We've learned a fast lesson - Gale

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The batting expertise Yorkshire have gained at the Champions League T20 will be vital, according to captain Andrew Gale.

Gale’s side were yesterday eliminated by a five-wicket loss to Lions in Johannesburg, albeit they have one Group B game left versus Chennai Super Kings at Durban tomorrow.

The pitches the White Rose have played on in South Africa have generally been faster than those at home and many of the bowlers have been quicker than those they have faced in the Friends Life t20.

Gale thinks this year’s FLt20 runners-up, who beat Uva Next and Trinidad & Tobago to reach the competition proper, will be better equipped for next season’s domestic t20.

He told ecb.co.uk: “Batting’s been a main thing, playing on different style of pitches, pitches that are fast and bouncy, playing guys who are 90 mile an hour, we’ve found it tough.

“But we’ve had to adapt our game and lads have had experience of that now and, if we come on pitches like that in England, we can adapt fast.

“But we’ve learned that from any position we’re in, we can still win games. People have always put their hand up throughout the competition and to qualify like we did against Trinidad as well just shows anyone can put their hand up on the day.”

Andrew Gale said of Steven Patterson: "People say he can’t play Twenty20 cricket and he’s held his hand up and said that he can."

Defeating the Sri Lanka Premier League winners and the Caribbean T20 champions was made all the more impressive by Yorkshire being without most of their star names.

Jonny Bairstow and Tim Bresnan are resting ahead of England’s Test tour to India while Australia’s Mitchell Starc is playing for Sydney Sixers, South Africa’s David Miller was injured in the first match and Richard Pyrah has been unavailable throughout the competition.

To add to that list, seamers Ryan Sidebottom and Moin Ashraf missed yesterday’s defeat in which Lions chased 132 with four balls to spare at the Wanderers.

Gale said: “We’re disappointed to go out of it. We would have liked to progress as far as we can. But considering the injuries we’ve had, the players at home - international players - that side we had out there, we only had four of the players that represented us in the domestic competition.

“I think we can be proud of what we achieved. To take the game that deep in the fashion that we did, I’m very pleased with what the lads have done out there.”

The players that filled in have impressed Gale, not least yesterday when Oliver Hannon-Dalby made his Twenty20 bow and Iain Wardlaw began with a maiden.

Gale added: “People like Ollie Hannon-Dalby, Iain Wardlaw, Patto (Steven Patterson) - who hasn’t played in (domestic) Twenty20 this time - we can take a lot from what they’ve done on the biggest stage of all really, the Champions League.

“To make your debut like Ollie has done in front of 20,000 people and bowl under pressure, bowling like Wardie did there, bowling maidens, is a fantastic effort.”

Patterson, alongside Sidebottom and Azeem Rafiq, is Yorkshire’s joint-leading wicket-taker in the tournament.

Gale continued: “He’s probably had a point to prove on this trip. People say he can’t play Twenty20 cricket and he’s held his hand up and said that he can. And he’s shown his stats and figures have been excellent. I’m sure he’ll be sticking his name in the hat now in England.”

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