YCCSA Speaker Evening Dave Callaghan- a Review of Yorkshire’s Season 2015 David started off the evening by stating that the last two years had been A+ for Yorkshire in the County Championship. The Championship had been won back to back but the season of 2015 had been better than the first Championship because Yorkshire had lost so many of their best players for long stretches of the season. For instance no fewer than 6 players had been taken to the West Indies by the ECB and gallingly only two had appeared in Test Matches. The season had begun in spectacular fashion in Abu Dhabi where Yorkshire showed great determination in walloping a strong MCC side. Dave accompanied this tour but modestly said that it was hot work but “someone had to do it!” He believes that this tour will be held in Sri Lanka in the future because of spiralling costs. The first Championship match had been at Worcester, against a newly promoted side, who for two days matched Yorkshire. However, on day 3 they must have realised what a tremendous task lay ahead of them and became traumatised, collapsing in their second innings trying to defend their position. The only downside was the injury sustained by Ryan Sidebottom which kept him on the sidelines for a few weeks. This was followed by two draws against Notts and Warwickshire, two strongly fancied sides to depose the Champions. This was when the depredations of the ECB had been at their height. To counter this Dave suggested that there were positive factors which adjusted the balance. Primarily there was the announcement that Jason Gillespie would not be offered the England coaching job, despite that fact that he had experienced only four defeats in 64 Championship matches. Dave firmly believes, as do most of us, that eventually he will move on to the international scene, despite the fact that his family are well settled in Yorkshire, the recommendation is that we should enjoy his career whilst he is available to us! Another key factor in the early season success was the excellence of the support staff, although success had led to the departure of Paul Farbrace to the England Camp and Richard Dawson to his adopted County Gloucestershire. At least that had led to the return of a familiar face, the ever popular Anthony McGrath. As the season developed the key factor in success was the performance of the bowlers. Ryan Sidebottom returned, fitter than ever and his tremendous feat of taking three Middlesex wickets in the first over at Lords was much to be applauded. Stephen Patterson proved, once again, to be the model of consistency, Tim Bresnan put in some useful performances although the feature of the season was the development of his batting. Jack Brooks continued to take wickets in abundance despite the fact that he was a little expensive at times. Liam Plunkett obtained some spectacular results, bowling at a very lively pace, when he was not called up for England duty. Adil Rashid continued to give sterling service in the spin department and produced some good batting displays. The batting displays were not quite so consistent or spectacular, with the notable exception of Johnny Bairstow who, at one point in the season averaged over 100. Generally though, someone turned up to get the side out of trouble and pleasingly it was not always the same person. Johnny Bairstow was joined in a wonderful partnership of 300+ by Tim Bresnan at the Riverside against a strongly fancied Durham side. Many sincerely believe that the Durham lads were so traumatised by the event that the rest of their season did not match up to expectations. Another rescue job was achieved by Andrew Gale and the ever improving Jack Leaning in the match against Notts at Trent Bridge. Further success was evidenced by the demolition of Somerset and the defeat of Warwickshire at Edgbaston. These efforts had inspired a confidence that 2016 would bring further success. However, all was not sweetness and light during the season. Yorkshire continued to disappoint in the T20 competition and this must be addressed in the coming months. The message is that T20 is here to stay because of the financial implications and its potential as an earner has been enhanced by the installation of the floodlights which mean that games can start at a later time and battling through the Leeds traffic becomes more manageable. Certainly there has been an increase in attendances since their introduction. Unquestionably the T20 was disappointing especially as the much vaunted Australian representatives did not come up to the mark. Finch was let down by injury and Maxwell only proved what a gifted player he is towards the end of his stay with the County. Yorkshire has now brought in David Willey a highly promising young all- rounder whose father played for England before becoming a well respected umpire. As usual the detractors are questioning the wisdom of bringing in players from outside as they fear it could inhibit the development of young players. However, be that as it may, the wise managers will take stock and realise that Ryan Sidebottom is now 37 years of age and cannot be expected to go on forever. Additionally a lot of the seam bowlers are over 30 and plans must be laid down for the future. David Willey, as a left handed paceman is seen as an ideal replacement for Ryan and this will still leave room for the inclusion of young bowlers in a more protected environment, where they will not bear the brunt of the attack. In the 50 over competition there was hope that Yorkshire could go all the way to the final but again disappointment was felt. The key factor was the Gloucester match where Yorkshire’s performance was completely overshadowed by Klinger and Marshall. It was concluded that Jack Brooks should have played in that match due to his wicket taking ability. Some firm facts have emerged from 2015: - It is now realised that Joe Root, so rarely seen in Yorkshire, is now a world class player, rated first in the ICC Test ratings. Whilst everyone wishes him well it is accepted that his appearances for Yorkshire will be almost non-existent. Johnny Bairstow is now laying claim to an England place and even if he fails he will be on the periphery of the squad, liable to be called up as a replacement. Dave spared a thought for Gary Ballance who many thought was unlucky to lose his England place, although most believe that he will eventually regain his status. Concern was also expressed for Adam Lyth; one is now tempted to ask the question has his chance now gone? Adam remains optimistic and is an exciting player to watch, one would be wise not to discount him too prematurely. Jack Leaning has put in some outstanding performances and should make further progress next year. Will Rhodes has proved he is one for the future and is greatly admired by Dickie Bird. Dickie’s latest exploit occurred on the West Indies trip when his aftershave was confiscated by HM Customs and Excise as it was not wrapped in a separate container. As the items disappeared into the waste bin Dickie was heard to moan that having just paid out £130,000 for the player’s balcony he could not afford to replace is toiletry items! Next season will see new challenges, notably for the newly promoted Lancashire and Surrey, although Dave suggested that the latter will be the greater. He recommends that the performances of the Curran brothers will be of great interest as will those of the Overton twin from Somerset. The season ended on a bright note that the fixture list was not reduced to 14 first class matches. He hoped that all aficionados will keep a weather eye on the progress of such proposals and make their feeling known to the powers that be. He stated that the structure of the Championship was not at fault but the schedule. There are 180 days available for cricket each season and the playing of all matches only fills 91 days. Such anomalies as the ordering of matches must be addressed, for instance Yorkshire had to travel from Scarborough to Derby then straight to the Oval to be back the next day for the fixture at Worcester. More regionalization must be reintroduced, especially to the 50 overs competition. All in all a very thought provoking evening and one which whetted the appetite for 2016. Certainly the forty or so attendees obtained good value for money and were left with points to mull over: - what will happen to Yorkshire if Adil is successful with England? Will Kane Williamson return as the overseas pro next season? Will it be possible to complete games under floodlight if there has been a curtailment in play. Dave was thanked most profusely and £49.50 was raised by the raffle. ASK 16th October 2015 .