YORKSHIRE’S preparations for the 2015 campaign have moved up a gear with the naming of an 18-man squad for the pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Andrew Gale’s men fly out to the UAE on Thursday, March 12, and could play as many as half a dozen games in various formats, with the undoubted highlight being the four-day Champion County match against the MCC, which begins on Sunday March 22 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

In the four-team Emirates Airline T20 tournament in Dubai on Friday, March 20, the Yorkshire Vikings have been drawn against rivals Lancashire Lightning. The other semi-final sees MCC taking on Sussex Sharks.

The White Rose’s seven England Lions players – Jonny Bairstow, Jack Brooks, Tim Bresnan, Alex Lees, Adam Lyth, Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid – have all been selected for the trip after a successful tour of South Africa last month, while promising youngsters Matthew Fisher and Karl Carver will be touring with the senior squad for the first time.

"We are looking forward to getting out to the UAE," said Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie, pictured.

"After an intense winter period, most of it spent in the indoor facilities at Headingley, we are looking forward to developing our skills outdoors and working towards the start of the county campaign. With a good spread of cricket across all formats, the tour will be ideal preparation for us.

"The MCC will be strong opposition in the Champion County game. Our hosts have selected a solid squad which includes England captain Alastair Cook.

"Our aim is to play well and win the match. Games of this nature are what we need going into an intense period of cricket at the start of the English season."

While the senior squad are in the UAE, six youngsters – Elliot Callis, Ryan Gibson, Daniel Hodgson, Joshua Shaw, Jonathan Tattersall and James Wainman – will attend a six-day training camp at the Desert Springs Resort in Alicante, Spain, where they will work on their skills with coaching consultant Anthony McGrath.

Yorkshire’s squad: Andrew Gale (captain), Moin Ashraf, Jonathan Bairstow, Jack Brooks, Tim Bresnan, Karl Carver, Ben Coad, Matthew Fisher, Andrew Hodd, Jack Leaning, Alex Lees, Adam Lyth, Steve Patterson, Liam Plunkett, Richard Pyrah, Adil Rashid, Will Rhodes, Ryan Sidebottom.