Gale isn't second guessing skipper Gough
7:42pm Thursday 14th August 2008
Yorkshire centurion Andrew Gale says he does not know whether captain Darren Gough will try and set up an impressive Roses County Championship win over Lancashire at Old Trafford tomorrow.
Gale secured his third four-day hundred of the season - an unbeaten 111 - to push the White Rose beyond Lancashire's first-innings score of 231.
The Tykes moved to 234 for two at close on day three today, setting up the potential of a thrilling last-day march to a much-needed LV Division One win.
Vice-captain Anthony McGrath will be devastated that he could not record a ton of his own - he was agonisingly trapped lbw for 99 by Francois Du Plessis.
Yorkshire lead by just three runs - and captain Darren Gough will want to get up into the region of 400, and five batting bonus points, before thinking about a win.
Left-hander Gale, who reached three figures off 265 balls, said: "Goughy says he is going to have to have a think about it overnight. I am not sure which way he will want to go.
"It is going to be hard to bowl Lancashire out if we get a decent lead. We might just go for the bonus points.
"Goughy might want us to go out in the morning and try and set something up, or he might just say keep batting and let everyone have a bat, and try and get some form for the next four games.
"If we get a decent lead, it will take us to lunch. That leaves us two sessions - 60 overs - it may be possible. Goughy is an attacking captain. I am sure that something like that will be in his mind."
Gale and McGrath shared a second-wicket partnership of 215 to emphatically recover from the early loss of Chris Taylor, who was trapped in front by Dominic Cork with the score at four.
It was actually Yorkshire's second-highest second-wwicket stand in first-class cricket against Lancashire.
Adil Rashid had earlier completed figures of five for 95 from 30.4 overs, getting rid of Steven Croft (68) and Sajid Mahmood within the space of four balls.
Gale's cautious views on the possibility of a win were caused by the state of the Old Trafford track: "It's really slow," he assessed. "It is a lot like an Indian or Pakistani wicket. There is plenty of turn there, but it is slow turn.
"I tried to play it off the back foot a lot, trying to watch the spin instead of going hard at it."
On his own performance, he added: "To get a Roses hundred is always going to be special. It meant a lot to me today. It was hard graft out there."