Fracture forces Gale out for season

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale will miss the rest of the season after breaking his arm in practice.

A scan yesterday revealed the 27-year-old fractured his right forearm when a ball struck him while batting in the nets, an injury that rules him out of the remainder of the campaign.

The prognosis is that the recovery will take six to eight weeks. Jacques Rudolph – who only returned to Yorkshire last month – takes over the captain’s armband.

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It is the first serious injury of Gale’s career and one that comes at the worst possible time, with Yorkshire needing all hands to the pump as they battle to avoid relegation from the LV County Championship Division One.

Despite the despair of having to watch helplessly from the sidelines, the county captain who inspired the White Rose to a title challenge last summer has urged his team-mates to go on and avoid relegation in the final four games of the season.

Gale, whose side occupy the second relegation place, said: “We have got the players to get out of it.

“We have played some good cricket at times this season and when we’re switched on I still believe we are one of the best sides in the country.

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“However, when we’re off the boil we can be bloody awful and that’s what’s been frustrating this season – our consistency.

“We haven’t knuckled down in certain parts.

“Staying in Division One is well within our reach. The lads have just got to knuckle down to achieve it.”

Having to do so without Gale will not be easy.

The Dewsbury-born left-hander is Yorkshire’s second-highest run-scorer this season with 769 runs at an average of 40.47 in the four-day game.

He leads by example with bat in hand and has matured greatly since succeeding Anthony McGrath as captain before the 2010 campaign.

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Such is his determination to lead from the front that even after pace bowler Oliver Hannon-Dalby’s delivery struck him in the nets at Headingley Carnegie on Saturday, he wanted to continue practising.

“It hurt badly at the time but not for one minute did I think it was a break. I was happy to keep on batting,” said Gale, whose arm is in pot from wrist to shoulder.

“But Sunday morning I woke up and it had stiffened and I knew then something was seriously wrong.

“Before this injury I’ve only ever missed one game through my career.

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“When you look at it like that, I’ve been lucky to have got to the age of 27 without any serious injury.

“Given the situation we are in, though, this is awful timing.

“I was desperate to play and help us in the run-in.

“Typically, I’d been having probably one of my best seasons. It’s the most consistent I have ever been. That makes it even more disappointing.

“I’m gutted about it, especially at the stage of the season it has happened with the importance of the games that are coming up.

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“But at the end of the day there’s nothing you can do and it does give other players a chance.”

Yorkshire’s run-in begins against Sussex at Scarborough tomorrow. They play title-chasing Warwickshire home and away before finishing the season at Headingley against another side chasing honours, Somerset, in September.

Gale plans to stay with the team throughout the denouement.

“I’ll be in and around the team but with Jacques taking over as captain, I don’t want to tread on his toes,” said Gale.

“I still think I’ve got a part to play in the motivation of the players. I know everything there is to know about these guys, I know them inside out, and that will hopefully help.

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“It’s going to be massively frustrating for me, I’m not the best watcher of cricket.

“I can’t sit still when I know I could be involved.”

Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of professional cricket, admitted the news was a blow but placed his trust in the rest of the squad to fill the void created by Gale’s absence.

He said: “It’s obviously a blow for us to lose our captain, not only for his leadership but also for his ability on the field.

“But these things happen and we have got to get on with it.

“It gives Joe Sayers another opportunity and, hopefully, he can take advantage of the situation and Jacques has experience of captaincy, having led the side before.

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“This is obviously not something we wanted, but the players will respond positively to this because the fact of the matter is, they have to.”

Sayers has been in and out of the team all season since making a recovery from the post viral fatigue syndrome that abruptly ended his 2010 campaign and threatened his career.

Sayers, 27, has played six County Championship matches this season and scored 272 runs at 24.72.