Thomas rings in changes for Yorkshire
After watching the Yorks 2nd XI lose to Mashonaland, manager Greg Thomas announced the changes to the First Class side that will no doubt surprise some pundits.
First is the dropping of P Laker. The fast bowler had been the pick of the quicks for the opening rounds but of late has fallen off.
"He confided in me that's he been having a bit of problems at home, which has affected his playing. I was still undecided on whether I should drop him or give him another chance but after his reuqest I thought 'fair enough' and told him to take some time off and come back fresh and have a go in the seconds" he said, "In his place, Zahid Saeed gets a much deserved call up. he's been a real gun in the second XI and I think he'll be a great new ball partner with Evans."
Excellent form; Saeed is in the 1st XI for the match with Guyana.
Second is the dropping on P Marsden. Though no real surprise, as his form as been poor, it was his replacement that raised a few eyebrows.
"Fans were coming up to me in the streets telling me Yashpal should be in for Marsdy. There's no denying Yashpals been in great form in the seconds, and he was considered but Kripal Singh has been in better form and I don't know why a lot of people ignore" he said.
"I also think a lot of them tend to forget Yashpal's poor run in the one day side. I'm looking at a position change for him there, though. Number four doesn't seem to be the ideal position for him" he added.
Third is Dawn's move down the order, from the opening position to number five.
"Michael Dawn's move wasn't, actually, my idea. Michael approached me after the cup match and said he'd rather be down the order" he assured us.
"Watching him, he's been in touch in the nets and batting at number three in one day matches. He's had great success there so far this season so when he said he wanted to move down the order, I thought it'd be to number three. He surprised me by saying that 'Martin (Love) has been batting solidly at three and I don't want to disrupt him, Tendulkar's been on fire at four and Marsden's been dropped from the middle order, and I'd like to bat there to get a good feel for the innings'."
With the promotion of Kripal Singh - an opener - to the first XI, you would think he would be first choice for the openers slot.
"Not at all" says Thomas.
"Like I said, Kripal's in great form but he's just earned promotion. Lou (Vincent) has struggled a bit but I think that's due to batting so low. I don't think he really knows his role down the order so I'm giving him a shot at opening. Hopefully he'll do us proud over the next few matches but if not, we can always promote Kripal Singh, can't we?" he says with a wink.
Lou Vincent will open alongside Agnew.
Yorks 1st XI to take on Guyana (in batting order): K Agnew, L Vincent (wk), M Love, W Tendulkar, M Dawn (c), M Jayawardene, R Kripal Singh, R Silva, F Evans, Z Saeed, D Kaneria (vc).