Andrew Gale admits he is close to knowing what his team will look like for Yorkshire’s opening round Specsavers County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, which starts a fortnight today.
Coach Gale and his players have arrived back at Emerald Headingley after a successful 12-day training camp in Potchefstroom.
The former title-winning captain was not only delighted with the work ethic the squad showed, but also with some performances in one-day and two-day matches against Cardiff MCC Universities, Notts and Durham.
That Harry Brook, Adam Lyth and Jonny Tattersall all scored centuries and Gary Ballance went close will be a significant boost for Gale, who reported two injuries to Tim Bresnan (back) and James Logan (broken thumb).
“It’s been a really good tour,” said Gale, who handed a friendly debut to South African fast bowler Duanne Olivier.
“There’s been some strong performances, with players putting their names forward for the first game of the season.
“But the most pleasing thing is the attitude and work ethic of the players. They’ve really put a shift in and upped the intensity. We come away from South Africa very confident.
“We’ve ticked a lot of boxes.
“We’ve lost a couple through injury, which isn’t ideal. We’d like to have come back with a clean bill of health. But that’s the nature of the beast.
“On the whole, I’m really really happy.
“Subject to injuries, we’re getting pretty close to knowing what our first eleven will look like against Notts at Trent Bridge.”
On those aforementioned injuries, Gale said: “Bres will go for a scan to see the extent of his back injury. Fingers crossed, he will be ok.
“James Logan is a little bit more complicated. He will have to go and see a hand specialist to see whether he will need an operation on his thumb.
“It’s not ideal, but we usually lose a couple to injury every pre-season.”
