Gale ready for massive Roses clash

Durham v Yorkshire County Championship, Andrew Gale hits out during his innings of 124

Gale said: “It will be a massive game for both sides. It could attract the biggest domestic attendance of the season. The atmosphere at Old Trafford will be brilliant. No doubt most of the crowd will be giving us a bit of stick. That’s all part of these games and something that we will relish.

“Lancashire have started well in the competition with four wins from their first five matches and have momentum. Our start has been a little disjointed with only two games and one washout. We’ll be up for it and we can go there and win if we play to our full potential.”

Liam Plunkett’s call-up to the England Test squad has made Gale re-think his options for the Roses clash.

“It’s not ideal, but we are aware that players will come and go. We will have Tim Bresnan back and he’s not a bad replacement for Liam.

“For Liam, personally, it is great news to be selected by England and having had the pleasure of working with him over the past 18 months, I know at first-hand what a valuable asset he’ll be for England. He is bowling out of his skin at the moment and will cause problems for international batsmen.”

The captain also admitted Australian Aaron Finch has made an instant impact among his teammates.

“He has been fantastic in the dressing room. He is a larger than life character and you can see his hunger to perform well in all formats. We’ve been talking about this game and the rivalry and he is excited to be part of it. He can play a major part in our efforts in winning on Friday.”

The Vikings have named a 14-man squad for the match.

Seamer Tim Bresnan returns to replace Liam Plunkett, who has been selected in the England squad for the first Test starting next week at Lord’s against Sri Lanka. Ryan Sidebottom is still recovering from a hamstring problem and will miss the game.

Yorkshire 14-man squad to face Lancashire Lightning: Jonathan Bairstow, Tim Bresnan, Jack Brooks, Aaron Finch, Andrew Gale (capt), Andrew Hodd, Jack Leaning, Alex Lees, Adam Lyth, Steve Patterson, Richard Pyrah, Azeem Rafiq, Adil Rashid, Oliver Robinson.

The starting XI will be named after the toss on Friday.