Andrew Gale: I’m not surprised Gillespie’s so much in demand
I am sure England are going to come calling and when they do, it is up to him to make that decision.
I know he is a very strong-minded bloke and a lot of decisions have already been made, so that might tip it in our favour.
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Hide AdHe’s been a positive influence on the club and changed the brand of cricket that we play and people know now that when they come up against Yorkshire, they are in for a game of cricket. Jason has been integral to those plans.
Adam Lyth will get his chance at last for England against New Zealand next week and it’s fantastic for him.
I thought he deserved a chance in the West Indies, but it wasn’t to be.
But hopefully, he will get a run in the side now. He’s shown his class in the last year or so and he’s come on leaps and bounds.
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Hide AdI wish him luck and hopefully he can have a long career with England.
Lythy is not a massive ‘thinker’ and I don’t think the international stage will affect him.
I am sure there will be a few nerves around in that first game, but if he can get a score on the board early, he’s a pretty relaxed character and I am sure he will settle into that role.
Adam played well this week in the first innings in the four-day game for Yorkshire. After not playing for a while, it is always difficult to start after five or six weeks.
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Hide AdBut he played well and while he will be eased in a little bit against New Zealand, they have a really good bowling attack and Southee and Trent Boult are two outstanding bowlers.
But the biggest test will be the Ashes if he gets the nod in that.
Much has been made of the Kevin Pietersen issue this week and it was all a bit surprising really – England are going to appoint a new coach and the director of cricket has made a lot of the decisions before the new guy comes in.
I thought they would have hung on until they got the new coach and then made the decision.
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Hide AdBut I do think that in Test cricket, where will Kevin fit into the England side?
You have got Ballance, Root and Bell who have all had fantastic years and it would be very difficult to leave one of those out.
I am not sure he would get in the current Test team on form.
But I thought they would have given the new coach his ‘head’ and let him decide who he wants in the team and who he doesn’t.
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Hide AdIn the two games against New Zealand, they won’t be about practice, but getting players in form and confidence for the Ashes.
But the Kiwis are much improved, a strong workmanlike unit and tough opposition.
If England win the series, it will give them a lot of confidence going into the Ashes.
It was a bit of a media circus at Headingley this week with not many questions asked about the game, in which we did fantastically well in to dominate Hampshire, apart from being 110-4 in the first innings.
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Hide AdFrom then on in, when Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leaning put their partnership together, we dominated.
There were a lot of side-issues apart from the game, which didn’t disturb us. We cracked on and got the job done.
Now it’s onto T20, and this year, I think we are probably going to be a bit more aggressive. In recent years, we just haven’t found consistency.
We have played some good cricket and some average cricket and it is about getting consistency.
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Hide AdWe think we might be more successful if we go for a more attacking and aggressive approach.
We’d rather get bowled out for 70 or 80 with the opportunity of getting 160 or 170 rather than scraping our way to 130 or 140 and losing anyway. Hopefully, that attitude will get us some results on the board.