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Yorkshire CC: Andrew Gale interview
New Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale admits he has realised a childhood dream after being handed the captaincy by his home county.
The Dewsbury-born left-handed batsman, 26, was yesterday unveiled as the Tykes' sixth captain in a decade, in place of the outgoing Anthony McGrath, with his dream moment topped off with a new three-year deal which runs until the end of the 2012 season.
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And Gale, Tykes' player of the year in 2009, has promised an aggressive on-pitch approach in a bid to bring a turnaround of fortunes to Yorkshire, who staved off relegation from LV County Championship Division One by the skin of their teeth last term.
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Jacques Rudolph will continue in the role of vice-captain.
Gale, who made his Tykes' first-class debut in 2004, said: "It's a great honour and responsibility to become Yorkshire captain. You only have to look at the names before me.
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"Since I first put on the Yorkshire shirt at 10-years-old with the Yorkshire under-11s, I dreamed of becoming Yorkshire captain and it's come true.
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"I'm not going to make empty promises about winning this trophy or that one. But what I will say with the hard work and determination now at Yorkshire, I believe we can compete with the likes of Durham and Nottinghamshire.
"I'm not going to treat the job lightly and have a lot on my hands. But I'm up for the challenge. I think I'll be quite aggressive on the pitch. I'm quite a passionate and hard-working bloke and like to see a team on the field that always gives 100 per cent to the cause.
"I want to see players in my team who are proud to wear the Yorkshire rose when they cross the white line."
McGrath, who stepped down on Monday to "concentrate on scoring runs again" after a largely barren 2009, has backed Gale's credentials, as has director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon.
McGrath said: "Andrew is a strong character and only time will tell. But he's really come to the fore over the last few years and was a great help to me last year.
"Andrew certainly got my vote to be captain."
Moxon added: "I hope that the shackles have been removed on Anthony, and that he can get back to being the life and soul of the dressing room and scoring the runs we know he's capable of.
"The shackles are now on Galey! But I'm confident that Andrew can deal with that. He's a very passionate guy and a proud one. And I know what the captaincy means to Andrew.
"He's certainly grown in stature as a man and a player over the last couple of years. He's at the stage of his career where he's well equipped to take on the role and I've no qualms about his ability."
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Weather for Leeds
Friday 10 February 2012
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Temperature: -9 C to 1 C
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