Yorkshire cashing in on Caribbean success

The White Rose county get their 2010 campaign in the shortest form of the game underway early this evening against Derbyshire Falcons at Headingley Carnegie.

With sunshine forecast for Leeds, the club are hoping for a bumper crowd at the first of at least eight Twenty20 games on home soil.

Regan is hoping the success enjoyed by England in the Caribbean when claiming a first one-day trophy will be reflected in increased attendances across the country.

He said: "England winning the World Cup will certainly add a little bit of excitement to this year's Twenty20 competition.

"But I would also hope there will be a boost to the crowd numbers. Twenty20 attendances are dependent on a number of factors, not least the weather.

"In that respect, we have had a fantastic start to the 2010 season. Who would have thought we would miss only one to one-and-a-half days to the weather after eight weeks (to the end of May)?

"I am just hoping that the good weather can continue. The forecast for Thursday is very good and that may well put a few more on the gate."

A boost to the coffers would be timely for Yorkshire, who, after Test cricket and one-day internationals, rely the most on Twenty20 to boost their annual income.

Chief executive Regan added: "Twenty20 is very important financially. We don't budget on numbers, more on cash coming through to the club.

"And that cash is driven largely by the Lancashire Twenty20 game (on June 17 at Headingley), which is always a busy one.

"If any game is going to be a full house it is that one. Ideally, we would then be looking for 5-10,000 at the other matches.

"So, it does make a substantial difference if we have a good Twenty20. Over the last few seasons, we have done well and made the quarter-finals on quite a few occasions.

"Of course, the weather will play a part, as will a number of other factors such as the (football) World Cup. Thankfully, England's matches don't clash with our Twenty20 games."

Against the Falcons, Yorkshire Carnegie will be without their two members of England's World Cup-winning squad due to Tim Bresnan being injured and Ajmal Shahzad having been named in the Test squad to face Bangladesh at Old Trafford tomorrow.

There will, however, still be plenty to excite those at Headingley for a contest that is scheduled to start at 5.30pm with overseas duo Herschelle Gibbs and Clint McKay set to make their debuts.

Both arrive with impressive pedigrees, 36-year-old Gibbs boasting a wealth of experience with South Africa in all formats of the game.

McKay's capture is also a tantalising prospect with the Australian having helped state side Victoria to triumph in the domestic Big Bash (Twenty20) tournament Down Under.

Regan said: "Both are Twenty20 specialists. Herschelle is best remembered for those six sixes in one over (against England in the 2007 World Cup), while Clint was one of the leading wicket-takers in the Champions League last year when playing for his state side (Victoria Bushrangers).

"I believe those two will attract a few followers and let's hope they can do the business on the field."

Carnegie go into today's encounter with the Falcons on the back of a rain-affected draw in the 250th Roses encounter in which Lancashire enjoyed by far the better of the second and third days when play was possible.

Despite that, Yorkshire remain second in the County Championship while they also top Group B in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition after winning all four games.

It means, according to chief executive Regan, the White Rose county will go into the Twenty20 Cup in fine heart.

He said: "It is always dangerous to make predictions. Twenty20 is a very unpredictable format, we saw that in the World Cup where teams you don't fancy can make a big impact. But I think we have a good team and have our bases covered.

"We have a good batting line-up and we have a few tasty wicket-takers in there as well.

"We have performers in every position. Spinners have played an increasingly important role in Twenty20 and we have three and are confident they can make a difference.

"Both Adil Rashid and David Wainwright have taken wickets when it matters in Twenty20. If we can get off to a good start then, hopefully, we can kick on."