YORKSHIRE faced a tough task at Headingley today as they came up against Worcestershire in the second round of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy with a place in the quarter-finals being the reward for the winners.

After seven consecutive wins in all competitions, Yorkshire came down to earth with a bump at Riverside on Sunday but they are still playing well enough to test Worcestershire who are a Division One side in both the Championship and totesport League.

Worcestershire went into the match with their confidence high after an easy Championship win by nine wickets over Derbyshire last week followed by a totesport League triumph by 16 runs against Nottinghamshire.

England captain Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard were playing their last games for Yorkshire before leaving for the Test series with Bangladesh and it could be the last time they will be with their county this season.

Both will be wanting to leave on a high note because neither has broken any pots for Yorkshire over the last few weeks, Vaughan scoring a couple of half-centuries and Hoggard capturing 11 Championship wickets in four matches but at a cost of 37.90 runs apiece.

David Byas, Yorkshire's director of cricket, admitted his team were second best in their 51-run defeat by Durham.

"We pulled up short both with bat and ball but we have to put that result behind us and make sure that we bounce back," he said.

Worcestershire have included two Yorkshire-born players in their squad of 13 in off-spinner Gareth Batty and wicketkeeper James Pipe, the former Harrogate player, who was due to have a fitness test on a strain shortly before the toss.

Yorkshire from: Wood, Jaques, Vaughan, McGrath, Lumb, Harvey, White, Dawood, Dawson, Bresnan, Hoggard, Kruis, Pyrah.

Worcestershire from: Solanki, Hick, Vaas, de Bruyn, Smith, Moore, Kabir Ali, Pipe, Nadeem Malik, Batty, Davies, Price, Mason.

Updated: 11:00 Tuesday, May 17, 2005