Yorkshire went into today's top-of-the-table Championship clash with Durham at Riverside determined to exact revenge for last Sunday's totesport League defeat by 51 runs to the same opponents on the same ground.

And although director of cricket David Byas acknowledged that Durham were the better side on the day he felt that Yorkshire had the ability to extend their own unbeaten run in the Championship while at the same time ending Durham's 100 per cent winning record.

"Durham are a very much improved side and I am very pleased for them but we are also doing extremely well and I expect a stiff battle between two resolute sides," said Byas.

"We owe them one for last Sunday's defeat and also for their win in the Championship at Scarborough last September," he added.

That poor performance by Yorkshire, when they lost by 210 runs, snuffed out all hopes of promotion, and now that they have got their momentum going with three wins out of four, they are determined not to let it slow.

Durham, however, are the form team and they have won every completed match so far this season, apart from going down to Derbyshire by two runs in the first round of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.

The winners of the present contest could be the side which perform the better minus their England bowler, Durham being without Steve Harmison and Yorkshire lacking Matthew Hoggard.

Durham could be the more affected because Harmison ruffles batsmen with his unpleasant lift from just short of a length while Hoggard tends to plug away with length and line and away movement.

Yet Yorkshire are sorry to be losing Hoggard, probably for the remainder of the summer, and captain Craig White said: "Hoggy has been fantastic in the month he has been with us and his value to the side has been worth a million dollars although he wanted to take a few more wickets."

White also acknowledged that Durham would give them a tough fight but he was philosophical about last Sunday's defeat.

He said: "It was a hiccup and we are going to lose the odd game here and there but we bounced back with a C&G victory over Worcestershire and if we keep on doing the right things we will be all right.

"The atmosphere in the dressing-room is better than I have ever known it and I have never enjoyed my cricket so much. It is a real pleasure to play.

"Confidence is sky-high and even if we had been asked to chase 500 instead of 400 at Leicester last week we would still have thought we could have won."

Updated: 09:59 Friday, May 20, 2005