Captain Marvel

By Gary Watton
June 14 2013

Well, well, well, would you Adam and Eve it, but Yorkshire have just gone and given Middlesex a jolly old spanking in their own backyard. Having lorded it at Lord's over the men from the metropolis, suddenly a Yorkshire County Championship triumph is gathering the kind of momentum that journeys from joke, to possibility, to more than just a possibility. Much cricket must be played between now and mid-September, but right now the white rose is blossoming. 

So who must be thanked for the current success? The first round of applause ought to be allocated to the rookie opener Alex Lees whose maiden first-class century, albeit compiled painstakingly, is a real shot in the arm for this latest member of Yorkshire's apparent assembly line of talented young cricketers. Lees needs to conquer the old enemy of inconsistency if he is to thrive in first-class cricket, but this ton will work wonders for his confidence.

Meanwhile, Andrew Gale, who must have wondered not so long ago where his next fifty was coming from, has suddenly become a born-again batsman, as he followed up his gobsmacking 272 last week with another century in London. He is also unquestionably the most talented individual at correctly guessing the toss of the coin. Adil Rashid yet again cashed in with a commendable fifty, to supplement his trio of tons already. Gee, this Yorkshire batting line-up is a box of pleasant surprises. Considering that they have to swim in the absence of such life-jackets as Bairstow, Ballance, and Joe Root, not to mention cope with the under-achieving Jaques and Sayers, then Yorkshire's progress with the bat this spring and early summer is frankly astounding.

As mentioned, one dearly hopes that Phil Jaques will eventually jettison his party trick of getting dismissed after he has played himself in. Otherwise he himself ought to be jettisoned. An eviction order needs to be served on this particular Australian at the end of the season. As for Joe Sayers, one can only sigh at his latest failure. Coming so soon after his half century in a limited-overs knock, there was optimism that he might find a middle-order berth more to his liking. Well, the evidence of that is not yet compelling, shall we say!

What of Middlesex? Well, I am really surprised that they have been top of the tree. It perhaps doesn't say much about the English county scene that they have been a dominant force of late. They are several players short of a good team, to put it politely! Yorkshire clearly have nothing to fear from them, if a ten wicket rout is anything to judge by.

Finally, Yorkshire's bowlers deserve a standing ovation for also excelling in the absence of a number of esteemed comrades. Bresnan, Brooks, and Azeem Rafiq could easily slot into the first XI or indeed any county first XI, but their talents were not missed here as the returning Plunkett weighed in with a few wickets. Rashid reminded us that he can produce a five for, and Steven Patterson continues to demonstrate that he is a better bowler [perhaps far better bowler] than big Brezza.

As the Tykes near the time when they must strut their stuff in the Twenty20 tournament, they must be kind of wishing that their advance towards a possible Championship wasn't about to be so rudely interrupted. Oh well, regardless of the players that are unavailable, the white rose clearly enjoy strength in depth, and their squad is proving to be more than a match for anyone.......... thus far. 

Middlesex versus YORKSHIRE; at Lord's; 11-14 June 2013; YORKSHIRE won the toss.

YORKSHIRE first innings; 390 (Gale 103, Lees 100, Rashid 72; Rayner 3-44, Harris 3-48, Murtagh 3-93)

Middlesex first innings: 175 (Berg 54; Patterson 4-39, Plunkett 4-50)

Middlesex second innings: 219 (Rashid 5-78)

YORKSHIRE second innings: 7 for 0

YORKSHIRE win by seven wickets; Middlesex 2 points, YORKSHIRE 22 points