Poor Gerard Brophy, he must be wondering what he has to do to get a mention in the end of season awards. If he’d managed to stay fit all summer he probably would, but even with injured hands sidelining him for large parts of June and July, he still managed his best ever first-class return.

It wasn’t just the quantity of runs that impressed this season but the fact he played so many important innings when Yorkshire where in danger of total capitulation. Coming in four wickets down, the half centuries against Durham away, and home to Sussex, Lancashire and Warwickshire allowed us to overcome top order collapse and claw our way to first innings parity, or better. While the final day unbeaten 51 at home to Nottinghamshire was made when we still had to avoid an innings defeat.  All innings played under pressure, all innings needed to help us avoid defeat.

His keepings where it’s always been – the occasional fumble that you don’t get from the Foster’s and Read’s of this world, but in general pretty solid, particularly up to the stumps where he’s one of the few glovemen on the circuit who has to cope with bowlers who can turn the ball either way.

Of course this season also saw the emergence of Jonathon Bairstow as a possible successor. But with Bairstow capable of holding down a purely batting slot and now facing a second season which trips up so many young sportsmen, Brophy is under no real threat for his spot yet. If anything Bairstow’s emergence has probably cemented the need for an experienced keeper at the club, one capable of taking pressure off a developing talent.

Brophy’s target for next season – assuming the vague retirement rumours flouting round Headingley are false – is not to fight for his place, but to break out of the poor year, good year, poor year, good year pattern of his Yorkshire career so for, and build further on the success of 2009.

Championship – 13 matches, 709 runs @ 44.31, 35 catches, 2 stumpings

Friends Provident – 3 matches, 156 runs @ 156, 7 catches, 1 stumping

Twenty/20 Cup – 4 matches, 42 runs @ 21.00, 1 stumping

Pro40 – 3 matches, 45 runs @ 22.50, 5 catches

(Brophy Photo: By kind permission, Dave Morton)