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Phoenix issue Gale warning

Powerful left-hander Andrew Gale makes a welcome return to first team action for Yorkshire Phoenix in their televised Twenty20 Cup encounter with Lancashire Lightning at Old Trafford tonight.

Gale gets his chance because Pakistan Test star Younus Khan has now joined up with his country for their short tour of Scotland and is expected miss five of Yorkshire's six remaining matches in the competition.

Yorkshire's decision to sign both Younus and South African Jacques Rudolph for this season has closed the door on a regular place for Gale whose only appearance so far was in the Championship game against Durham at Headingley in late April when he scored 36.

advertisementBut Gale is no stranger to Twenty20 cricket, having been a regular for Yorkshire last season when they made it through to the quarter-finals for the first time and he scored his maiden half-century with four fours and two sixes in the home game against Nottinghamshire Outlaws.

The inclusion of Gale for Younus is Yorkshire's only change from the 12 named for the Roses washout at Headingley on Wednesday.

Director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, said: "It is one of cricket's problems that the top overseas players will end up on the sort of tours which Younus is now on and it is a blow to be without him.

"But it is good to see Andrew get a first team place and he can be a very destructive batsman."

It is crucial Yorkshire win this Roses battle otherwise they could find themselves out of the reckoning for a quarter-final place after starting off with a defeat at Leicester and than getting only one point from a no-result'.

"It was another nearly' performance against Leicestershire which sums up our one-day cricket this season," said Moxon. "I thought we fielded brilliantly and bowled well apart from a few overs where we let it slip and didn't cash in on our good start."

Moxon confirmed that it was highly unlikely that either Michael Vaughan or Matthew Hoggard would figure in any of the Twenty20 matches.

But he added: "We have two vitally important Championship games coming up at Old Trafford and Edgbaston which may have a bearing on our title chances and I am just glad that we are almost certain to have our two England players available for those matches."

In addition to Yorkshire's Old Trafford washout on Monday there was no play in the other two scheduled Northern Division games - Derbyshire v Durham and Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire.

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