Flying start

10:02am Wednesday 16th July 2008

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Pakistan ace Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has urged Yorkshire to get off to a flyer in tonight’s NatWest Pro40 League division two opener against Essex at Chelmsford.

The Tykes will be aiming to put a turbulent month of action firmly behind them when they kick-start their assault on 40-over promotion.

Since going to the top of the County Championship table with a win over Somerset in early June, the White Rose county have tumbled out of two one-day competitions and slipped to two successive four-day defeats.

Quick bowler Rana said things need to change fast.

“It is a very big game for us,” he said. “It’s the first Pro40 game, so we will be trying to win it as much as possible. We have a good chance in the Pro40. We have a good one-day side. It is important to get off to a good start.”

Rana, a former Sussex speedster, has been blighted with injury over the last nine months. He signed a contract at Headingley with question marks over a shoulder problem, which he picked up playing for his former county.

He finally made his Yorkshire debut in a Championship match against Surrey at The Oval – but went down with a hamstring tear, and was subsequently ruled out for six weeks.

The 30-year-old then ironically returned to action in time for Yorkshire’s Friends Provident Trophy semi-final defeat against Essex the weekend before last.

And he made his four-day return with an impressive impact in the defeat against Kent, taking three wickets on Monday’s final day to give Yorkshire an outside chance of victory.

He trapped in-form South African Martin van Jaarsveld lbw and had big-hitting all-rounders Justin Kemp and Azhar Mahmood caught behind by Gerard Brophy.

There is no doubt Rana is not yet 100 per cent match fit following the hamstring injury. But in this case, the hectic nature of county cricket can only work in his favour.

He said: “It was nice to get some wickets against Kent. I’ve been out for a long time and I need more time bowling. I got some rhythm back though, so hopefully the next game I will feel even better.

“We have lots of cricket ahead of us, which is good for me. Not just the big one-day game at Essex, but then we have three County Championship games in a row. Hopefully, my bowling will improve even more.”