WITH Oxford University graduate Joe Sayers itching to get into Yorkshire's first team, Matthew Wood knew that he needed to find exceptional early season form to safeguard his own place from the left-hander.

Wood has so far let neither himself nor the team down and Yorkshire's splendid start to the season is due in part to some very fine knocks from last season's vice-captain.

In the opening totesport League fixture against Surrey at the Oval, Wood slammed his Sunday best score of 111 off 127 balls with 16 fours and a six to set Yorkshire up for a resounding 43-run win.

Then in the first home Championship match of the season, Wood narrowly missed out on another century, reaching 95 with ten fours and a six before he nicked a catch to the Somerset wicketkeeper.

Last Sunday against Somerset Sabres he included six boundaries in his quickfire 33 in a further indication that he is determined to get on top of bowlers just as soon as possible.

Sayers is too good a prospect to languish in the second team for ever but by coming straight out of the blocks Wood has gone a long way towards making sure that it will have to be someone else who eventually gives way.

It would have been tough on Wood if he had lost his place to Sayers because it was his own decision in the closing weeks of last season to drop down the order to No 4 and let Sayers open the batting with fellow left-hander Phil Jaques.

The move paid off immediately because in the penultimate Championship match Jaques and Sayers put on 162 and 69 together against Somerset at Taunton and rounded off the season with a first innings partnership of 162 against Glamorgan at Headingley.

Explaining the reason for giving way to Sayers, Wood said: "We had a pretty inexperienced batting line-up around that time and because both Jaques and myself were scoring quite consistently I decided it would be in the team's interests to split us up, so that I could come in later on."

Craig White (injury), Anthony McGrath (England duty) and Ian Harvey (back in Australia) were all missing from the Yorkshire team in those final matches but now they are all involved again and the batting has a much stronger look about it, which is why Sayers did not automatically regain his place.

Yorkshire owe a debt of gratitude to Wood for so uncomplainingly shouldering the burden of captaincy in the second half of last season and then stoically accepting the situation when he was officially relieved of the job for this summer.

Director of cricket David Byas's reasoning is perfectly sound in that McGrath, captain two years ago, is likely to back with Yorkshire on a permanent basis now and it would make better sense to wait until if and when White is unable to lead the side before choosing a captain for that particular match.

Even so, Wood must have felt somewhat aggrieved at not being named vice-captain again. But he has knuckled down to what he gets paid for -- and that is scoring runs.

Wood has made something of a habit of racking up big scores right from the word go.

In 2003, he began the campaign by smacking 157 off Northamptonshire's attack at Headingley and the year before that he hit an unbeaten 105 in the first Sunday League game with Somerset at Taunton, while in 2000 he took an unbeaten Championship century off Derbyshire in the first match.

Last summer, however, Wood was consistent without making many big scores and he's determined not to do the same again this time.

"I spent part of the winter playing club cricket in Sydney for Mosman and I had some good innings," said Wood.

"I tried very hard to improve my concentration when batting because last year I turned only one of seven Championship 50s into a century and my conversion rate has been better than that in the past."

Updated: 10:28 Saturday, April 30, 2005