Army game gets Gale’s forces shipshape for the new season

ANDREW Gale is no stranger to leadership – but Yorkshire’s rookie head coach admits learning to plan from the command tent rather than the frontline is his immediate challenge over the winter.

The White Rose were put through their paces at Catterick Garrison last week in a series of team-bonding exercises.

Under the supervision of the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, the new recruits recovered a submerged vehicle, carried heavy boxes of ammunition and retrieved injured soldiers all while under ‘enemy fire’.

Normally Gale would have been in the thick of the action, but a month on from his surprise appointment as head coach at Headingley, the 33-year-old can no longer act like one of the lads.

“There needs to be a gap between the players and the coach,” said former captain Gale. “I’ve got good friends in the dressing room, and they’ll always be good friends, but they know when to draw the line when it comes to being a professional cricketer. That’s the transition that I’m trying to make, and to make them aware of.

“I’ve had that relationship as captain, but you are just further away from them as a coach. They have always respected my opinions and appreciated my honesty, and we are all on the same page.

“As a captain you needed (to be a strong leader) in that dressing room because there are a lot of senior and international players. I’m not saying that they need to be told what to do, but if something’s not right, they have always been receptive.”

Gale is busy plotting an assault on all fronts next year after a 2015 that showed promise of a wellrounded unit – without the trophies to show for their progression. And he has named his captain with Gary Ballance leading the side across all three formats.

Yorkshire were still in the hunt for their third successive County Championship title until the final session at Lord’s, and made the semi-finals of the One-Day Cup and T20 Blast after a series of disappointing white-ball campaigns.

“It’s a bit different – it’s the first time in my life I’ve had my own desk and sat at a laptop, although the lads have been doing lots of fitness training so I’m glad I’m not a part of that anymore!” added Gale.

“The advantage is I’m coming into a set-up that has been very successful, so it’s just a bit of tweaking and a little bit of decision-making to be made.

“I definitely want the players to play the brand of cricket I want them to play – I want to put my own stamp on it.

“In the Championship we have to be a bit more ruthless and we know how to go about that. With our batting, we have to make bigger scores, not just your 60s or 70s – occupying the crease for a long time. With the white ball I want to see us be a bit braver, whether it’s our yorkers or our reverse sweeps.”