Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2013

30 Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society September 2011 – sheer misery in the corridors of Headingley as Yorkshire slumped into the second division of cricket’s County Championship. A dire season ended in relegation and sweeping changes followed. The Club’s coaching staff faced the full weight of the cull as Chairman, Colin Graves, expressed his disappointment at a season where Yorkshire fell from grace. Director of Cricket, Martyn Moxon, was instructed to restore Yorkshire’s fortunes – and quickly. Former Australian great, Jason Gillespie, was signed up to take on first team coaching duties and the vastly experienced Paul Farbrace took control of the second team. Gillespie, a former Yorkshire player, banned all talk about the horrible season of 2011 and preached unity and strength to the camp. Those not rowing in the same direction were given the hard word. An uneasy alliance with pace bowler Ajmal Shahzad reached breaking point and a loan move was set up with roses neighbours Lancashire. The season started with a shaky performance against Kent and a potential victory over Essex was ruled out by the weather. The first victory arrived at Scarborough against a poor Leicestershire side and weeks later a notable win was achieved as Yorkshire chased down 400 to win at Bristol. Phil Jacques and Gary Ballance both blasted centuries and the season was alive. Over the next few months, Yorkshire continued to impress but all counties were facing an uphill battle against the elements. The rain fell and fell as game after game was ruined. Yorkshire scorer, John Potter kept the media up to speed with the soggy news that Yorkshire had lost more than 2,100 overs during the Championship season of 2012. There was some consolation – everybody was in the same boat, so to speak. Perhaps “up Back on Top in Style David Callaghan Jason Gillespie Paul Farbrace David Miller Mitchell Starc