YORKSHIRE’S QUICK START

County pace bowlers fly out to India today ahead of main touring party

YORKSHIRE say that injury prevention is a key part of their decision to send out four bowlers to India today ahead of the main squad’s arrival for a two-week tour starting on Wednesday.

Ben Coad, Matthew Fisher, Duanne Olivier and Matthew Waite are heading to Mumbai five days before the rest of the squad for extra training/preparation.

The pace bowlers have had their injury problems and Yorkshire want to ease them into their work ahead of the County Championship season on April 12.

Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire first-team coach, said: “As we only go for 12 days, you end up pushing them too fast too quickly.

“The four lads that we are sending out there earlier have, in recent times, had some risk of injury.

“We want them to have a prolonged time out there so when we get there, they are good to go. With a longer build-up, the risk of injury is much smaller.”

The bowlers will spend the next few days working with bowling coach Richard Pyrah and lead physiotherapist Kunwar Bansil. The rest of the squad will meet up with them next week for a practice session at the Parsi Gymkhana ground.

Yorkshire will play two two-day red-ball friendlies against Air India (March 16-17/March 19-20) at the Air India Kalina ground in the city.

They then face Reliance at the Reliance ground in a floodlit T20 fixture (March 21) before ending their tour with a T20 doubleheader against a local XI (March 23).

“Having been out to Mumbai myself numerous times as a player, it is a place with a genuine love for cricket,” said Gale.

“It is a great place to practice; there are always a lot of net bowlers on hand and the facilities are outstanding.

“It is a totally different culture. I think that it will bring the squad together.”

For Gale, nothing quite beats getting out on grass.

“We spend all winter in the East Stand,” he said. “You want to replicate the intensity and pressure of games as much as you can.

“Until you are out in the middle with the grass under your feet, the pressure of the scoreboard, people playing for places, it is very hard to manufacture that in the indoor nets.”

■ England Lions’ final match of their tour to Australia finished in a draw against a New South Wales XI after play was washed out.