Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Year Book 2014

12 Having had the opportunity to look back on the 2013 season, the consensus around Headingley is that this current Yorkshire side is capable of dominating county cricket over the next few years. In the County Championship, we performed admirably and to finish second to a very good Durham side was a great effort. With a little more application next year I feel we can go one better. The shorter form of the game was disappointing and there will be a lot of soul searching amongst the players and coaches during the winter months. I can assure our followers that we will improve and will not see a repeat of 2013 where we fell well short of our high standards in T20 and 40- over cricket. The efforts of the White Rose were worlds apart this year, but the core players have hardened themselves in their roles and have been rewarded. While to some extent it is a double edged sword – we have brought on some truly brilliant players who can assist the county in our campaigns, but they are also summoned by England to perform on the ultimate platform thus leaving us with gaps to fill. The youths that are beginning to come through the ranks – everyone remembers 15-year-old Matthew Fisher making his debut in the YB40 match against Leicestershire at Scarborough in June – are proving to be worth the early investment. They will allow for smooth transitions from the above and the nature of their training means they should boost our limited overs performances next year. We worked hard in 2012 to get promoted back to Division One and our County Championship performance was consistently brilliant time and time again. Admittedly we, as with every team, found ourselves with more drawn results than the we would have liked, but the team performances could rarely be knocked. With overseas star Kane Williamson secured for next season and batting and bowling talent developing nicely, we will have another big season in 2014. LV County Championship We started the season off with a conclusive defeat from Sussex at home but then fought back more than admirably as we cemented our position in the up echelons of Division One. As the pressure grew though our performance took a dip slightly and when we met Champions-to-be Durham at Scarborough late in the season, we came out second best and they edged ahead in the first move towards ultimate victory. Yorkshire Bank 40 Despite not being given the most testing groups, we struggled to establish ourselves in the 40-over competition. We won just three of our 12 games and finished in the penultimate position with Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ Society Almost but not quite... Photos courtesy SWPIX twitter: @scloverssociety