Jack Leaning leads as Yorkshire give youngsters chance to shine

JACK LEANING will captain a much-changed Yorkshire team in today's 50-over match against South Africa A at Headingley.
Yorkshire's Jack LeaningYorkshire's Jack Leaning
Yorkshire's Jack Leaning

The 23-year-old batsman, who made a Roses hundred at Old Trafford last week, takes over from Gary Ballance as Yorkshire ring the changes ahead of a key period of County Championship and limited-overs cricket.

Fellow batsman Alex Lees is another high-profile inclusion, along with pace bowlers Steve Patterson and Matthew Fisher.

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All-rounder Matthew Waite and spinner Karl Carver are also named in a 12-man squad.

It is a squad top-heavy with young talent as Yorkshire look to cast an eye over the next generation while resting a number of first-team regulars ahead of the return Roses match at Headingley on Friday.

Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire first-team coach, said: “We are going to mix things up. We see this as an opportunity to get some guys some rest before a big block of Championship cricket and a Royal London Cup quarter-final as well.

“It’s a good opportunity for some of the young players against a quality outfit.”

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South Africa A, who are touring alongside the full South Africa team, should provide a stern test for Gale’s men.

Yorkshire could face players with Test pedigree in the form of Temba Bavuma, Tabraiz Shamsi and Duanne Olivier, along with fellow internationals in the shape of Reeza Hendricks, Jon Jon Smuts and Lungi Ngidi.

Fisher, who played in six of Yorkshire’s eight group matches in the Royal London Cup, believes it is a great chance for the county’s young guns to showcase their skills.

“It’s brilliant for the lads to play against them,” he said.

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“The lads see them on TV performing week-in, week-out for their country, so if they can do well against them, it will give them massive confidence.

“Until you get a few games, you don’t really have that feeling of ‘yeah, I can do this, they’re not going to whack me all over the place or I can bat against them’. That’s when you really breed your confidence and you fly after that.”

Yorkshire (from): Brook, Carver, Fisher, Gibson, Leaning (captain), Lees, Read, Rhodes, Patterson, Shaw, Tattersall, Waite.