York Cricket Club are enjoying another hugely successful season, writes Henry Cowen.
Top of the table by 11 points, a cup semi-final to look forward to and a Twenty20 title already in the bag.
A big part of that has been leg-spinner Tom Pringle.
Arriving back at the club last year after a six-year hiatus, Pringle was pivotal in York’s record-breaking fourth consecutive title success, taking 72 wickets in all competitions at an average of 16.
This year has delivered more of the same from the ex-Yorkshire Academy player, with 54 wickets at 12 helping him to top the list of wicket-takers.
“I worked hard over the winter in order to carry on from my success last year,” said Pringle.
“Myself and Dan (Woods, York’s vice-captain and Pringle’s spin twin) wanted to replicate our 2010 form so we had to push in order to do that.”
Woods and Pringle have come together to form a deadly spin duo with the pair claiming a whopping 75 per cent of their side’s wickets in the league.
“Off the pitch we’re best mates,” explained Pringle.
“We live together and we played together at university for four years.
“We know each other’s bowling inside out.
“He keeps it very tight at one end which means we’re able to bowl very well in tandem.”
Pringle, whose time at Yorkshire was brought to an end due to the prominence of a certain Adil Rashid, is quick to heap praise on the other players in the side.
“We’ve (Pringle and Woods) often come on to bowl this year when the score has been very low, and that scoreboard pressure means we have been able to take advantage,” he said.
“Credit to our batsmen as well, we’ve been bowling with 250 to 300 runs on the board and that’s a massive help. It’s been really good.”
For a man who piles praise on his team-mates Pringle is modest about his own achievements, but he does admit to having some personal goals.
“I’ve got 58 wickets this year and 100 would be unbelievable,” he said.
“It would be a great achievement for me to get there.
“I’ve started to chip in a bit with the bat as well and it would be nice if I could get to 300 or 400 runs with the bat.”
With the Yorkshire League Twenty20 trophy already theirs, York are still fighting for success on three fronts.
“At the half-way stage of the season you start to look forward at what you might be able to achieve,” said Pringle.
“We’ve won the Twenty20, we’ve got a big semi-final against the Yorkshire Academy in the cup and we’re 11 points clear with 11 games to go in the league.
“We’re aiming for the domestic treble, and then there’s the National Club Twenty20 with the chance of a free trip to Barbados!”
Before Pringle can turn his eye to the beaches of Barbados he has to focus on Doncaster.
York’s league fixture this weekend is a home tie against the bottom of the table club but the leg-spinner is wary of underestimating his side’s opponents.
“There’s no easy fixtures, there’s some you look out for like Rotherham or Barnsley away but Doncaster are a capable side and we’ll have to be at our best to win. We’ll need to dig in and perform.”
There is only one change to the leaders’ line-up tomorrow, with captain Marcus Wood unavailable.
Andy Tute comes into the batting line-up, with Woods assuming the captaincy.
With Doncaster first on the agenda the plan is clear for Pringle and his team: “Our aim is to win all three domestic titles and to do well in the National Club Twenty20. I want to do as much for the team as possible.”
He’s certainly done that so far this season and if his form carries on those trophies might very well have York’s name on them.
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