Lehmann blasts 'substandard' Steelbacks and demands quick improvement

And the Australian has warned the squad's senior professionals they will be dropped for 'for the kids' if things don't improve quickly, starting with Sunday's Metro Bank One Day Cup Group B clash against Warwickshire at Rugby School.

Lehmann admited the Steelbacks were 'outplayed in all departments' as Yorkshire rattled up a huge 374 for five in their 50 overs, with Imam-ul-Haq hammering 159 from 130 balls, before then dismissing Northants for just 172 in 38.5 overs.

George Bartlett top-scored with 30 as the County's batters folded from 46 without loss, losing 10 wickets for just 126 runs, with left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty claiming four for 38.

With the ball, Rob Keogh (0-48 off 10) was the only Steelbacks bowler to go for less than 6.25 an over, with Liam Guthrie going at 10.87 and Dom Leech at just under nine - the pair conceding 140 between them in just 14 overs.

It was a pretty dismal day in front of a decent crowd at the County Ground, and Lehmann said: "It was all one-sided and we got belted off the park.

"Yorkshire outplayed us in all departments. They batted better, and obviously, Imam played an unbelievable innings and set up that big total.

"But we were just substandard. It’s nothing against league cricketers, but we were that standard, and we weren't good enough to compete with the county.

"That's the disappointing thing for me and we've got to be better.

"I want to offer a real apology to the fans and everyone as we had a great turnout.

"It was a beautiful day to produce a great wicket, but it was a 320 wicket, it wasn't a 380 wicket and we didn't bowl very well.

"We dropped some catches, and then we batted poorly. I mean, we should have got 300 at least.

“So there are a lot of things to work on, and I’m just disappointed for the crowd that turned up and all our fans."

On his team's efforts with the ball, Lehmann added: "That's not good enough.

"We just didn't get our lengths right, nothing we talked about, so it's back to the drawing board with that.

"We've got to just keep learning from our mistakes and get better. That's all you can do. That's the game of cricket.

"We can come back Sunday, and it could be a totally different setup. So that's the challenge. The boys know that, they're really disappointed. They're all good lads working hard. They've just got to get better."

The Steelbacks have an immediate chance to put things right when they take on the Bears at Rugby School (start 11am), and Lehmann wants is expecting a big improvement.

"The players have got to be better," said the Australian. "They’ve got to stand up and learn quickly, because this comp, with the washout (at Lancashore on Tuesday), can go very quickly for us.

"So, next game on Sunday, we've got to produce, or get better at all departments and get a win on the board.

"Because if we're not, we're going to play the kids. I'm going to play all the kids, and the old blokes won't play."

Quotes courtesy of Jeremy Blackmore