Yorkshire Scene

Geoffrey Boycott has revealed his pleasure at Yorkshire’s encouraging start to their County Championship campaign.

As we approach the mid-season break for Twenty20, which comes after this week’s trip to face Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay, Yorkshire are firmly in the mix for promotion to Division One having remained unbeaten through their opening seven matches.

“I’m delighted for them,” admitted Boycott, the county’s new president.

“Once you get wins, it breeds confidence and confidence allows people to express their talent better, rather than if you’re at the bottom of the league like last year when you’re fighting against relegation.

“Tension creeps in and there’s more stress than ever. You can’t express yourself as well and we went down.

“If you turn it around the other way, it’s much better because you express yourself better when you’re playing in winning teams who have confidence and are going for wins.

“If we can get on a roll of winning matches, we obviously have a good chance.

“It’s like a rolling stone going down a hill. Once you set it off, it’s very difficult to stop it.”

Not surprisingly, success in the Championship is what the former England opening batsman values most, even though he admits to liking one-day and Twenty20 cricket.

Boycott said: “Our club is steeped in the history and tradition of winning Championships. That’s how it’s made its name, in producing winning Championship teams.

“I like Twenty20 and one-day cricket but most of us understand that Championship cricket and Test match cricket is a test of character, courage and ability.

“That’s what the members like and if that puts some of the players and coaching staff under pressure, so be it.

“Playing for Yorkshire means a bit of pressure. If you can’t handle that pressure, you shouldn’t be playing for Yorkshire.”