FORMER England bowler Darren Gough will not come out of retirement to play in Yorkshire’s Twenty20 Cup campaign this season.

Gough retired last summer after two seasons as Yorkshire captain but it was suggested he could make a swift return to action when the 20-over competition begins late next month.

Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon revealed last week they were ‘‘seriously considering’’ it but Gough insists a return is highly unlikely.

He said: ‘‘I did chat to Yorkshire about it, they asked me if I’d be interested in playing.

I said ‘never say never’ but it’s going to be very hard because I’ve got so many other things going on, it would be too hard for me to get the quality of cricket I’d need to get in.

‘‘I wouldn’t want to come back if I wasn’t playing the standard of cricket I’d need to be playing.

‘‘Realistically now it is only a month away and I’ve not really played any cricket yet, there are no plans for me to play any either so it’s going to b e v e r y , v e r y difficult, much as I would l o v e to.’’ Yorks h i r e ’ s A d i l Rashid is hoping to see his name in the England Lions squad when it is announced this week ahead of a four-day f r i e n d l y against the touring West Indians at the end of the month.

And the 21-year-old legspinning all-rounder believes he would turn up to Derby’s County Ground on April 30 a much better player after a winter away with the full England squad in the Caribbean.

“I have been part of the Lions squad for a couple of years now, so it would be nice to be named against the West Indies,” said Rashid, who travelled with England to India on a watching brief before Christmas.

“It was a great experience.

To go with the main squad to the West Indies for two and a half months was fantastic.

I worked on everything out there. I worked on my batting with the batters and on my bowling with the other spinners.

“I certainly learnt a bit about myself, about my bowling and about my batting - perhaps a few things that I didn’t know before.

“I learnt how to play in different situations, I learnt a lot from Owais Shah, Bopara and Pietersen.’’ The Lions squad was due to be announced yesterday, but the ECB have decided to delay it a few days because of injuries picked up across the country over the weekend.

■ Coach John Dyson blamed the pitch at Grace Road after West Indies struggled to make an early impression on the opening day of their tour match against Leicestershire.

The tourists finished on 80 for four after Leicestershire, who won the toss and decided to bat first on a flat-looking wicket, were dismissed for 182.

ButDyson believes the pitch was sub-standard as he attempts to prepare his squad for the opening Test against England at Lord’s on May 6.

‘‘I don’t think it’s a great pitch,’’ said Dyson. ‘‘It’s an early-season wicket which looked like it was going to be a flat one but there were too many balls which rolled along the ground.’’