Yorkshire aiming to produce fitting end to season

JASON GILLESPIE is calling on his Yorkshire players to put the finishing touches to a fabulous season.
Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale and head coach Jason Gillespie, right.Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale and head coach Jason Gillespie, right.
Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale and head coach Jason Gillespie, right.

The Yorkshire first team coach wants them to sign off in style in their final fixture starting today.

Yorkshire return to action for the first time since clinching the County Championship against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge 11 days ago.

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They face Somerset at Headingley in a game that has little at stake for the home side – save for their own desire to go out with a bang.

“We want to go out on a high and continue with the cricket we’ve played,” said Gillespie.

“We’re very conscious of wanting to finish the season well and not to end on a bit of a low note.

“The lads have had such a good season that they don’t want to let it slip and finish on a downer with a sub-par performance.

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“The lads are very switched on and will be doing everything they can to try to win the game.”

Victory would be Yorkshire’s fifth in succession in the tournament, thereby emulating the achievement of Durham last summer, who pipped them to the title with a powerful late surge.

It would also be further reward for those Yorkshire members and supporters who have backed the club through thick and thin.

“We’ve had some great support along the way,” reflected Gillespie.

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“The Yorkshire public love their cricket – everyone knows that – and we really appreciate the backing that we’ve had.

“We’ve already won the title, but we don’t want to take our foot off the pedal. We want to give the Headingley crowd something more to cheer.”

That crowd will have plenty to cheer after the game, which is set to end on Friday, when the Yorkshire players do a lap of honour with the Championship trophy.

Gillespie hopes the members and supporters will show their appreciation of the players throughout the week.

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“We’re really excited and hopeful that the Yorkshire public will come and support us and fill Headingley,” he said.

“We’ll parade the trophy around at the end of the game, because it’s important that we show it off to all those who have followed us throughout the season.

“We decided to do this after the match rather than beforehand, because you’ve got to respect the game and respect your opponents.

“But it would be nice to have a big crowd in to cheer the lads when they take the trophy on their lap of honour.”

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The trophy will be on display every day during the match in the East Stand Long Room up until the tea interval, at which point it will be moved into the Yorkshire Cricket Museum for one hour so that non-members get the chance to see it.

Andrew Gale, the captain who serves the last of a two-match ban for a verbal outburst at Ashwell Prince during the Championship game against Lancashire at Old Trafford earlier this month, will be in the Long Room each day from 11.30am-12.30pm to pose for pictures and to discuss the season with members.

Gale will also undertake a Q&A during the lunch interval today although any questions regarding his spat with Prince will be off-limits.

Gale is unable to speak about the episode due to legal reasons while the England and Wales Cricket Board investigate an alleged racist aspect to his comments to Prince.

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However, the case against Gale – flimsy from the outset – now appears frankly laughable in the wake of Prince’s assertion that he did not consider Gale’s remarks a racial slur.

The episode descended into further farce at the weekend when a national newspaper alleged that the Australian batsman Usman Khawaja, Prince’s partner at the crease, was the prime mover behind the racist charge only for Australian media to later report that Khawaja is adamant he did no such thing.

There has been talk of a directional hearing prior to the official ECB disciplinary hearing, but none of the parties are commenting publicly.

However, it is difficult to see how the ECB can now make a charge stick.

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Gale is not the only first-choice player missing this week, when Yorkshire will once again be led by acting captain Joe Root.

Tim Bresnan also sits out the match due to a pectoral problem that troubled him at Trent Bridge and will be replaced in the side by all-rounder Rich Pyrah.

Pace bowler Matthew Fisher and back-up wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd complete a 13-man squad.

“Unfortunately, I can’t play because I’ve got a grade two tear in my pec,” said Bresnan.

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“It’s disappointing, but the job’s kind of done now, and I’ll be sat on the sidelines watching every ball.

“I’m sure that we’ll have a lot of fun at the end of the game when we show the trophy to all the supporters.

“They’ve been fantastic, and I’m sure the atmosphere will be unbelievable.”

Brooks looks to create his own slice of history: Page 19.