YORKSHIRE closed ranks behind suspended captain Andrew Gale after the England and Wales Cricket Board prevented him from lifting the County Championship trophy at Trent Bridge.

Gale, captain of Yorkshire for the past five years, was suspended for the final two matches of the season after being found guilty of using foul and abusive language during last week's victory over Lancashire at Old Trafford, having previously been disciplined for dissent earlier in the season.

It denied Gale the opportunity to lead the side in their title-clinching innings victory over Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge yesterday and ECB officials prevented him from lifting the trophy. It was instead collected by Joe Root, who was leading Yorkshire in Gale's absence.

Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon admitted: "We only found out last night (Thursday). It's been hard for him, obviously.

"It's the moment he's cherished, so for him not to be able to be out there to collect the trophy is very hard for him to take."

Gale did get his hands on the trophy – after the official presentation ceremony – which brought the biggest cheer from Yorkshire's supporters.

Moxon said: "We're limited to what we can say as there's a legal process in place, so we've got to be very careful.

"But the bottom line is everybody knows that Andrew Gale is captain of Yorkshire in 2014 when we won the County Championship. Ultimately that's all that matters."

The ECB have confirmed they are convening a disciplinary panel into the incident, which involved Lancashire batsman Ashwell Prince, after which Gale could face further sanctions.