Tuesday, 26th January 2010
INTERVIEW: Andrew Gale gets the Pongo treatment
Jo Harman catches up with Yorkshire's new captain Andrew Gale for www.pongocricket.com.
Andrew has had a remarkable few months. After being named the county’s player of the year for 2009, a call-up to the England Performance Programme’s squad to tour South Africa was swiftly followed by his appointment as Yorkshire captain for the 2010 campaign. The Dewsbury-born batsman enjoyed a successful winter in Pretoria and stood in as captain to lead his side to victory in the final game of the tour. Gale evidently impressed the powers that be in the process and was subsequently named England Lions captain for the upcoming tour of UAE in February.
Jo Harman spoke to Andrew about his hopes for the coming season, his international prospects and his excitement at extra responsibility.
Were you surprised at your appointment as England Lions captain?
I was a little surprised. I thought I was in with a good shout to get on to the tour but I didn’t really expect to be named captain so I was over the moon with the selection.
What kind of leader will you be?
I think I’m quite a positive person, the sort of guy that leads by example. I’m a passionate and determined cricketer and I like individuals in the team around me to follow as well. I will lead from the front.
Did the appointment give your hopes of representing the senior England side a boost?
Yes, definitely. It’s every professional cricketer’s dream to play for England and by playing for the Lions you feel like you’re one step closer. Hopefully I can do well on the tour and put my name in the hat for an England place in the next couple of years. I captained out in South Africa [during England’s Performance Programme Tour] and did a pretty decent job. I must have impressed the coaches so I think they just want to give me some exposure at that level of captaining and see how I hold up. Hopefully I can impress them again.
The Lions’ Twenty20 match versus the full England side in Abu Dhabi next month must be a good chance to impress the selectors?
Gale scores runs during what was a personally prolific
2009 Twenty20 campaign
Yes, it’s a good opportunity for the lads to impress the selectors and to stake a claim for a place in the Twenty20 side. All the lads will be chomping at the bit to beat the full England side, especially with the T20 World Cup coming up in the summer.
Personally you had an impressive Twenty20 Cup campaign last season. Do you see that format as your best way of breaking through into the national team?
I would have said a couple of years ago that my batting just suited one-day cricket but over the last couple of seasons I’ve shown that I can also bat well in the longer form of the game. I wouldn’t say I’m just a one-day or Twenty20 player. I think I’m developing a good all-round game now to play all forms of cricket.
After spending the winter with some of England’s most exciting prospects who stands out for you as Test players in the making?
Ajmal Shahzad did really well for Yorkshire last year and he has really impressed me with the way he’s gone about his business. He also impressed in South Africa on the Performance Programme and has been rewarded with selection in the one-day and Test tour to Bangladesh. He’s one that stands out for me as a future England player. Ajmal swings the ball back into the right-hander and England haven’t got a lot of bowlers that do that and he also bowls at 90mph, so he offers good pace and they’re going to need pace like that in the Ashes come next winter. Don’t be surprised if he puts his name into that as well.
I was also impressed with Craig Kieswetter, the wicketkeeper from Somerset who is a really good player. He’s an aggressive batsman and I expect him to feature at some stage next year in the England one-day setup.
As a local lad it must have been a proud moment to be named Yorkshire captain?
Andrew Gale after being presented to the media as the
new Yorkshire captain in December 2009
It was. I’ve had a Yorkshire jumper or sweater on since I was 11-years-old and it was always my dream to become Yorkshire captain. When I got appointed captain back in December I was over the moon that I was given that opportunity. I’m really looking forward to the task ahead.
It’s still fairly early days in your first-class career. Did you have any reservations about taking on the extra responsibility?
No, not at all. When an opportunity arises like that you don’t really think twice about it. I think I’m the sort of character that the captaincy will push my batting on and make me a better player. Like I said before, I’m the sort of captain that will lead from the front and I intend to do that at Yorkshire. So it should push me on in my career.
You were appointed captain ahead of some fairly senior members of the squad. Will you be asking them for advice or looking to make your own mark?
I would be naïve if I didn’t ask for opinions from some of the senior members of the squad. We’ve got people like Jacques Rudolph, Anthony McGrath and Joe Sayers who have all played first-class cricket for quite a few years now for Yorkshire. Jacques is going to be my vice-captain and he’s got international experience so it would be naïve of me if I just went in and made all my own decisions. I’ll take advice from them and use that advice well.
Is it not now time that a county of the size and prestige of Yorkshire won some trophies?
We’re a young, developing side and I think we’re far from the finished article but we’ve had 11 lads this winter who have all been on some sort of England duty, right down to England U19 level, so we are a young side in the making. I’m not going to make empty promises and say we’ll win this, that or the other but I think over the next few years we can be part of something exciting. We can turn over some of the bigger sides next year.
What competition do you think represents your best hope of a trophy?
Andrew collects the YCCC 2009 Player of the Year
Award from Brian Close and Stewart Regan
We will set out to win all the trophies from the start. You want to win every trophy that’s available to you but the one that sticks out for all county cricketers is winning the County Championship. The best team wins that over the course of the season whereas you can get lucky in a few Twenty20 games and scrape through. You have to play four good days cricket to win a Championship match and it’s the toughest competition in the country.
Do you agree with the new point-scoring system in the Championship?
I do. 16 points for a win and three points for a draw will definitely encourage more positive cricket and we’ll see some gutsy declarations from teams around the country this year. It’s a good thing for cricket and it will definitely be more entertaining to watch.
How much will Matthew Hoggard be missed?
Matthew’s been a great servant to the county and the country and his experience will be missed in the bowling unit but we’ve got some good young lads who are chomping at the bit to take his place. His experience will be missed but it also opens new doors for some of the younger lads.
What will Yorkshire’s new overseas player Ryan Harris add to the squad?
He’s an exciting prospect. He’s more of a seam bowler who hits the seam and hits the pitch hard. He can also come in down the order and whack the ball out of the park and he’s having a good season so far after coming back from injury in Australia. I’ve also heard good reports from some of the Sussex lads, where he played a little bit. Australians are always good to fit into a team ethic so we’re looking forward to getting him over and making him part of our team.
Thanks to JO HARMAN of www.pongocricket.com