Huddersfield's Tom Craddock is in action for Yorkshire Vikings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The former Drakes League leg-spinner with Honley – who was on the books at Essex County Cricket Club – plays against a South Yorkshire Select XI in a T20 at Abbeydale Park in Sheffield on Tuesday (5.30).
And he’s in the line-up the following day to play a ECB North Yorkshire & South Durham Premier League XI at Marton CC, Middlesbrough (5.30).
Skelmanthorpe’s Yassar Imtiaz is 12th man for the Abbeydale Park match on Tuesday.
Yorkshire’s Ryan Gibson, Eliot Callis, Moin Ashraf and James Wainman will play for the opposition in both matches.
The Vikings are starting preparations for the 2015 NatWest T20 Blast campaign and head coach Jason Gillespie is determined to put on a show for the Yorkshire faithful this summer.
After these first two matches, later in the month the White Rose will visit Bradford, Harrogate and York and, for the second season running, the professional arm of Yorkshire Cricket is keen to embrace the recreational game in the county.
“We have had a good period of four-day cricket and now there is an opportunity to put in some quality practice ahead of the T20 season,” said Gillespie.
“To be able to play around the county is a great initiative by the club. We want to showcase our talent against some of the best league players and give something back to the sport in areas that don’t necessarily see Yorkshire week in, week out.
“It will give us an opportunity to continue to work on our limited overs skills at some wonderful club grounds with excellent facilities.
“We know the opposition, the club players, will be excited to be playing against professionals. It is a win, win for cricket in Yorkshire.”
The new campaign will see the Vikings look to reach the latter stages of the NatWest T20 Blast competition having failed in the last two seasons.
Gillespie believes the recent tournament victory in Dubai, where Yorkshire won the coveted Emirates Cup against county opposition, and the club's summer signings of Australian internationals Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch will give the county every chance of competing.
“We have shown our intent already by winning the Emirates Cup in Dubai with some aggressive, positive displays and that will continue going into the summer,” added Gillespie.
“The way we played gives everyone a really clear idea how we are going to approach T20 cricket. We are going to be positive and very aggressive in everything we do.
“Ultimately, we want to put on a show for the fans who pay their hard earned pounds to come and watch us. We owe it to them to put on a show. Guys will be throwing themselves around the field, throwing the stumps down, bowlers bowling aggressively and batsmen try to be positive and looking to hit the ball hard and out of the ground.
“We have made some quality overseas signings too. Aaron Finch is injured at the moment, but we expect him to be with us sometime in June and Glenn Maxwell will be with us a soon as his commitments have come to an end with Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League.”
All the warm-up matches are part of Richard Pyrah’s Benefit Year.
Vikings squad v South Yorkshire Select (Tuesday May 5): Tim Bresnan, Jack Brooks, Karl Carver, Tom Craddock, Matthew Fisher, Andrew Gale (captain), Andrew Hodd (w), Dan Hodgson, Jack Leaning, Richie Pyrah, Will Rhodes. Yassar Imtiaz (12th man).
Vikings squad v ECB North Yorkshire & South Durham (Wednesday May 6): Karl Carver, Ben Coad, Tom Craddock, Matthew Fisher, Dan Hodgson (w), Jack Leaning, Alex Lees (captain), Richie Pyrah, Will Rhodes, Jonathan Tattersall, Matthew Waite. Ben Ainsley (12th man).
