Rudolph is relishing his dual role

Rudolph said he was relishing the opportunity to lead from the front as Yorkshire battle to avoid County Championship relegation.

He rejoined Yorkshire last month after answering the club’s Mayday call to save their season. Now the South African left-hander has been thrust into the hot seat as well following an injury to club captain Andrew Gale, whose summer is over after he fractured his right forearm during practice on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a big challenge, but one I’m very much looking forward to,” said Rudolph, one of the most gifted players to wear the White Rose. “I know for a fact that the responsibility of being captain helps my game, and I’ll definitely be giving it my best shot.

“I got close to 1,000 runs in 10 games back in South Africa last winter while captaining Titans, and I enjoy the challenge of leading a side.

“It’s very unfortunate that Galey has got injured, but I’ll still consult with him because, at the end of the day, this is his team.”

Rudolph has previously led Yorkshire on 12 occasions during his four-and-a-bit seasons with the county.

Like Gale, he is a positive character – a man who is never afraid to back his instincts.

“I like to play the game in a positive way,” he added.

“I don’t mind taking risks because sometimes you have to take risks in an effort to win.

“I know I was criticised in the past for declaring at Somerset a couple of years back when we ended up losing the game.

“If we’d won everyone would have said it was a stroke of genius, but I’d rather err on that positive side than play negative cricket.”

Rudolph has a simple message ahead of today’s important Championship match against Sussex at Scarborough – namely, that teamwork is key to Yorkshire’s hopes of getting out of trouble.

Rudolph believes it is imperative everyone pulls together as Yorkshire look to climb out of the bottom two.

“I feel it’s very unfortunate that we are stuck in this position and we’ve got to try to find a way to get out of it,” he said.

“If we’re not going to do it as a team, we’re going to struggle. We’ve got to pull together this week and Scarborough is normally a good hunting ground for us.

“Hopefully, we can get a bit of momentum together and go on a good run.”

Although Rudolph will be expected to contribute strongly with the bat, Yorkshire’s survival hopes cannot fall solely on his shoulders. It will be down to everyone to chip in – batsmen and bowlers – if the club are to preserve their top-flight status.

“It’s not about any one player,” affirmed Rudolph.

“I’ve played in teams, for example, where I’ve scored a lot of runs and yet we didn’t compete for trophies and that sort of thing.

“But then you can get players who possibly score less runs, but the team plays really well together.

“So that’s the key for me over the next few weeks – sticking together and playing as a team.”

Rudolph has been typically consistent since rejoining the county.

He has made scores of 12, 35, 35, 99, 27*, 40 and 75 in all cricket to total 323 runs in five matches at 53.83.

As a perfectionist, however, Rudolph is less than satisfied with that record – specifically the absence of a three-figure score.

It is something he is keen to address in Scarborough this week.

“I’ve been a bit disappointed with myself over the last few weeks,” he conceded.

“I’ve had a lot of starts but I haven’t yet managed to score a hundred, and I expect to be scoring hundreds as a top-order batter.

“Hopefully, that will all come right at Scarborough, which is a ground where I’ve managed to do well in the past.

“It’s definitely my favourite ground in the world; it’s got such a special aura about it and it’s always a tremendous privilege to play there.”

Rudolph, 30, will be available for next week’s Championship game at home to Warwickshire at Headingley Carnegie before returning to South Africa for a training camp.

He will miss the fixture against Warwickshire at Edgbaston (August 31-September 3) but will return for the final Championship match of the season at home to Somerset if Yorkshire are still in relegation peril.

Rudolph’s younger brother, Gerhard, was in action for the Yorkshire second team against Leicestershire yesterday.

The 23-year-old made only four in the defeat to Leicestershire but has impressed with the bat in league cricket and is no stranger to the first-class arena, having scored 1,641 runs in 39 games with a top score of 118.