Five reasons for Yorkshire's resurgence in the County Championship

#2 Newbies stepping up to the plate

Alex Lees (L) and Jack Leaning are two of Yorkshire’s best young players

The perfect team is all about balance. Balance between batsmen and bowlers, the traditional and the innovative, and the old and the young. In the case of Yorkshire, all of the above are prevalent. Yorkshire has found it in itself to trust their younger players to perform, and they have. At times, they have been preferred over the old hands at crucial junctures, and they have stood up every single time.

Take the case of young Alex Lees. Just 22 years old, he has been given the tough job of opening under the swinging conditions of the English countryside – a job that several professionals have had trouble dealing with. But Lees doesn’t complain, he just goes about his job as usual. He has scored an impressive 670 runs this season, with one century and four half centuries.

Partnering Adam Lyth, Lees has led Yorkshire out of trouble many times, preferring to play the role of the orthodox opener and blunt the bowling attack. Lees has also been awarded the captaincy of the Yorkshire One-Day squad, which goes to show that the team awards its best performers.

Another young performer is batsman Jack Leaning, who plays at No. 3. Leaning is Yorkshire’s second highest scorer in the league, with 794 runs in 13 matches. He has 3 centuries and 2 half-centuries in the league, which shows his contribution to the team as part of the top order. Leaning is also a brilliant fielder, with 17 catches to his name – the highest for Yorkshire.

There are other youngsters as well – teenager Marcus Fisher who bowls superbly in the 50-over format for Yorkshire and is tipped to play tests next season, and Toby Roland-Jones who scored his maiden century recently. Individually, they might look young and inexperienced, but make no mistake. They form a vital cog in the well oiled machine that is Yorkshire.