Martyn Moxon hopes Yorkshire’s youngsters will benefit from a tough baptism of fire in this summer’s Friends Life t20 competition.

The county’s director of professional cricket has seen the Tykes slip to the brink of elimination after winning only four of their 12 North Division matches.

Their batting has been a major issue, highlighted by captain Andrew Gale being the only player to have scored a half-century this summer.

Moxon still believes his troops can secure a quarter-final place but is targeting wins in all of their remaining four matches, starting with Leicestershire at Headingley tomorrow evening.

Moxon has pointed to Gale as the blueprint for improvement in this form of the game.

The skipper only scored two 50s in his first 27 20-over innings but has since achieved that feat 11 times in 34 innings, including four times this summer.

Moxon said: “You only have to look at Galey a couple of years ago. He struggled in Twenty20 but, by playing it more and more, he has developed into a fine player.

“I think in the long-run this experience will be good for our younger players. They will get better from having to think about what they’re doing.

“I’m confident the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance and Joe Root will do the same. They will flourish and be excellent players. But for now it is tough because they are still finding their feet.”

Azeem Rafiq faces a race against time to play again this season because he faces eight weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring tear.