Viking Siddy ready to roar

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Yorkshire Vikings seamer Ryan Sidebottom believes Yorkshire’s new one-day name will elevate the Club to a new audience.

The new name, Yorkshire Vikings, was launched earlier today in York at the famous Jorvik Centre with a large contingent of guests and media playing their part in promoting the Vikings brand.

“I love the new name,” said Sidebottom. “It gives us an opportunity to promote the Vikings brand to a new audience that might not have been interested in cricket before.

“The tie up with Jorvik is a great move and will get young people engaged. Give it time, and I think everyone will be inspired by the name change. It's for a greater purpose and to build on the next 150 years at Yorkshire Cricket.

“When kids grow up, they're going to identify with Yorkshire Vikings and become a major part of the club. It's going to be great to see kids around the county in their Vikings shirts and hats and cheering on the team.”

As part of plans for the new season, Yorkshire fly out to Barbados on Monday to participate in the Barbados T20 competition alongside six other counties and Sidebottom cannot wait for some warm weather training.

“I can’t wait to get out to Barbados,” added Sidebottom. “We are the holders of the T20 competition out there and want to defend our trophy.

“It has been a cold and miserable pre-season in terms of weather and we can now see the summer in the distance, which is great.

“It will be a massive year for us on and off the field and I am confident we can make some great strides. Our aim is to perform to our maximum and bring some silverware to Headingley.”