Yorkshire veteran Sidebottom set to sit out Pro40 action (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Yorkshire veteran Ryan Sidebottom set to sit out Pro40 action

8:00pm Friday 8th March 2013 in Sport

Ryan Sidebottom could be rested from 40-over cricket this summer in a bid to keep him fresh for the County Championship and Twenty20 competitions.

The ex-England left-arm swing bowler is preparing for his 17th season in county cricket by flying to Barbados on Monday for Yorkshire’s pre-season tour.

Despite the winter signings of Jack Brooks and Liam Plunkett, the superb form of Steve Patterson and the emergence of Moin Ashraf in 2012, Sidebottom is still the leader of the Championship attack.

The 2010 World Twenty20 winner is also a crucial part of the Vikings’ 20-over team.

But to be able to maintain his high standards in those two formats throughout a hectic summer, he believes he has to sacrifice his 40-over place.

“I might not play too much Pro40 this year and stick to the Twenty20s and four-day stuff, which will give me a bit more rest,” said the 35-year-old, who has two years remaining on his existing White Rose deal.

“The county season is very hectic with a lot of games and travelling. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

“You look at people like Ryan Giggs in football, who’s still going strong.

“Then there’s Glen Cha-pple, Andre Adams and Alan Richardson. There’s still a number of bowlers a few years older than me performing very well.

“I’m still loving it – the playing, the training, all of it. Obviously the legs are getting a bit older, but I still feel like I can contribute.”

Yorkshire will spend a fortnight in the Caribbean, where they will play two-day and Twenty20 cricket.

Their opening match against county opposition is a repeat of last August’s Friends Life t20 final against Hampshire next Saturday.

“We’ve worked really hard this winter on our fitness,” added Sidebottom. “The guys are fit as fiddles. We performed really well out there last year and set the tone for the rest of the season. Hopefully this year’s no different.

“We’ve sat down and looked at what we need to improve on as a team and as individuals, and Barbados is another important step to doing well.”

Yorkshire squad: Andrew Gale (c), Moin Ashraf, Jack Brooks, Ben Coad, Andrew Hodd, Dan Hodgson, Phil Jaques, Jack Leaning, Alex Lees, Adam Lyth, Steve Patterson, Liam Plunkett, Richard Pyrah, Azeem Rafiq, Gurman Randhawa, Adil Rashid, William Rhodes, Joe Sayers, Lewis Stabler, Ryan Sidebottom, James Wainman, Iain Wardlaw.

Schedule: Wednesday, 13 March: Inter-squad two-day match; Saturday, 16: Yorkshire v Hampshire, Barbados Twenty20 Cup; Sunday, 17: Barbados Twenty20 Cup Finals Day; Tuesday, 19: Yorkshire v Northamptonshire, two-day match; Friday, 22: Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire, two-day match.