Yorkshire have expressed their strong displeasure with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over star batsman Jonny Bairstow being denied permission to play in their final County Championship match of the season against Middlesex at Lord’s. With Yorkshire needing to win to have any chance of securing their third consecutive Championship on the trot, they have been left devastated by ECB’s stance despite the player himself expressing his desire to play.
"The Yorkshire County Cricket Club would like to express its disappointment after the ECB refused the club's request for Jonny Bairstow to participate in the final Specsavers County Championship fixture of the season," a statement issued by Yorkshire said.
"Yorkshire members, supporters and other stakeholders in the game will wonder why this permission has been refused. Having been rested for 16 days since he last played for England, Bairstow said he felt refreshed and wanted to play for Yorkshire against Middlesex at Lord's, where the club has the opportunity of winning three successive County Championships, a feat last achieved almost 50 years ago."
Yorkshire are particularly angered by the double standards being shown by the ECB with many other national team players being allowed to play for their respective Counties. Even the efforts by Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire's director of cricket, who met directly with England coach Trevor Bayliss and Andrew Strauss, the England director of cricket, failed to provide any answers.
"Moxon works closely with England due to the fact that six players from Yorkshire have represented their country regularly over the last 12 months. Bayliss' approach has been to see how the player feels, and this was respected when Bairstow said that he needed a rest after the Royal London One-Day Series,” the statement further read.
"To put matters into context, other centrally contracted players who are soon to tour Bangladesh and India with England, have been allowed to represent their county in critical matches. Bairstow has played five days of cricket in five weeks since the Kia Oval Test match, which finished on Sunday August 14."
A victory over Middlesex might still not be enough for Yorkshire should Somerset win their game against Nottinghamshire and secure one more point than their Championship rivals in the process.
Controversy over Adil Rashid’s decision to opt out of the match
Another Yorkshire player who would not be featuring for the crucial match would be Adil Rashid with the England off-spinner requesting to be rested ahead of the upcoming tour of Bangladesh where he has been picked for both the ODI and Test squads.
"Adil Rashid has requested to be rested ahead of a busy winter schedule with England," the Yorkshire statement read.
While Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie, who will be stepping down at the end of the match did not hold back in expressing his anger at the player’s decision, skipper Andrew Gale was more diplomatic in his response.
"I'm obviously frustrated about Rash and I said to him I hope he doesn't regret the decision he has made. But I fully respect his decision. He has played a lot of cricket and he feels he needs a rest," Gillespie said.
Gale posted his views on Twitter taking a sly dig at Rashid for not standing up for his teammates.
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