Rudolph looks to the future

Jacques Rudolph scored a hundred in testing conditions against Notts © Getty Images

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Yorkshire’s player of the year Jacques Rudolph claims he was pleased with the way the 2008 season went for his club.

Despite falling into the relegation zone in the championship and a much-publicised expulsion from the Twenty20 Cup for fielding Azeem Rafiq, the former South Africa batsman believes Yorkshire have much of which to be proud.

“I think until halfway through the season we played very good cricket,” he told ecb.co.uk. “We were top of the table in the championship and we were in the running in the Friends Provident Trophy and the Twenty20.

“Then funnily, and strangely, after the Rafiq incident, we seemed to taper out a bit. That was a big disappointment for us. A bit of a morale de-boost, if I can call it that.”

Nevertheless, Yorkshire managed to gain promotion in the NatWest Pro40 and narrowly avoided the drop into Division Two of the championship after a high-scoring draw with Sussex in the last round of matches.

“I think we picked it up really well and played some very good cricket in the Pro40,” Rudolph agreed. “And we picked it up in the championship.

“Over the season we missed out on a couple of points which could have meant three or four fewer losses. With a little bit more points we could have been standing here with the trophy.”

Yorkshire have relied on their experienced middle-order pairing of Rudolph and Anthony McGrath to score most of their runs in the past couple of seasons, but Rudolph believes the future is bright.

“At times I felt it (pressure), but you get used to it,” he said. “We also had the experience of McGrath, and young (Adam) Lyth and the exuberance of their play.

“I think (Andrew) Gale in the next season could be a big player for us. And then someone like Adil Rashid is a top-class batsman. People aren’t actually understanding how good he is.

“In the last game against Sussex two young guys (Rashid and David Wainwright) showed a lot of character and got us back into the game.

Rudolph likes what he has seen of young Yorkshire opening batsman Andrew Gale in the past season

“Hopefully next year, when the guys are a bit older and have that added experience, that will work for us next season.”

Yorkshire got through by the skin of their teeth after claiming full bonus points in their final game of the season, to the relief of everyone involved with the club.

“Obviously it was massive,” Rudolph confirmed. “Yorkshire are a very big club and I think the last thing people wanted to see - and we have got a very big following - is us playing in the second division.

“I think from a personal development, you want to play the best teams in the first division.”

Rudolph relished the opportunity to pit himself against two of the best bowlers in the country, when he came up against Nottinghamshire at the end of April.

“If there was one innings that stands out for me, it is the hundred I made against Notts with Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad in the team,” he said.

“It was early on in the season, they had quite a good team and the ball was doing a bit. That was one of the innings I enjoyed.”

But Rudolph is not done yet.

“I said it when I arrived here - and knowing myself and my standards are pretty high - I’d like to do better next season,” he said.

“Luckily I have got the whole winter to go back and have a rest. I shall definitely come back fresh when I arrive in February.”

Bowlers, beware.