Cleckheaton's Ismail Dawood set his sights on achieving two goals as he busily prepared himself for his first full season with his native Yorkshire.

The first was to make sure he was in the side when the campaign began and the other was to hold on to his place throughout the summer.

The Dewsbury-born wicketkeeper-batsman soon realised his first ambition and if he continues like he has started off then he will be a regular not only this season but for the next few years.

Dawood is fitter and leaner than when he joined Yorkshire so unexpectedly in the middle of last season. His glove-work has improved and some of his batting has been a joy to watch.

He may not yet have stolen the headlines in the same way that Ian Harvey, Phil Jaques and Anthony McGrath have, but even so, his contributions have played a real part in Yorkshire's successful start to the season.

When Yorkshire's other wicketkeeper Simon Guy made little real impact last spring, the club needed to be able to call upon someone else and director of cricket David Byas decided to give trials to Dawood, who was playing for Bradford-Leeds Universities' Centre of Excellence.

Dawood had already attracted Yorkshire's attention by scoring a century off them in the three-day match at Bradford Park Avenue the previous year and just before they took him on he weighed in with another century - this one against Lancashire at the same venue.

It is true that Yorkshire needed to convince themselves that Dawood really did want to play first-class cricket again and also to stick at it because he had already seen service with Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and Glamorgan after graduating from the Yorkshire Academy.

Dawood said that he had not appreciated how much he had missed first-class cricket until he was suddenly without it and that he now wanted to play county cricket more than at any time previously.

He soon proved his words to be true and he quickly fitted into the Yorkshire dressing-room and has been a model professional ever since.

Last year, Dawood's batting managed to save Yorkshire on at least a couple of occasions but this season he has played an active part in all three of their Championship victories to date.

In the Somerset match, he held on to six good catches, while against Northamptonshire he assured Yorkshire of a crucial first innings lead by helping to stage a recovery by putting on 115 for the sixth wicket with Jaques, Dawood making 51.

Then, in the historic victory over Leicestershire, he batted beautifully for an unbeaten 62 which helped pull Yorkshire back from a traumatic 45-6 to 151 all out. It didn't seem all that significant at the time but without that fightback Yorkshire would later have been required to score far more than the 404 which they were set - and which they got.

It was last Sunday at Riverside, however, that Dawood raised his batting to a new level and although his 42 was insufficient this time to save Yorkshire it will long be remembered by those who saw it, particularly the clipped six over mid-wicket.

His purple patch continued in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy on Tuesday when he and McGrath smashed 44 together in four overs to complete Yorkshire's recovery and put a total of 241-9 nine beyond Worcestershire's reach. He also chipped in with useful runs against Durham yesterday.

Dawood has also taken 14 catches behind the stumps in the opening four Championship matches and unless he suffers a dramatic loss of form it would seem he is now a permanent fixture in the side -- in which case a first-team cap could soon be on the way.

During the winter Dawood completed his degree in project management at Leeds Metropolitan University, as well as coaching youngsters at the indoor school at Headingley, and also polishing up his glovework in regular sessions with Richard Blakey.

"I worked very hard on fitness training because I knew that I had to sharpen up now that I was playing county cricket all the time," said Dawood.

"I am really enjoying my cricket and I am delighted to have been able to put in some performances which have helped to win matches. It is important that as a wicketkeeper-batsman I do well in every aspect of my game and I am always looking for ways to improve.

"When I first joined Yorkshire I was not familiar with how the bowlers operated but towards the end of the season I got used to them and now I know what they are trying to do.

"We have made an encouraging start this season and promotion is our aim in both competitions. There is no point in playing cricket if you don't think you can win."

Updated: 09:18 Saturday, May 21, 2005