Following Brian Sellers resignation, Yardley was appointed Yorkshire captain at the start of the 1948 season. With his England commitments and other absences, he only played in 12 County Championship matches. He had not toured the West Indies with MCC in 1947–48, when Gubby Allen captained the side. However, Yardley resumed his leadership of England when Australia, captained by Bradman, toured the country without losing a match. Yardley led the MCC in an early match against the tourists, and captained England in a Test trial, but only played three other games, all for Yorkshire, before the first Test, with a top score of 46.