YORKSHIRE head coach Ottis Gibson is not allowing himself to worry too much about a significantly different batting line up for the two halves of the upcoming Vitality County Championship season.

The White Rose begin their Division Two campaign today against Leicestershire at Headingley, with England international Harry Brook and Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood the standout names in their top six.

One of cricket’s modern-day greats, Joe Root, will play alongside the pair next week in a four-day Championship clash at Gloucestershire, with that marking the start of four games in a row for the trio, injuries permitting.

Masood is set to play all seven of Yorkshire’s four-day games until they break off for white-ball cricket at the end of May, with Brook and Root involved in five apiece.

Yet it is unlikely the two England stars will be involved in any of Yorkshire’s final seven Championship matches, while Masood could miss at least two of those for Pakistan’s Test series against Bangladesh in August.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Joe Root has not played many first-class games for Yorkshire over the last decade, but he is set to feature in five for the county before the end of May. Joe Root has not played many first-class games for Yorkshire over the last decade, but he is set to feature in five for the county before the end of May. (Image: PA.)

But at Yorkshire’s media day at Headingley on Wednesday, a relaxed Gibson told the T&A: “Last year we didn’t have Joe or Brooky at all and yet we still managed to make quite a lot of runs.

“The team got 15 hundreds between them, and we want to improve on that number this year.

“(Opener) Finlay Bean wasn’t even playing first-team cricket for us a couple of years ago for example, but last season, he only fell 17 runs short of reaching 1,000.

“These guys have come through nicely and they’re developing well here.

“Now that Joe and Brooky are here, it is going to be challenging selection-wise, because somebody will have to miss out.

“But it’s not the worst thing to miss out to Joe Root, he’s the best batsman in the world.

“Whoever the person is that makes way, the key for me then is to make sure to keep that player motivated mentally, so that when Joe leaves us, he’s ready to step in and continue to make the runs he made last year, when Joe wasn’t around.”

Bean was Yorkshire’s breakthrough batsman last season, so how close is 20-year-old Will Luxton, a former Bradford Grammar School pupil and Bradford & Bingley player, to emulating him?

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Yorkshire opener Finlay Bean made his name in first-class cricket in 2023.Yorkshire opener Finlay Bean made his name in first-class cricket in 2023. (Image: Ray Spencer.)

Gibson said: “We try and keep Will close to the first team wherever we can, and I believe he’s not far away from playing at that level.

“We still want him to go and play in the reserves to get some batting practice, but I’m trying to get away from the idea of the first team and second team, in the sense that we’ve got a close-knit unit where everybody is together.

“That way everyone has the feeling they’re not miles away from first-team cricket.

“It means, when they do come into the senior side, it’s not an alien environment for them because they’ve been practicing with the first-team lads.”

And the likes of Luxton can only benefit from having Dawid Malan around, with the 36-year-old taking up a coaching role in Yorkshire’s four-day set up, despite him only playing white-ball cricket for the county this season.

Yorkshire's squad for the four-day game against Leicestershire, starting today, is as follows: