Tuesday 20 September 2016 07:46, UK
Jason Gillespie insists Yorkshire respect the England and Wales Cricket Board's decision not to make Jonny Bairstow available for the Specsavers County Championship title decider against Middlesex.
The club's director of cricket Martyn Moxon contacted the England hierarchy seeking permission for Bairstow to be made available for the crucial Division One match, which starts at Lord's on Tuesday.
However, director of England cricket Andrew Strauss and England coach Trevor Bayliss refused to allow Bairstow to play against the leaders.
Yorkshire, the reigning champions, were advised by England to rest Bairstow and Joe Root following the end of the international summer and the county obliged by leaving both players out of their squad to take on Somerset last week, a match they lost by 10 wickets.
They issued a statement on Sunday expressing their disappointment at the ECB's decision not to allow Bairstow to return, but head coach Gillespie said they had accepted it as the team prepared to board the coach from Leeds to London on Monday.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: "Jonny's playing as a wicketkeeper-batsman on a big tour of the sub-continent that's coming up in Bangladesh and India. [We] can certainly understand their concerns and that's why Straussy and Trevor are in these positions - sometimes they have to make tough decisions.
"I'm not saying we necessarily agree with it, however we have to respect that."
Captain Andrew Gale also expressed his disappointment, but he remains hopeful that Yorkshire, who are nine points adrift of Middlesex, can snatch a victory at Lord's and win a third successive title.
"He's obviously a massive player in our side when he plays and it's disappointing," said Gale.
"We would have liked to have seen him out on the pitch for us this week. [But] we've been without him for a while now and there's no reason why we still can't win without him.
"If there's any way that there's a fairytale ending - to go down to Lord's, three in a row, get over the line and win - the stage is set!"
Looking ahead to the match, Gillespie added: "There's a bit of buzz and excitement about it, as there should be, because it's a big game. There's no point saying 'it's just another game of cricket'. It's not. It's a big occasion and something to be embraced and enjoyed.
"This is what we play cricket for. It would be great to win. I would love to see the looks on the faces in that dressing room if we're fortunate enough to win the title.
"We're in for a tough challenge, but we're up for it."
Coverage of the Middlesex v Yorkshire clash starts on Sky Sports 1 from 10am on Tuesday.
