YORKSHIRE coach Andrew Gale says it has been “virtually impossible” to prepare for what it is hoped will at least be a curtailed programme of county cricket later this summer.

Yorkshire had been scheduled to open their season on Easter Sunday against newly-promoted Gloucestershire in the opening round of the Specsavers County Championship at Emerald Headingley.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out the first seven rounds of the Championship programme, and there will be no cricket until at least May 28.

“We haven’t been able to plan because you don’t know the end game,” said Gale, who was confident of silverware in both red and white-ball cricket.

“If they said: ‘Right, you’re going to play half the Championship season and you’ll start on this date’, you can get an idea of what you need to do to meet that date. But until we know what’s going to happen and who you are going to play, it’s virtually impossible.

“All that can be done is for the lads to keep themselves physically fit.”

As well as bringing in England batsman Dawid Malan from Middlesex, Yorkshire had three overseas players in Keshav Maharaj, Ravi Ashwin and Nicholas Pooran across Championship and Twenty20 cricket.

“When you look out of the window and see the nice weather we’ve had, it’s particularly frustrating, because you wonder what might have been,” said Gale.

“We had prepared really well, added the signings we wanted and were confident of having a good season this year.

“Fingers crossed we can get some cricket in later on.”

*Please note: Gale was speaking to the ECB Reporters Network before Yorkshire's announcement that it was to furlough playing and coaching staff.