International Successes

It's always great to report good news stories. Even a Victor Meldrew like myself can occasionally express delight at the achievements of others. Well, four members of the Yorkshire squad have truly excelled on the international stage in recent weeks. Of course the flip side of their progress is that the white rose now must embrace the future with a depleted squad, on account of their success.

I am of course referring to the exploits of Ballance, Plunkett, Root, and honorary Yorkshireman Kane Williamson of New Zealand.

Kane has been soldiering on in the face of the challenge of the West Indies. Well Mr W has managed scores of 113 [and 2!] in the victorious first test in Jamaica, followed by 42 and 52 in the second-test defeat, supplemented by a good bowling effort that yielded one for 35 from fourteen overs. Well done KW.

Back in Blighty, Joe Root took all the headlines with his maiden double hundred against Sri Lanka at Lords - a venue which appears to be a happy hunting ground for the Tyke prodigy, as indeed it was previously for Michael Vaughan. Then, in the second innings of the first test, Gary Ballance joined in the fun with his maiden test century, which he remarkably recorded in only his second test. GB has subsequently added another good score in the second test at Leeds to demonstrate that he is no flash in the pan. There were questions raised as to whether Gary could cope with the number three slot, but he is quickly passing his audition as the new Trott. In fact Ballance's prowess has already invited comparison [from Jonathan Agnew] with the great Allan Border, no small compliment at all. I would like to know when was the last time that two Yorkshire players scored centuries in the same test match. Presumably one needs to travel back to the days of Boycott and chums in the 1960s perhaps in order to find the answer.

On top of all that, Liam Plunkett built upon his steady but unspectacular return to test cricket in north-west London with a marvellous performance at Headingley. At the time of writing, big Liam has helped himself to five first-innings wickets and four of the first seven wickets in the second innings. I had my doubts about Plunkett's test credentials, but LP looks to have cemented his place in the England XI for the rest of the summer. If he plays his cards right, he could be doing battle with Gary and Joe against those nice Aussies next summer.

Of course, their progress has impacted upon Yorkshire. The white rose now has to draw upon its reserves of strength to plug the gaps vacated by the considerable absence of the aforementioned quartet. Happily, Kane W will be returning to the north of England in July when his stint in the Caribbean is concluded after the forthcoming third and deciding test match. It is certainly a testimony to the county's strength in depth that it can survive and even thrive against the adversity of the loss of four key members of the first XI.