Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Lauren Winfield-Hill top-scored with 88 in a game which got away.
Yorkshire captain Lauren Winfield-Hill cut a frustrated figure after her side fell just short in a thrilling encounter with Essex at Headingley.
Half-centuries from Winfield-Hill and Sterre Kalis proved not to be enough for Yorkshire as the visitors won a see-saw game by just 13 runs, helped by an excellent fielding display and a lack of support for the hosts’ two experienced batters.
“I feel very frustrated,” said Winfield-Hill after the match.
“We’re very close to being a very good side and very competitive, but we’re not quite good enough in those big moments.
“It’s very disappointing, but it’s good that it hurts because we know we can be better and we could have been on the other side of two or three results already this season.
“But we are where we are, and we’re playing some good cricket.
“If we’d have said at the end of the first block of games we’d have played some of the cricket we have, we’d have been pretty happy. But it almost makes it more bitter.”
The skipper went on to add how she felt there was only so long Yorkshire could use the excuse of this being their first season in Tier One to disguise losing games from winning positions.
She said: “I struggle with it because I want to win, I’m a very competitive person, and I believe in this group so much.
“I have high expectations of us that probably other people don’t have, so I’m torn between thinking, ‘We’re doing some nice stuff’ and then thinking, ‘We could have had two more wins in our column’.
“I don’t think we should settle for just competing – we have to get better under pressure in big moments, and we have to improve in the field. There are obvious areas which we need to address.”
One of these areas, as aforementioned by Winfield-Hill, was the fielding, where Yorkshire were second best in this clash when contrasted with a brilliant performance from Essex.
“Fielding has been a real Achilles’ heel for us for the whole competition so far,” she said. “We dropped four catches in the last game, six in the first game and it feels like it’s not clinical or clean at the moment.
“It’s not through a lack of effort, but it’s where we’ve been found out most at the level above.
“We’re playing on flat outfields, and the ball comes at you hard and people are striking the ball harder. We have to be braver and get into better positions.
“It’s a big improvement area for us and something we’ve got to take up a notch.”