Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jonny Bairstow speaks at last week’s opening season lunch at Headingley.
Jonny Bairstow believes Yorkshire are all geared up for a successful silverware hunt this summer.
We are into new-season week, and the excitement is certainly building. The White Rose travel to Cardiff for their Rothesay County Championship opener against newly-promoted Glamorgan, starting on Friday.
Bairstow will captain the county in both the Championship and the Vitality Blast this summer; the Championship for the second time and the Blast for the first time.
While Yorkshire missed out on a trophy last year, there were signs of significant encouragement, be it through a semi-final run to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup or a strong second half of the four-day summer which included three wins from seven games.
“We’ve made some really good signings this year,” said the wicketkeeper-batter. “Our squad, it is strong.
“Obviously, losing a couple of the guys last year that we had, we knew that we had to add to the squad and add in the right way. And I do genuinely believe that we’ve done that with the likes of Jhye Richardson and Sam Whiteman.
“The list is quite extensive, and we’re really looking forward to welcoming those guys in.”
In all, Yorkshire have signed seven players across the competitions, be it overseas or domestic. Added to that, you have a number of young up and comers who will hope to push for places in 2026. Fast bowler Jay Singh, for example, struck four times on Friday’s opening day of the two-day friendly down at Essex.
Picture by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images. Jhye Richardson, one of Yorkshire’s winter recruits.
Bairstow, aged 36, continued: “Competition within the squad drives people on to get better and drives people on to improve their games on the field, off the field.
“And, in between each other, it creates a competitive edge, which is good, because if you don’t have those people below you can become comfortable and slightly complacent.
“We haven’t necessarily had that competition for places at the club, and that’s not the lads fault. That’s nobody’s fault of their own. The club has been going through a bit more of a transition phase. However, now is a great time.”
A big part of the drive for success will no doubt be the likes of Fin Bean, George Hill, Matthew Revis and James Wharton, players who are still relatively young but have a good bank of first-team experience under their belts.
“I think it was a bit of a surprise as to how it was in Division One and the difference between Division One and Two,” said Bairstow. “That’s great, because it was a little bit of a shock to the system.
“However, the way in which people regathered themselves, the momentum that the lads got through the 50-over comp, it led into the back end of the summer.
“To finish like we did here against Durham, and to show the composure and want and grit in order to bowl a good team out in that fashion, it showed to us that we’re a good team within this division.”
Bairstow, who is within 200 runs of reaching 15,000 in his first-class career, said he “enjoyed” his first season as captain last summer.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jonny Bairstow is chasing a third trophy in Yorkshire colours after winning the County Championship in 2014 and 2015.
“I’ve not done a huge amount of it, and there were challenges in different ways,” he said. “I think it was also about just being authentic to myself with it.
“There were times where I definitely know I didn’t get everything right. But that’s part and parcel of it.
“I think one of the biggest bits for me is just the personal side of things. It’s just been making sure the lads are ok and just seeing that personal side and those personal touches. Just checking in with the lads.
“If they’re happy and fit, wanting to do well, then generally that takes it from in the dressing room and out onto the field.”
And Bairstow added of his leadership role: “It’s given me something different to focus on, without a doubt. That’s not to say anything’s detracted from scoring runs or my keeping. But you just see it through a slightly different lens.
“You have difficult conversations with people on a more regular basis, which is healthy.
“But it’s something that’s learnt as well, because sometimes they fire back at you and you’re like, ‘I wasn’t expecting that one’. So you’ve got to deal with it.
“It’s great seeing the younger guys come through and flourish, but also trying to aid them to understand why it’s a bit more difficult to flourish in certain bits and just understanding game scenarios and situations.”