Jason Gillespie says his Yorkshire players should have no problems making the quick adjustment from Championship cricket to Twenty20 ahead of tomorrow night’s NatWest Blast opener against reigning champions Northamptonshire at Headingley.
A lot is made of the hectic county schedule and how difficult it is for players to switch from one format to the other within a matter of days.
But White Rose coach Gillespie does not subscribe to that view, and he has played down such concerns.
“These guys are professional cricketers,” said the Australian.
“There is a term that’s come into cricket in the last few years, and people talk about red-ball and white-ball skills. I just think it’s a cricket ball. They are cricket skills. I think they are transferrable between the games.
“There are yorkers bowled in the longer form of the game, there are slower balls, bouncers and big hits. They are not just confined to white-ball cricket.
“I think skills are absolutely transferrable - it’s more the mindset that’s different.
“I think in one-day cricket, there’s a real attitude about it. You have to have a really positive, aggressive attitude to one-day cricket, and we’ll certainly be taking that into it as best we can.”
Gillespie is obviously keen for a strong start against a Northants side who surprised many last year.
But he insists it is not the be all and end all if the Vikings slip up against the Steelbacks.
“I think we lost our first game in 2012 and made finals day,” he added. “People say you have to start well, but you have to finish well as well.
“Having said that, of course it would be great to start off with a win. Our goal is to win every game. Whether that’s achievable or not, we don’t know.”
Gillespie can call upon all of his international players tomorrow, apart from overseas batsman Aaron Finch.
He will recall Ryan Sidebottom, having rested him from this week’s Championship win over Warwickshire, although Azeem Rafiq is a notable omission.
Yorkshire squad (v Northants, 5.30pm): Gale (captain), Bairstow, Ballance, Bresnan, Brooks, Hodd, Lyth, Plunkett, Pyrah, Rashid, Root, Sidebottom, Williamson.
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