Lees: We are ready to pile on pressure

Golcar United v Newsome, Honley v Lepton Highlanders, Huddersfield YMCA v Lower Hopton, Overthorpe Sports Club v Campion, Salts v DRAM Community, Steeton v Littletown

Britannia Sports v Route One Rovers, Churwell Lions v Thornton United, Hunsworth v Tyersal, Ventus/Yeadon Celtic v Steeton Reserves, Wakefield City v Wibsey, West Horton v Holmfirth Town Division Two: Lower Hopton Res v TVR United, Tyersal Res v Thornton United Res

Aimbry v Shepley, Holmbridge v Hepworth Utd, Kirkheaton Rovers v Britannia Sports, Newsome v Meltham Athletic, Skelmanthorpe v Heywood Irish Centre

Berry Brow v Linthwaite Athletic, Colne Valley v Netherton, Cumberworth v Slaithwaite Utd, HV Academicals v Scholes, Holmfirth Town v Scissett, Honley v Lepton Highlanders

AFC Dalton v Wooldale Wanderers, Hade Edge v Flockton FC, Uppermill v Brook Motors Division Four: Cartworth Moor v Heyside FC, Cask v Rose and Crown, Dalton Dynamos v Golcar Utd, Deighton FC v Cavalry Arms, Littleborough v Kirkburton Groom Cup: Fothergill-Whittles v Moorside, Junction v Almondbury

Woolpack Diggle Res v Britannia Sports Res, Diggle Res v Heywood Irish Centre Res, Meltham Athletic Res v AFC Lindley Res Brook Motors Res v Berry Brow Res, Moorside Res v Kirkheaton Rovers A, Scissett Res v Cumberworth Res, Wooldale Wanderers Res v HV Academicals Res Marsden Res v Hade Edge Res 3D Dynamos Res v Dalton Dynamos Res, Almondbury WMC Res v Scholes A, Cumberworth B v Cartworth Moor Res, Littleborough Res v Hade Edge A, Westend Res v FothergillWhittles Res Kirkheaton Rovers Res v Newsome Res Uppermill A v Honley Res Yorkshire Amateur League, Division One: Leeds Independent v Huddersfield YMCA Division Two: Ealandians Res v Idle Division Six: Huddersfield Amat Res v Shire Academics IV ALEX Lees expects county champions Middlesex to feel an entirely different kind of pressure this summer as they become “the chased” team.

Middlesex pipped Yorkshire and Somerset to the Specsavers County Championship title last September courtesy of a nail-biting final round win over the White Rose at Lord’s.

Halifax product Lees insists James Franklin and company deserved their crown on the back of a string of impressive performances throughout 2016.

But he believes they will find it an increased challenge to defend their crown.

Lees is preparing for an early meeting with Middlesex this weekend having been selected by the MCC for the four-day champion county fixture in Abu Dhabi, starting on Sunday.

“Their team will be pretty much the same,” said the opener, who has recently spent a successful twomonth spell playing for New Zealand side Bay of Plenty.

“But it’s a different mentality being the chased rather than the chasers.

“They will come under a lot more pressure this year from everyone else, which comes with the territory having won the league the previous year.

“It will be interesting to see how they go.

“They are obviously a good team, and I’m sure they will do well and be the team to beat.

“They played the best cricket over the course of the summer in the Championship last year, and they were the team that deserved it the most.

“They played good cricket on fair pitches and got the results.”

Lees enjoyed success with the bat whilst in New Zealand, with the highlight an unbeaten 223 in a three-day Hawke Cup match against Counties Manukau in late January.

It was the Bay’s highest ever individual score in that competition, and they went on to make a successful defence of their crown just last week.

The left-hander will start this summer feeling as confident as he ever has done at this time of year, and primed to strike an early blow to Middlesex this weekend.

“Yeah, I can do,” he smiled.“But I don’t think it really matters too much.

“The early signs only come at the start of the season.

“Hopefully we can just focus on ourselves at Yorkshire. If Middlesex play well, they play well.

“But we just want to start well, worry about ourselves and get into a nice rhythm.”

Lees, who will be joined in the MCC line-up by county colleague Liam Plunkett, added: “To play for the MCC will be a proud moment for me given their links to the history of the game and the nostalgia associated with them.

“It will certainly be a nice little tick in the box.”

Geoff Boycott believes Yorkshire will ‘gamble with the club’s future’ if its debt extends to £40million to try to secure long-term international cricket at Headingley.

Boycott, who last year failed in his attempt to be re-elected to the Yorkshire board, cited his estimate of how high the club’s debt may rise to finance the rebuilding of a new stand at the Football Ground end in order to satisfy minimum capacity requirements to stage international cricket from 2019 onwards.

The former England opener, and club captain, made his observation on Twitter following revelations from Yorkshire chairman Steve Denison that Headingley - scene of so many memorable matches on the Test and county stage - will lose international status if it is unable to comply with new England and Wales Cricket Board stipulations.

Boycott’s nomination for re-election 12 months ago was centred on his insistence that a debt which then stood at £20m must be tackled.

He tweeted: “YCCC are £25m in debt.

“Now trying to borrow another £15m to build new stand.

“£40m debt not a calculation, but a gamble with YCCC future.”