Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Rich Pyrah was thrilled with Yorkshire’s performance at Durham last week.
Rich Pyrah believes Yorkshire’s win against Durham last time out in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup was their most impressive of the season so far.
Last Wednesday, the White Rose bowled Durham out for 193 at Banks Homes Riverside before chasing the target for the loss of only four wickets on a slow pitch. Sarah Glenn took two wickets and Jess Jonassen three before Lauren Winfield-Hill and Erin Thomas both scored half-centuries.
In their first season in Tier 1, Yorkshire have been inconsistent across both the One-Day Cup and the Blast, the latter in which they are yet to win. They have played some eye-catching cricket but just not for long enough.
In the One-Day Cup, they have won three games out of nine. Prior to that Durham success, they beat current group leaders The Blaze at Headingley and then defending champions Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.
Next up, tomorrow (10.30am), Yorkshire face The Blaze again at Chesterfield.
Ahead of that game, head coach Pyrah said: “Durham was probably our best all-round display of the season.
“It’s always difficult going there because the pitch can be hard work, and those who play the conditions and read the conditions well, and play accordingly, normally do pretty well. I think we did all the way through.
“We have been inconsistent, but it shows that when we do play a full game and put it all together, we can beat anyone.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Sarah Glenn will face her former side at Chesterfield tomorrow. She is also a Derbyshire native.
“It’s nice that others are chipping in as well like Erin and Sarah Glenn. We’ve missed Glenny. It’s great to have her back, and she bowled beautifully with those early wickets.”
Pyrah continued: “We kind of knew how this season would go.
“We knew we would be inconsistent, and all we ask for is people to keep learning and step up, and that’s what we saw in that Durham game.
“We know the ability is there, it’s learning how to cope with the pressure. When we do that, we can beat anyone.”
The Blaze sit top of the One-Day Cup table with 36 points from eight wins and two defeats in 10 games so far. Yorkshire are seventh on 16 with three wins and a tie from their nine games.
The Blaze’s two defeats came against Yorkshire at Headingley in mid-April, by 70 runs, and by 28 runs against Lancashire at Blackpool on Wednesday just gone.
Last season, they reached all three semi-finals.
They are, like Yorkshire, dealing with unavailability due to the T20 World Cup. Kathryn Bryce, Sarah Bryce and captain Kirstie Gordon are all with Scotland, for example, alongside White Rose trio Gabriella Fontenla, Hannah Rainey and Rachel Slater.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jess Jonassen appeals for a wicket against The Blaze at Headingley in April. She finished with four of them, added to a half-century with the bat, in a Yorkshire win.
“It’ll be a great challenge,” said Pyrah, of the game at Queen’s Park.
“There are some really good teams in this league, and The Blaze are one of them.
“They’ve got a few missing at the World Cup – same as us – but they’ve got a pretty strong squad.
“My challenge to our girls now is to try and back it up, ‘Let’s not just have one win and play like that’.
“I want to see some consistency now, which is what we’re striving for.”
In the absence of Gordon, The Blaze will be captained by opening batter Marie Kelly. They have Australian all-rounder Charli Knott as their overseas player.
In new-ball seamer Charley Phillips, they have the second leading wicket-taker in the competition with 19, one behind Yorkshire’s spin-bowling all-rounder Jess Jonassen.
Both sides come into this fixture on the back of Round Three Vitality County T20 Cup matches on Sunday. Yorkshire were beaten by nine runs chasing 184 by Somerset at Scarborough, while The Blaze beat Durham by eight wickets chasing 168 at Lady Bay, Nottingham.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill celebrates victory against The Blaze with Rich Pyrah.