Picture by Harry Trump/Getty Images. Captains Lewis Gregory and Jonny Bairstow at the toss.
Jonny Bairstow believes today’s opening day against Somerset was a microcosm of Yorkshire’s season so far.
The White Rose captain was a frustrated man as he spoke to the media at Taunton this evening, where his side had been bowled out for 162 in their first innings having been 124-3.
Somerset then closed the day on 201-3, with a lead of 39, thanks largely to 21-year-old opener Josh Thomas’s excellent unbeaten 136.
Yorkshire are yet to hit their straps in this season’s Rothesay County Championship, having drawn two and lost one to date.
Bairstow said: “Look, when you’re put into bat and you’re 115-3 at lunch, you’re thinking, ‘We’re pretty alright’. Then to lose seven wickets for whatever we did, 30-odd, that quite frankly is not good enough.
“Let’s be honest, it’s not the first time this year that we’ve lost wickets in clusters.
“And the standards that we set for ourselves, we’ve come up far short of so far this year, really.
“So, yeah, that’s the honest reflection of the first three games in one day.”
There was no doubt that Somerset had the better of conditions today. Somerset opener Thomas said that it got easier to bat as the day wore on. But Bairstow, who made 34 with the bat and kept wicket, was not using that as any kind of excuse.
He said: “You’ve got to make the most of what you’re given.
“Like I said, we were 115-3 at lunch, so we’ve kind of weathered that first storm.
“How old’s Josh? You’ve got a 21-year-old who’s come out and scored 130 in 150 balls and, fair play to him, he played well. That’s the difference.
“We were still bowling under lights for a decent period of the day.
“Yes, the lights went off for a little bit, but from a bowling attack on a pitch that’s still doing plenty, we need to be better. One of the things that we’ve prided ourselves on – we did so well last year – was holding the game and keeping people at two an over. At the moment, we’re not necessarily doing that.
“From all facets of the game, we need to get better.”
On tomorrow, Bairstow said: “The guys will go back and have a quick reflect on what we can put right.
“Cricket’s an amazing game, and it’s something that in the morning we’re well aware that if the lights are on like they were this morning, that pitch changes.
“We’ll be looking to put our best foot forward in that first hour tomorrow.”
Bairstow returned to wicketkeeping duties today for the first time since the opening game of the season following his fractured thumb. He played against Sussex last week but didn’t keep.
He added: “Yeah, the thumb seems alright – just cracking on with it.
“It’s nice to have the gloves back on.”