Gary Ballance announced as new Yorkshire captain
Thursday 15 December 2016 07:05, UK
England's Gary Ballance has been announced as the new captain of Yorkshire.
Ballance, who is currently in India with England ahead of Friday's fifth Test, live on Sky Sports, will captain the White Rose across all three formats.
Batsman Ballance will take over from Andrew Gale in the County Championship, after the former skipper hung up his boots to replace Jason Gillespie as first-team coach last month, and Alex Lees in limited-overs cricket.
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Speaking about his appointment, Ballance said: "It is an absolute honour to be named the club captain and to follow in the footsteps of some great captains over the years. I cannot wait to get started.
"When Andrew Gale called me, it was impossible to turn down. Being captain is something that I enjoy doing and hopefully I will do a good job for Yorkshire and follow on from the good work that Galey (Andrew Gale) has done over the years.
"I'm experienced now, I have played a bit of cricket over the years, so I have seen how different captains work. I think that I am a calm person and like to think that I have a decent cricket brain.
"I'm not a massive speaker, but I will be looking to lead by example on the field and get the lads to follow me."
The 27-year-old signed for Yorkshire's Academy ahead of the 2008 summer and made his First-Class debut in July of that year against Kent. Ballance has since gained international recognition, playing 21 Test Matches for England, scoring four Test centuries and seven half centuries.
Gale said: "I wanted to take my time when deciding who to appoint as new Club Captain and Gary (Ballance) is the right man to take the team forward.
"I am a firm believer in continuity and I am pleased that Gary will captain Yorkshire across all three formats.
"Gary is respected on and off the field, has a good cricket brain and knows the direction that we would like to take the team in. He has led from the front for many years with the bat and his experience speaks for itself.
"Last season, I missed a game against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough with a back injury and Gary stepped in as captain. He showed great qualities as a leader and I am excited about how he will lead the side in the future."
Watch India play England in the fifth and final Test of the series from Chennai, live on Sky Sports 2 from 3.30am on Friday.
