left to their own devices in terms of keeping in shape with the club not allowed to contact them or give them any instructions.

But, as you would expect from most professional teams, all concerned have returned in good shape, something that has not gone unnoticed by veteran seam bowler and club captain Patterson.

“It was all very different from that training perspective because we normally get so much guidance on everything we do,” said Patterson.

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“The fact I’ve probably got a bit more experience in terms of the amount of cricket I’ve played probably helped me because I know physically what I needed to do to keep myself fit, but the lads generally have been quite smart with how they have gone about it all.

“What it shows is that even with a relatively young squad, we’ve got a lot of hard-working, responsible guys.

“We’ve been locked down for around three-and-a-half to four months but we’ve come back in good shape. For a lot of the lads it looks like they’ve never been away, so it just shows that if you’re responsible you can make it work.”

Patterson said players were aware that procedures and certain rules and regulations will have changed when they return to action, because of coronavirus, but he insisted they were prepared for whatever comes their way.

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“We’ve got to understand that when we start playing matches it is going to be a little bit different to normal,” added Patterson.

“We’re not all going to be in one changing room, we’re not all going to be high-fiving and this, that and the other.

“The fact that it has been more gradual is probably going to get the lads more used to how it is going to have to be.

“Because we’ve been off for so long, people are at different stages.

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“Some, like myself, have managed to do a bit of training at their local clubs – some have struggled to do anything.

“So the fact that it has been smaller groups initially has allowed people to get what they need from the training sessions and get back to where they need to be at different stages.

“It’s been a really good couple of weeks so far.

“ I really believe that teams that have looked after themselves best during the lockdown and those that adapt quickest to the different rules and regulations that will be in place, will be the teams that have the most success.

“You only have a four-week build-up to the cricket that we’re going to play and then it is going to be a really intense two-month period.”

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While he has some concerns about the potential for dead rubber matches, particularly in the severely-shortened four-day competition, Patterson is convinced the packed schedule offers opportunities for some of the club’s younger players that would not generally come their way during the course of a normal county season.

“There is going to be a lot of cricket coming our way very, very quickly and so we might have to spread it out more across the squad and I think other clubs will do the same,” said Patterson.

“There are going to be opportunities for younger players that might not normally happen in a normal Championship season.

“It could be a great chance for a few young players to come through and say ‘look, I’m good enough to play at this level.’”

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