FRESH from leading his team to the verge of retaining the County Championship, Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale has advised one-day captain Alex Lees and his team not to get "carried away with the occasion" when they play Gloucestershire in the Royal London Cup semi-finals tomorrow.

Yorkshire's win over Somerset inside three days has left the Headingley outfit needing only to avoid defeat against Middlesex to clinch the Division One title.

But before that game the White Rose cricketers have a chance to pursue their goal of winning two major trophies in a season, something Yorkshire have never managed before.

Gale said: "It's obviously a very big game for the lads. I don't think I'll be involved but it would be great if we could do the double. I think our form has been exceptional of late in one-day cricket.

"It's a big match, there will be a pretty big crowd in and it'll be about hammering the process that we have done before in games and not getting carried away with the occasion.

"The players are going into that game full of confidence. The win against Somerset will give the lads even more going into the match against Gloucestershire.

"The prospect of doing the double for the club is massive. We have never done it before and we will really have the bit between our teeth."

Winning the Royal London Cup would give Yorkshire their first major one-day trophy since 2002 and Gale conceded that the memory of their defeat to Durham in last year's quarter-finals will act as a major motivation.

"I thought we showed some good form in that competition last year and we were disappointed to lose in the fashion we did in the quarter-finals," he said.

"Then we were really disappointed about how things went in this year's T20 and we felt we had a point to prove.

"The players suit the longer format with the white ball but I think our plans have been a little bit better and the players have stepped up."

Once tomorrow's match is out of the way, however, Gale will return to the helm with the prospect of winning the County Championship at Lord's firmly in his sights.

He said: "We have not spoken during the game about how close we are to retaining the Championship title but everyone is aware how few points we still need. But the cricket we are playing, we would back ourselves to beat anyone."

Yet Gale dismissed the view that the memory of his side's loss at Lord's last April, their most recent defeat in the County Championship, will act as any sort of spur to his players.

He said: "You shouldn't need motivation when you're going into the last three games of the season and playing for a trophy. There will no reminiscing on what happened last year.

"Since we came back in pre-season, the motivation to lift that trophy after what happened last season has driven me on. To win back-to-back championships will be a special feeling – but it would be especially nice to win the title next week at Lord's."

Gale also admitted that he has been determined to keep his own counsel recently after being disciplined for comments he made during last year's Roses match and prevented from being presented with the trophy.

"It will be a big incentive after last year to lift the trophy myself," he said.