Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Anthony McGrath spoke after today’s fourth day at Scarborough.
Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath reflected on his side’s near miss against Warwickshire at Scarborough today and said: “We’re disappointed, but I can’t fault the heart.
“I thought we were magnificent for all four days. We’ll bowl a lot worse than that and win games.”
Warwickshire, in the face of a 453-target, started day one on 44-1 and made it to 338-8 thanks largely to half-centuries for experienced duo Sam Hain and Ed Barnard.
Yorkshire kept plugging away. They struck twice early through George Hill and, when they struck for the seventh time, had 13.3 overs with which to take the last three wickets. But it just wasn’t to be.
“We had 16 points and wanted it to be 24, but we’re going the right way,” said McGrath as he continued his assessment of a game which saw Will Luxton stand out with scores of 167 and 69 at the top of the order.
There were a series of other contributors to draw number three of 2026, one which leaves the White Rose seventh in a jam-packed table but only 16 points behind leaders Essex at the halfway point in the season.
One of those other contributors was George Hill, who finished the second innings with 3-32 from 14 overs.
“I thought we were fantastic all day,” said McGrath. “We tried everything.
“Ben Cliff and Matthew Revis were brilliant just before tea and after. There were lots of plays and misses, lots of appeals. It just didn’t quite go our way, and sometimes that’s how it goes.
“I think, also, you’ve got to give Warwickshire some credit. The way Sam Hain, Beau Webster and Ed Barnard batted, they were very good.
“In terms of our cricket, we followed up a good four days against Surrey with a good performance against another of the title contenders. We pretty much dominated for every session.
“I think we’ve got to be ready for Leicestershire (on Friday) now because I think it’ll be a result pitch down there.”
Yorkshire will be able to choose two of three overseas players down at Grace Road, with Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Logan van Beek all available. Only Hassan played here.
The likes of George Hill, Jack White and Ben Coad, who didn’t play here having been injured, will all be assessed ahead of that game.
McGrath explained: “Obviously, George and Jack White haven’t played for three weeks for niggles and family reasons for Jack, so we’ll have to see how they pull up. It’s great that Coady’s played. He didn’t get much cricket in last week with the rain at Sheffield.
“We’ll have to assess how he is.”
Coad has taken five wickets on a fast moving day one of a second-team game against Essex at Weetwood today.
Clearly Yorkshire’s standout performer in this game was Luxton, and McGrath added: “He played beautifully. I thought composure was the word for him in the first innings.
“I think we all know what a good talent he is as a player. He’s cracked the white-ball game in terms of he’s in the team regularly. Red-ball, he’s been wanting to get in and find a position. He’s played really, really well there in both innings.
“I think we’ve seen his stroke-play, but I thought he was very measured how he played. He went through the gears really, really well. It’s a really good sign for him.”