Ye Gods, Lees revives memories of Lord Hawke

Alex Lees has become Yorkshire's youngest captain since Lord Hawke, the most formidable figure in the county's history, upon being appointed to lead the side in one-day and Twenty20 cricket.

At 22, Lees will become Yorkshire's youngest-ever official limited-overs captain since the format was introduced in 1963. He is also the youngest-ever professional captain, Lord Hawke having no truck with anything as soiled as remuneration. Lees, as far as we know, will still draw his salary.

Although Yorkshire have won the Championship twice in succession under Andrew Gale, and have supplied a steady stream of cricketers to England's Test side in the process, their limited-overs cricket remains largely unproductive.

There is even a suggestion - most regularly heard in the south - that the good folk of Yorkshire remain a little too sober-minded for the high-risk shenanigans of T20 cricket.

At least Lees can be confident he takes over one of the most professional sides in English cricket. When Lord Hawke assumed control of Yorkshire in 1882, as their first amateur captain, it was said that he had taken over "a band of rogues and vagabonds".

Hawke soon put that right. He remains the most successful county captain ever, Yorkshire winning the County Championship a record eight times, and took an instructional view when it came to the lifestyles of those professionals under his command, instilling self-discipline and warning against the evils of alcohol. "Ye Gods, pray no professional should ever captain England," he once said.

Lees is not expected to offer lifestyle advice to his colleagues, especially as most of them are older than he is, although he does take to Twitter with a weekly recipe and to his shock has recently admitted he has become a fan of Justin Bieber. And Yorkshire's head coach, Jason Gillespie, likes to reflect on the day's play over a beer so an alcohol ban is unlikely.

Yorkshire did reach the semi-finals of the Royal London Cup under Lees' guidance after he took over from Gale as interim skipper in August, but their T20 cricket again disappointed large crowds at Headingley, leading the county to throw in youngster after youngster in their impatience to change the mould.

Lees led Yorkshire eight times last season, but Yorkshire took time for further reflection before offering him the job full time. Gillespie said: "We thought he did a pretty good job. After considering a number of candidates, we feel Alex is the right fit for us as captain. He learnt a lot on the job last season and we think he can develop as a leader further. We are delighted to afford him this opportunity and believe that he will do a fantastic job for our club.

"In 50-over cricket I thought we made some good strides last year, I thought we did a lot better than the previous year, but T20 cricket is something we still haven't cracked. We are either very good or very ordinary."

Lees might have assumed control at a good time with the signing of David Willey, who has broken into England's limited-overs sides, also expected to provide a catalyst when he is free from international commitments. Spin bowling, though, remains a weakness, especially when Adil Rashid is on England duty and Yorkshire's signing of Australian batsmen Glen Maxwell and Aaron Finch did not bring the transformation envisaged.

But he might regard Lord Hawke's fate upon accepting the captaincy as a warning. He struggled for form in his first season. "I seemed to have shot my bolt - I just could not play myself in," he recollected. Not that playing himself in is regarded as one of Lees' priority to revive Yorkshire in T20. Quite the opposite.

Lees said: "I'm really proud and it's humbling that Yorkshire see me as the best option to take the club forward in one-day cricket irrespective of my age. With myself coming in, there's a new direction and a new voice which will hopefully revitalise the team."

"This is a big county with lots of potential and opportunity. I'm only 22, but I have a lot to offer as captain. I will be very open with my approach and will lean on the experienced players to drive us on and be successful. Everybody's right to highlight that we have the squad to win one-day trophies now. We should seize that moment."

Yorkshire have not won a limited-overs trophy since 2002. They reached the T20 domestic final in 2012 but have disappointed since. Lord Hawke, a traditionalist to the core, would merely have sniffed and advised them to concentrate on the Championship.

Lord Bradshaw, a potential new nickname, based upon the village near Halifax where Lees first took to the field as a four-year-old, may have a few things to say about that.