Selection dilemma for Gale as squad impress during pre-season tour

Gale said a number of good players will be forced to miss out when he comes to choose the side for the game against Kent at Headingley Carnegie starting on Thursday.

Gale has been pleased with the efforts of his players during a pre-season he describes as the best he can remember during his time with Yorkshire.

It means the 28-year-old left-hander, along with new first-team coach Jason Gillespie, will have his work cut out when he ponders the make-up of the team for the eagerly-awaited curtain-raiser.

“There’s probably about eight or nine names on the list at the moment,” said Gale. “There are still a few uncertainties, and it’s going to be tough writing out a first XI. I’m sure there’ll be some disappointed lads when the time comes and it’s the old cliché of it being a nice headache to have.

“But there’s a lot of cricket to be played over the course of a long county season and everyone will get their chance at some stage or other.”

Gale’s task is rendered slightly less fraught by the unavailability of Australian batsman Phil Jaques, who is set to join Yorkshire in time for their second Championship game at home to Essex on April 19.

Tough choices will nevertheless have to be made in the batting and seam bowling departments but, whoever takes the field, Gale is confident he has a squad good enough to lift Yorkshire back into Division One at the first attempt.

“Without being disrespectful, I’ve certainly got a better squad than quite a few sides in the Second Division,” he added. “But what we need to show is the mindset and ruthlessness that we didn’t have at times last year, and I’ve been encouraged from what I’ve seen so far from the boys in pre-season.

“They’ve been playing with a smile on their faces and are really excited about what the summer could potentially have in store.

“If we can get off to a good start, I think we’ll do well.”

Gale’s spirits have been lifted by Yorkshire’s displays on the pre-season trip to Barbados.

Not only did Yorkshire win the Barbados Twenty20 Cup, featuring several English counties, but they also performed well over the longer formats.

“I know the Barbados Twenty20 was only a pre-season trophy, but to win it against the counties we played against was a great effort,” he added. “To beat the likes of Warwickshire in the final was really encouraging, and I’m very excited about the start of the season now, given the confidence and momentum we generated on the pre-season tour.”

Although Championship promotion remains the ultimate objective, Gale stressed that would only be achieved by taking things on a day-by-day, session-by-session basis.

“The primary focus is to get back up to Division One, but it’s about the day-to-day processes now,” he added. “We know what we’ve got to achieve, but we need to put that to the back of our minds.

“Again, it’s very much the old cliché of saying that you’ve got to take every single game as it comes.

“But it’s a cliché for a reason, and it’s one we need to keep at the forefront of our thoughts.”

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