Gary Ballance appointed Yorkshire Captain

The Yorkshire County Cricket Club are delighted to announce that Gary Ballance has been appointed as Club captain.

Ballance, who is currently in India with the England Test squad, will captain the White Rose across all three formats.

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.

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."

Yorkshire First XI Coach Andrew 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."

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