Beware the Bears is Moxon’s message to Yorkshire
YORKSHIRE director of cricket Martyn Moxon is warning that bottom club Warwickshire will not be a walkover.
Warwickshire were relegated last week when they lost by an innings against champions Essex.
It was their eighth defeat in 12 County Championship games – five of them by an innings, including Yorkshire’s victory at Edgbaston in April.
It has been a tough campaign for an ageing Bears side, which includes former England stars Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott, but Moxon insists that Yorkshire must not take them lightly as they battle to avoid joining them in the Second Division.
“Given decent weather and us playing as well as we can, it’s a game we can win, but it’s not a given,” said Moxon, whose fifthplaced side go into their penultimate match two places and one point above the relegation zone.
“Warwickshire have had a disappointing season, but they’ve still got some very good players in their team.
“The pressure is off them in a way (after relegation), but we’ve just got to look after our own game and play to our capabilities.
“We’re going to have to play very well and that’s all we can look to do – play to our best.”
Moxon believes that Yorkshire will probably need one more win to stay up, with the club finishing their season next week against Essex at Chelmsford.
The table is more congested than Spaghetti Junction at rush hour, with just 13 points separating third-placed Surrey from seventh-placed Middlesex.
“I think we’ll probably need one more win, but it all depends on other results,” said Moxon, with Yorkshire chasing their first Championship victory since midJune when they beat Somerset by three runs at Taunton – a result that could yet prove decisive.
“Somebody’s going to win somewhere in the next couple of weeks given decent weather, but what we’re not going to do this week is start talking about must win, have to win, got to win, and so on,” he added.
“We’re going into this game with the message of let’s carry on doing what we’ve been doing in the last couple of matches and play like we have for the last two weeks.
“The lads are showing their desire and character, and if we play to our capabilities, we can win both games.”
After a two-day defeat to Essex at Scarborough that marked the low point of their season, Yorkshire have bounced back encouragingly in their last two fixtures.
Beset by batting problems all summer, they responded with an impressive 358 in the first innings of a rain-ruined game against Middlesex at Headingley and followed that up with totals of 394 and 281-2 in last week’s draw against Surrey at The Oval.
“From a batting point of view now we’re in a good place,” said Moxon.
“We’ve had back-to-back games where we’ve batted well, and we’ve just got to keep that going.
“There’s a more over-my-deadbody approach with the batting and the confidence has returned.
“The lads have kind of remembered how they score their runs, and long may it continue.”
Following the Essex defeat, Yorkshire had a longer than usual break between games, allowing them to hone in on their batting troubles and undertake some vital soul-searching.
Throughout the season, Moxon has been adamant that the problem has been one of “mindset” as opposed to talent, saying that Yorkshire just needed to be more disciplined and dogged in their approach.
There have been signs in the last fortnight that the penny is starting to drop, with the likes of Alex Lees, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Jack Leaning and Andrew Hodd among those who have made valuable contributions.
The batting is also boosted for the last two games by the arrival of Kraigg Brathwaite, who scored 134 and 95 in the West Indies’ fivewicket victory in the recent Headingley Test and who replaces Shaun Marsh, who has returned home for the Australian domestic campaign.
“Kraigg is looking forward to it and, hopefully, he’ll have a good time with us and score some runs,” said Moxon.
“The runs he got in the Headingley Test will stand him in good stead, and that’s one of the reasons why we wanted him to come – the fact that he’s scored runs at Headingley.
“That should give him confidence, and he’s someone who puts a value on his wicket, which is what we’ve been banging on about for three years now.
“He’s got all the right credentials and he’s been with us for a week or so now and got to know all the lads.”
For Moxon, the key to success remains the same as ever – taking each match ball-by-ball, sessionby-session, and not being distracted by the final outcome.
“We’ve got to make sure that we don’t look at the bigger picture,” he said.
“As we said in the dressing room after The Oval, it’s all about the process of batting and the way we go about it.
“If we go about it right, the results will look after themselves.”