Gale can force his way right to top

Moxon feels Gale has the potential to take charge of the Test side if he can continue to develop in the coming seasons.

England have earmarked Gale not only as a future international batsman but as a prospective leader by handing him the Lions captaincy ahead of more experienced campaigners such as Ian Bell.

Now Moxon, Yorkshire's director of professional cricket, says Gale can use that honour as a springboard to becoming the full England captain in the years ahead. "I think Andrew has the potential to become the England captain outright," said Moxon.

"The Lions captaincy is the first step on the road towards achieving that objective and it's a really great honour for him.

"There's a bit of water to pass under the bridge before the full England captaincy happens but at least Andrew is on the ladder, so to speak.

"He needs to keep improving as a batsman first and foremost but, if he does that and does well as the Lions captain and also as Yorkshire captain, there's no reason why he can't lead the full England team further down the line."

Gale, 26, has played just 47 first-class games, scoring 2,340 runs at 32.50.

His appointment as Lions captain will be perceived as a

surprise in some quarters but Moxon insists it will bring out the best in him.

"For Andrew to be appointed Lions captain might be a surprise to some but I honestly think he'll do a great job," added Moxon. "On the face of it the captaincy could have gone to someone like Ian Bell, but England obviously see something in Andrew just as we do ourselves..

"I would say there are two ways of looking at Andrew's appointment as Lions captain.

"On the one hand it's a big step to be Yorkshire captain and then Lions captain; on the other, you need to find out what people are made of at some point and I think Andrew has all the right qualities to make a success of the job."

The Lions tour comprises one-day matches only, with Gale's men playing five Twenty20 games and three 50-overs fixtures – including a Twenty20 contest against the full England team.

Gale has proved particularly adept at one-day cricket in recent years, scoring important runs for Yorkshire at the top of the order, but Moxon insists he can play for England in all forms of the game.

"I'd like to think Andrew could ultimately play both Test and one-day cricket for England," said Moxon.

"He's scored important runs for Yorkshire in all competitions and he made runs in the longer form of the game for the England Performance Programme in South Africa before Christmas.

"In my view he's developing all-round as a player and getting better all the time.

"Rather than being detrimental to his development, I think the leadership of the Lions will energise him further and assist his progress."

Moxon believes Yorkshire will benefit directly from Gale's appointment as Lions captain.

"It's good for us because it will give him valuable captaincy experience ahead of his first season in charge at Yorkshire," said Moxon.

"It will give him a feel of what it's all about, even though he's captained sides in the past.

"In my view it's a win-win situation both for Andrew and for Yorkshire.

"I'm just really pleased for him because I know England were highly impressed with what he did in South Africa before Christmas and now they're showing great faith in him."

The Lions squad also includes Yorkshire spinners Adil Rashid and David Wainwright, the former having lost his place in England's senior side.

"I haven't got too many worries regarding Adil's England career because he's still a young lad learning the game," said Moxon.

"He was in the senior squads recently but I think it will be good for him to get some cricket under his belt for the Lions and I wouldn't read too much into his call-up for that tour.

"As far as David is concerned, I know England were very impressed with him when he was part of the Performance Programme in South Africa and it will be fascinating to see how he goes on the tour.

"He's another young cricketer who's coming on superbly."