Yorkshire’s thumping win at Lancashire is bittersweet for Andrew Gale

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/03/lancashire-yorkshire-county-championship

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Andrew Gale had just become the first Yorkshire captain to win a Roses match for more than 13 years, a result that leaves his team in a powerful position to be crowned county champions in Nottingham next week, for the first time since 2001. Yet the 30-year-old looked inconsolable as he sat alone on the balcony outside the away dressing room, staring blankly at the gulls gathering on the outfield.

Confirmation arrived at 5pm of what Gale had known was coming all day. He will be suspended from all cricket until and including Friday 27 September for a level-two breach of county cricket’s disciplinary code – “using language or gesture that is obscene or of a serious insulting nature to another player, umpire, referee, team official or spectator”. That means he will miss the chance to lead Yorkshire to a first trophy since he was appointed captain six seasons ago.

The official England and Wales Cricket Board statement concluded with a warning that “the cricket discipline commission will also consider whether any further action needs to be taken in relation to Mr Gale”. It is hard to imagine a harsher punishment.

Gale had very clearly exchanged words with one or both of Lancashire’s left-handed imports, Ashwell Prince and Usman Khawaja, before the last over of the third day, when they had resisted Yorkshire’s victory push for 16 overs and he was fielding at backward point. The umpire Steve Garrett walked across to administer a warning, and play continued, with Gale coming up to field at silly point for the last couple of balls.

But it was clear that the ill-feeling lingered as the players left the field, with Gale and Prince gesticulating at each other. The umpires were required to submit a report to Lord’s overnight and the problem for Gale was that he had six disciplinary points on his record after showing dissent during the previous Roses match this season at Headingley, when he was given out caught behind by Peter Willey. Any player who commits another level two breach automatically incurs another six-point penalty, and that leads to an automatic suspension.

Gale was too upset to speak, leaving Yorkshire’s coach, Jason Gillespie, to confirm in words what was so obvious from the image of the captain on the balcony. “He’s our leader. For him to be missing out on the last two games is devastating for the man himself. His season’s over and he’s quite understandably devastated after such a great win here.”

The loss of Gale seems highly unlikely to derail Yorkshire’s title bandwagon. They expect England to make Joe Root and Gary Ballance available to bolster their middle order at Trent Bridge, when Tim Bresnan should also be fit to return after missing this game with a pectoral strain – although Liam Plunkett is unlikely to play again this season as his ankle injury continues to cause concern.

They did suffer their only defeat of the season under Root’s captaincy at Lord’s in April, when Middlesex chased a Championship record of 472. But they are clearly a team on a mission and running into form at the right time, as shown here by Adam Lyth’s single-minded 251 and an entrancing all-round performance by Adil Rashid as he added five Lancashire wickets to his unbeaten 149.

There may have been a few nerves as Prince and Khawaja batted through the first hour, before Rashid broke the stand with a stroke of luck, as the South African was adjudged caught behind from a legside tickle.

Rashid also had Steven Croft brilliantly caught by Kane Williamson at gully before lunch – shortly after the batsman had reached double figures with a true cricketing rarity, an all-run six. Then Jack Brooks claimed three wickets with the new ball, Rashid lured Khawaja down the pitch and had him smartly stumped by Jonny Bairstow for a county-best 117 – and fittingly, Lyth applied the coup de grace with his occasional off-spin, sealing a result that very probably condemns Lancashire to relegation for the second time in three seasons.

“It’s been a turbulent few years,” admitted their captain, Glen Chapple, who confirmed that he would retire at the end of the season if his role as acting coach is made permanent.