Yorkshire’s Admirable Old-Fashioned Values
With four matches played in the 2010 LV County Championship, Yorkshire sit on top of Division One after a month of quality cricket played by England’s most famous club, including a couple of stirring victories.
The fact that their team has been populated by predominantly very young men, the majority of whom were born and raised in the county, is a wonderful example to other clubs who aspire to meaningful success in the modern era of professional sport. Historically, Yorkshire’s track-record at producing quality England players was enviable. More recently, they have also produced Michael Vaughan, Darren Gough, Matthew Hoggard and Ryan Sidebottom to add to their distinguished list of players who have graced the international stage.
Meanwhile, Middlesex and Surrey, two other ’world-famous’ cricket clubs, are anchoring Division Two of the County Championship presently, suggesting some evidence of ongoing decay in the capital’s major cricket teams.
Since the Second World War, a handful of teams have enjoyed periods of dominance in English Cricket. Surrey in the Fifties, and late Nineties/early Noughties; Yorkshire in the Sixties; and Middlesex in the late Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties, have experinced sustained success, as well as providing England with a plethora of very good cricketers, along with some of our greatest players. If all three Clubs could peak again in the next decade, what a wonderful scenario it would be for English cricket.
Producing talented, home-grown players who excel for their county, and hopefully go on to develop further excellence in England colours should be the raison d’etre of the 18 First-Class County Cricket Clubs. As they are funded handsomely by the ECB, out of the profits generated by a successful England team, I believe they have a moral and an economic responsibility to serve the England team better than has been the case in recent seasons which have seen a proliferation of ‘foreign’ players using county cricket as their ‘cash cow’.
Whilst it may be premature to suggest Durham’s pursuit of a hat-trick of titles is under severe threat from their closest neighbours, Yorkshire are showing promising signs of being a club on the rise. The new season began very early in April, and has therefore enhanced the possibility of outright results with bowler-friendly conditions, but the eye-catching aspect of Yorkshire’s current success is that it represents a throwback to the days of yore, when their team was an exclusive domain for Yorkshiremen.
When Sachin Tendulkar, became the county’s first overseas player in 1992, a seismic change occurred in the relaxing of the club’s rules with regard to player recruitment. After nearly twenty years of having players from other parts of England (and South Africa) in its ranks with mixed results, it would appear that the quality of coaching and player development work within Yorkshire’s Academy and schoolboy structure is now paying a healthy dividend for the current lst XI.
With a new Captain in 26 year old Andrew Gale, who has played for Yorkshire since under the 11’s when he was he joined for the first time as team-mates by Tim Bresnan and Joe Sayers, the future of Yorkshire Cricket appears to be in good hands. The journey from under 11′s to the pinnacle of Yorkshire Cricket is the dream of many a ‘white rose family’ for their son, and the new generation under Gale is representing some sort of ‘back to the future’ experience for everyone connected to the rich tapestry of Yorkshire cricket.
The new team has a most vital ingredient: good shared history amongst its key players. The quality of inter-personal relationships is key to any team functioning well over time, and the example this sets to new players with regard to team culture is critical. Otherwise, selfishness, cynicism and jealousy emerge as the dominant characteristics in the team which, in turn, plays a part in a deeper-malaise taking root within a professional club.
If Andrew Gale and Yorkshire can manage their next steps with some assured footwork, and display some maturity in response to the setbacks which will undoubtedly emerge in a long, demanding season, there is a possibility that some meaningful steps (rather than self-indulgent hype) can be taken towards re-establishing Yorkshire as the major force in English cricket again.
Whatever their results, Yorkshire are to be applauded for giving the likes of Jonny Bairstow, David Wainwright, Adil Rashid, Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Steven Patterson, their heads as talented young cricketers in the first team at an early stage of their careers. With inspirational guidance off the field, and quality example on the field from the likes of Jacques Rudolph, Anthony McGrath and the estimable Joe Sayers, Yorkshire will be able to tap into the admirable, old-fashioned values which are needed to underpin sustained progress.
Playing success breeds consistently challenging, high-pressured match-situations which test an individual’s mettle and a team’s collective growth. If the potential of their current crop canbe converted into achievement over time, then Yorkshire may even produce a vintage of young English sportsmen. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if they were to challenge the celebrated Sir Alex Ferguson’s vintage crop of Giggs, Scholes, Beckham, the Neville brothers, Butt etc in the early Nineties at Manchester United?
The concept of co-operative competitiveness is a healthy element in producing a core of young players who mature simultaneously. I hope the desire, ambition and dedication each of these young man have shown can help them feed off one another for many years to come.
I imagine the legendary Geoffrey Boycott, and new Club President Raymond Illingworth, are looking on in approval at the latest group of young men to follow in their illustrious footsteps.
Long may Yorkshire’s rich history inspire a future generation of quality cricketers. To play with distinction for The White Rose, and aspire to wear The Crown and Three Lions of England, in the manner of many of their most famous predecessors, is a worthy journey to travel.
