Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale thrilled by 'FA Cup final'

Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale has compared T20 finals day to English football's FA Cup final.

Gale's side, who face Sussex in their semi-final at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff, are competing in the showpiece for the first time.

"It's the FA Cup final of cricket. There's the band there and there'll be a full house," he told BBC Radio Leeds.

"We want to go there and do ourselves justice. We're not going just to enjoy the occasion, we're there to win."

He added: "There's been a real buzz around the dressing room these last few weeks. The lads are all looking forward to it."

Yorkshire secured progress to finals day with a 29-run victory over Worcestershire in their quarter-final.

Gale praised the impact that the younger members of the team have had in the competition.

"Joe Root, Gary Ballance, Moin Ashraf and Azeem Rafiq have all come of age this year," he continued.

"They've all contributed and when young lads add that to the team then it really helps because it can take a while to find your feet in Twenty20."

The Headingley side are competing to secure an immediate return to the first division of the County Championship.

Hampshire's win over Northants means Gale's side are 10 points outside the promotion places with three games remaining, despite being unbeaten in the competition this season.

The skipper is taking the positives as Yorkshire head into a pivotal three-week period.

"If you'd said at the start of the season we'd have a chance of winning the FL t20 and getting promotion then I'd have snapped your hand off," he concluded.

"It was disappointing not to get the result against Derbyshire last week but we've still got a lot to play for and everyone is really excited for the run-in."