Mistakes have made us stronger: Moxon

By Graham Hardcastle

Director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon is confident that Yorkshire’s players have learned from their mistakes in 2011 as they begin preparations for another campaign in the LV= County Championship’s top division next summer.

The White Rose county, tipped by many to win the title two summers ago, suffered relegation amidst a raft of poor performances from star players and problems occurring off the field with the coaching staff.

Moxon subsequently moved aside to allow Jason Gillespie to take up the role of first-team coach and Paul Farbrace as the second-team coach, a move which sparked a drastic improvement in performances last summer.

Yorkshire gained promotion from Division Two, despite being severely hit by wet weather, as well reaching the final of the Friends Life t20 and subsequently qualifying for the Champions League in South Africa. With new signings Jack Brooks and Liam Plunkett on board, Yorkshire are now aiming for silverware in their 150th anniversary year.

“Maybe sometimes you have to take one step back to take two forward,” admitted Moxon. “Relegation wasn’t something we planned, but we did bounce back quickly and react positively.

“I think relegation made us realise that we can’t just turn up and expect to win. We all got a kick up the backside I suppose. The important thing was how we reacted to that, which we did last summer.

“Hopefully now we can go from strength to strength. I think, going into Division One, people will be looking out for us. We’re going to have to be at our best. We can’t rest on our laurels after last summer because we want sustained success. We want to do it for years to come and not just a season here and there.”

Yorkshire will put the finishing touches to their preparations for next summer with a pre-season tour of Barbados, starting on March 11. But it is still unclear whether experienced batsman Anthony McGrath will be joining them. McGrath is out of contract at Headingley, and discussions over his future are still ongoing.




Date: 28/11/2012 14:35:50 by Graham Hardcastle
In: Yorkshire | Today |