The Twelfth Man 2014

! 4 I t!appears!Yorkshire!is!somewhat!riding!the! crest!of!a!sporting!wave!of!late.!Few!will!forget! the!unparalleled!success!of!the!county!of!the! London!2012!Olympic!Games!and!the!arrival!of! the!world’s!most!famous!cycling!race,!the!Tour!de! France,!brought!even!more!sporting!euphoria.! However,!one!of!the!most!profound!and! promising!sight!is!the!rate!at!which!the!Yorkshire! production!line!is!supplying!the!England!cricket! team.!! Few!feelings!surpass!that!of!watching!a!23MyearM old!Joe!Root!stroke!his!way!to!Test!matches! centuries!with!ease.!Standing!on!the!Headingley! terraces!as!a!babyMfaced!Root!held!aloft!bat!and! helmet!having!reached!his!maiden!Test!century! on!home!soil!was!a!moment!to!savour.!Since!then,! of!course,!the!SheffieldMborn!batsman!has!gone!to! have!his!named!etched!on!the!Lord’s!honours! board!not!once,!but!twice;!scoring!180!against! Australia!in!2013!before!adding!a!double!century! against!Sri!Lanka!in!2014.!! Root’s!unbeaten!154!in!England’s!opening!Test! against!India!at!Trent!Bridge!in!2014!displayed! maturity!far!beyond!his!years.!With!the!hosts!in!a! dire!state,!Root!forged!a!recordMbreaking!10 th ! wicket!stand!with!James!Anderson!as!England! clawed!themselves!to!respectability!before! Alastair!Cook!shook!hands!on!a!draw!on!the!final! day.!! Cook!himself!is!a!man!under!great!scrutiny.! Whether!you!remain!in!camp!Cook!or!have! become!dismayed!with!recent!events!on!the! international!stage,!I!for!one,!support!the!notion! that!Root!could!well!be!an!England!captain!in!the! making.!! Although,!Root!is!not!alone!in!the!England! dressing!room!when!it!comes!to!Yorkshire! colleagues.!Gary!Ballance!now!has!four!Tests! under!his!belt!with!an!average!of!49.50,!while!the! return!of!seamer!Liam!Plunkett!to!the! international!fraternity!is!yet!further!testament! to!excellent!work!being!carried!out!by!Yorkshire! coach!Jason!Gillespie!and!director!of!cricket! Martyn!Moxon.!! The!coaching!structure!currently!in!place!at! Headingley!Carnegie!is!paving!the!path!for!what! appears!an!exceptionally!promising!future!and! seeing!Yorkshire!soaring!in!all!formats!of!the! game!brings!little!but!delight.!In!the!past,!been!a! supplier!to!the!England!team!have!been!a!loveM hate!matter!for!Yorkshire!fans,!as!the!cost!of! internationals!honours!has!too!often!been! domestic!shortfalls.!! No!longer!the!case!it!would!appear.!As!I!script! this,!my!first!editorial!for!the!Twelfth!Man,! Yorkshire!stand!at!the!LV=!County!Championship! Division!One!summit!and!are!on!the!verge!of!the! NatWest!t20!Blast!quarterMfinals.!After!a! breakthrough!season!in!2013,!20MyearMold!Alex! Lees!has!continued!where!he!left!off!and!now!has! six!First!Class!centuries!to!his!name!at!an!average! just!short!of!50.!! The!blend!of!youth!and!experience!continues!to! pay!dividends!for!Gillespie!as!elder!statesman! Ryan!Sidebottom!–!described!at!a!WCLS!evening! by!the!Yorkshire!coach!as!his!‘Rolls!Royce’!–! delivers!at!crucial!junctures!for!the!White!Rose! county.!While!spin!options!may!be!an!issue!for! the!England!team,!Yorkshire!have!less!of!a! struggle!with!Adil!Rashid!back!in!wicketMtaking! form!while!Barnsley’s!Azeem!Rafiq!continues!to! excel!whenever!presented!with!the!opportunity.!! Rafiq,!a!former!Wombwell!award!winner!who! returned!to!visit!the!Society!this!year,!captained! England!at!Under!19!level!and!has!also!led! Yorkshire!in!t20!cricket;!could!he!answer! England’s!call!one!day?!Following!in!Rafiq’s! footsteps!is!another!homegrown!talent,!Will! Rhodes,!who!captained!England!Under!19s!at!this! year’s!World!Cup.!! AllMrounder!Rhodes!led!from!the!front!as!England! made!their!way!to!the!semiMfinals,!where!they! were!beaten!by!Pakistan,!and!there!were!also! invaluable!batting!contributions!from!fellow! Yorkshireman!Jonny!Tattersall.!Their!success,! along!with!callMups!for!Karl!Carver,!Society!guest! Matt!Fisher!and!Josh!Shaw!for!the!Under!19! series!against!South!Africa,!will!have!been!well! documented!by!Gillespie!and!the!prospect!of!First! Class!debuts!for!the!England!ageMgroup!quintet! fills!the!Headingley!terraces!with!even!more! promise.!!