ANDREW Gale says Yorkshire are relishing the prospect of a key period in their season with both the red and white ball, starting with two NatWest T20 Blast matches in three days tomorrow and Sunday.

The White Rose face six days of cricket out of the next seven to start a hectic five weeks.

They play their remaining nine Twenty20 group matches between now and July 24 as well as four LV= County Championship games.

Nottinghamshire visit Headingley tomorrow for a T20 clash before returning to start a Championship match on Monday.

In between, Yorkshire travel to Edgbaston on Sunday to take on T20 champions Birmingham Bears.

Captain Gale and company badly need a productive weekend of Twenty20 cricket after losing their last three matches to slide down the North Division table after two wins to start the competition.

In the Championship, they are far better-placed having won three and drawn three of their first six fixtures.

"I see this next month or so as being key for us in all formats really. If we come through it well, we are sat nicely,” he said.

“We could be staring down the barrel of a Twenty20 quarter-final, and if we are in the top two or three of the Championship, we are set well for the run-in.

“We're quite a few fixtures behind everybody else, so they are going to come thick and fast. That will probably work to our advantage. We’re really excited about the next month.”

No doubt, Gale is frustrated at their three successive Blast defeats. But he has been determined not to look too deeply into their rain-affected reverse against Northamptonshire at Headingley on Sunday.

Yorkshire stumbled to 82-7 before Northants, who won an important toss with bad weather around, knocked off the runs with eight wickets and 26 balls to spare.

The left-handed batsman, who will return to the top of the order after elevating Glenn Maxwell to open with Aaron Finch, added: “I was more disappointed with the Roses game than Sunday because we lost that ourselves.

"Also, we should have kept Durham to 160-165. Had we done that, we'd have won the game. We've only got ourselves to blame for those two games. I just hope that it doesn't cost us in the long run.

"The confidence is still there because we've played some really good cricket. We have batted really well. The year before we struggled to make 120, 130 or 140, but we have made 170 or 180. The lads have got to improve with the ball."

Gale is hoping to have seamer Matthew Fisher available after missing the Northants match following an ear operation.