YORKSHIRE captain Andrew Gale would like to see more of the club’s home matches played across the county again - as long as the out-ground facilities are up to scratch.

Earlier this week, the White Rose revealed plans to boost cricket across the Bradford area, first concentrating on the grassroots and then maybe taking first-class cricket back to Bradford Park Avenue.

As things stand, Scarborough’s North Marine Road is the county’s only out-ground fit to host county cricket, with two LV= County Championship matches and two one-day games again scheduled for 2015.

Headingley and Scarborough are the only home grounds Yorkshire have used for first-team fixtures since 1996 when grounds in Harrogate, Bradford, Middlesbrough and Sheffield also hosted Championship matches.

Chief executive Mark Arthur says there is no reason why Park Avenue should not host first-class cricket again, with the 2019 season looking the most likely because Headingley could host ten days of international cricket that summer.

They will host an Ashes Test and are hoping for up to four one-day World Cup matches, which will put pressure on the pitches there for a full programme of domestic fixtures as well.

“In an ideal world, we’d love to get cricket all around Yorkshire like it used to be, but the challenging thing is the facilities,” said Gale.

“The drainage at Headingley is fantastic. If it rains for a day, you can guarantee you’re on the next day. You go to somewhere like Park Avenue or Scarborough, and that might not be the case.

“Scarborough had to work really hard on the drainage and spend a lot of money.

“When we played that season in the second division in 2012, we played at a lot of outgrounds and lost a hell of a lot of cricket.

“If they are going to do it, it needs doing right so that when we go, we know that if it does rain for a period of time, we are not going to be washed out.”

Gale is particularly intrigued about the prospect of first-class cricket returning to Park Avenue as it is a venue he knows well having played a lot of his league cricket in the Bradford League.

“I played a lot of junior cricket there, and it’s a good venue,” he added.

“Our Academy (Yorkshire’s) was based there originally, so we played a few games there. It was a good pitch with a rapid outfield, and I’ve got a few runs there in the past.

“It had that history and feel, and all the players who had been there would tell you they loved it at Park Avenue. There was a good atmosphere with the crowd on top of you. It had a sort of Scarborough feel about it.

“It would be nice if it gets up to standard.

“I think they’ve got a long way to go from the last time I visited it, but if they can get it up to standard, I think it would be brilliant because Bradford has a big community who love their cricket.”