ANDREW Gale is swapping Emerald Headingley for the Blundstone Arena this December as he looks to expand his coaching experience.

The Yorkshire coach is heading to Tasmania on a fact-finding mission with both their state side and Big Bash outfit Hobart Hurricanes.

Earlier this month, Gale oversaw a win against a youthful Hurricanes side in the Abu Dhabi T20 competition.

His trip was arranged prior to that fixture, and he is confident spending time watching and learning from coach Adam Griffith and players such as George Bailey, Matthew Wade, D’Arcy Short and Jofra Archer will help him help the White Rose.

“I’m only going for the first round of Big Bash games (December 22),” explained the former Championship-winning captain.

“I’m going for the last round of Sheffield Shield games (December 6-9) with Tasmania and then doing two weeks in the build-up to the Big Bash.

“I’ll then be coming home for Christmas.

“It was something I wanted to do last winter, but I felt with everything going on I needed to stay and sort all that out, bed in after my appointment.

“But for my own personal development, to get away from Yorkshire and have a look at something on the outside is a good opportunity.

“It was somewhere we chose and contacted, and they’ve said they’re happy to have me.”

One option open to Gale would have been to head to South Australia to reunite with Jason Gillespie, now in charge of the Adelaide Strikers.

However, he reasoned: “Going to Adelaide, I wouldn’t get as much use out of it as I would going to Hobart because I know how Dizzy works, I know his style inside out.

“I want to look at something new.

“Whether it’s right or wrong, at least I’ll have seen something different. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Gale will oversee an environment which seems to be heading in the right direction given Tasmania have reached Australia’s last two domestic finals - in the Sheffield Shield in March and in the JLT Cup earlier this month.

The Hurricanes also reached February’s Big Bash final when they were beaten by Gillespie’s Strikers.