Gale looks to Vaughan and Boycott for guidance as he prepares to lead the Lions

ANDREW GALE has sought the advice of England's most successful Test captain as he attempts to mould Yorkshire into a winning team.

Yorkshire's new leader has picked the brains of former county team-mate Michael Vaughan, who presided over 26 victories in 51 Tests.

Gale has revealed the pair met up in South Africa recently and that Vaughan shared tips and captaincy suggestions.

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Gale, 26, also disclosed that he spent a day at the South African home of former Yorkshire and England captain Geoffrey Boycott, who offered his own encouragement to the new man in charge.

"I know Vaughany well after three or four years of playing with him for Yorkshire and he was only too happy to pass on a few captaincy tips," said Gale, who was last month appointed Yorkshire's youngest captain for 76 years.

"I had dinner with him during a recent visit to South Africa and it's always good to learn from the best.

"Vaughany's captained at the highest level and done it very successfully and I spoke to him about how he feels I can develop the Yorkshire team.

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"I can't really say what was said because those conversations were private, but he basically shared some of the things that worked well for him when he was a captain."

Gale, who next month captains England Lions on their tour of the United Arab Emirates, said he also benefited from his meeting with Boycott, now a Yorkshire director.

"I spent a day with Boycs and talked over some of the issues at Yorkshire and the way we can go forward," added Gale.

"We put some plans together as to what he thought was important, which players he thought were influential and how we were going to get the best out of the young lads, and he had some really good stuff to say.

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"Again, it was a private meeting between Boycs and myself, so it would be wrong to divulge exactly what was said.

"He just talked about how he would manage the young lads and that sort of thing."

Gale said Boycott also urged him to make time for his own game.

"Boycs said I must always find time for my own batting as a captain," said Gale. "He said that was very important.

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"He told me not to get so caught up in everything else that I forget about my own game, because that's an easy mistake to make when you're leading the team.

"I'm still a young and developing player myself, so it's important that I find the time for my own game and try to improve.

"It's going to be a tough challenge to balance the two things together but I've always been hard-working when it comes to my batting and someone who likes to put a lot of time into it.

"I'm one of those lads who, if I've got a day off, will find someone to come in and feed me the bowling machine just to do a bit extra."