Yorkshire county cricket preview: New signings, released players, fixtures, predictions
EXPRESS SPORT is previewing the county cricket season and the final team to be assessed is Yorkshire.
New Yorkshire captain Gary Ballance is available from the start of the seson
Yorkshire
Last season
CC D1- 3rd
RLODC- semi-final, lost to Surrey.
T20- semi-final, lost to Durham.
New signings
None
Yorkshire batsman Alex Lees will look to nudge the England selectors
It is an absolute honour to be named the Yorkshire club captain and to follow in the footsteps of some great captains
Players out
Andrew Gale (retired)
Overseas stars
Peter Handscomb (Aus)- all season all formats
Travis Head (Aus)- T20 Blast
Club captain
Gary Ballance
Key man
Gary Ballance- the new club captain has recently signed a new two-year contract and is likely to be available for the whole season with his England future in doubt.
England radar
Alex Lees – the opener has been a consistent performer for a few years now and could be the next cab off the rank if Haseeb Hameed and Keaton Jennings fail to nail down a Test place.
Young gun
Matthew Waite – young all-rounder who impressed in his two games last year, including taking three wickets in the Royal London One Day Cup semi-final defeat to Surrey.
This season's predictions
CCD1- 2nd
RLODC- winners
T20 Blast- group stage
Peter Handscomb is the overseas player for Yorkshire this season
Yorkshire won’t be happy to have given up their title to Middlesex last season and will fight tooth and nail for it again this year.
Ryan Sidebottom will want to go out on a high after announcing he will retire at the end of the campaign after an illustrious career.
Their T20 Blast performances could be affected by their Championship charge but having some of their England players available early will give them a real boost for the Royal London One Day Cup.
First fixture
CCD1- Hampshire home, Friday 7th April
RLODC- Nottinghamshire away, Saturday 29th April
T20 Blast- Nottinghamshire home, Friday 7th July