RICHARD Blakey's unexpected chance of playing in a Lord's final 17 years after his first was snuffed out by Gloucestershire who proved far too strong for Yorkshire in the semi-final of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy at Bristol.

The 37-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, now doing a great job as captain and manager of the second team, was hurriedly recalled for the Bristol game when it was realised that Ismail Dawood was ineligible through having turned out for Minor Counties' side Herefordshire in the second round of this year's competition.

As Blakey remarked before the match, Lord's finals don't come all that often in one's career and he would have loved to have added to the three that he has already played in.

They were the 1987 Benson & Hedges Cup final when Yorkshire beat Northamptonshire with the scores level by virtue of losing fewer wickets; the 1999 B&H Super Cup final in which Gloucestershire trounced the Tykes by 124 runs and the 2002 C&G Trophy when Yorkshire routed Somerset by six wickets.

Blakey was only 19 in the 1987 final and he played solely as a batsman while in the C&G final he not only kept wicket but captained the side to victory.

"I have to say that although there have been many marvellous memories during my career leading Yorkshire out at Lord's and going on to win the Trophy is probably the most special of them all," said Blakey.

"The weather was great, the supporters thoroughly enjoyed themselves and we played some very good cricket. You cannot ask for more than that."

The odds on Blakey making it to another Lord's final must now be pretty low but it would be wrong at this stage to assume that his first team playing days are over and done with.

Blakey is probably still the best wicketkeeper-batsman that Yorkshire have on their books and there is a strong case for continuing to play him regularly because he remains one of the fittest players on their payroll.

But the problem director of cricket David Byas faces is that Yorkshire have no automatic replacement for Blakey and he is having to give extended runs to Simon Guy and Dawood to determine which of them - if either - will take over the gloves on a permanent basis.

Guy is the younger and more athletic of the two alternatives but some aspects of his glove work still need to be improved upon and that is why, ironically, he is back in the second team and picking up tips from Blakey.

Dawood, who has had plenty of first class experience away from Yorkshire, is now being given his chance to shine in the first team, but it is still too early to decide if he is the right man for the job.

Should the situation remain unresolved in a couple of weeks' time, however, then Byas may have to consider recalling Blakey - not just as wicketkeeper but possibly also as captain for the remainder of the season!

This option would have been unthinkable a fortnight ago but things have changed following the operation on Craig White's damaged cartilage which is likely to keep him out for the rest of the summer.

As he did for large parts of last season when Anthony McGrath was unavailable, vice-captain Matthew Wood has willingly taken over the reins and his enthusiasm has to be admired.

After a poor start to his Championship season, Wood went on to regain some of his form but it will not be easy for him to hold on to it with the cares of captaincy also on his shoulders.

If Blakey were to be given the job on a temporary basis, however, it would free Wood from any such worries and the pressures on an old hand like Blakey would not be quite so great.

Don't forget how well he did when called upon in emergency circumstances two years' ago when Darren Lehmann went back to Australia and Blakey assumed command in the last six weeks of the season.

Until that point, Yorkshire had not won a Championship match all summer but Blakey led them to consecutive victories over Lancashire and Hampshire before going on to win the C&G final at Lord's.

Blakey is still adamant that he has something to offer the first team and circumstances may lead to him being able to prove his point before too long, but in the meantime he continues to enjoy his new duties with the second team.

"It is a fresh challenge after 20 years solely as a player and I am now seeing the other side of things and appreciating the difficulties and frustrations that the coaching staff have to deal with," said Blakey.

"I have enjoyed working with the second team and the Academy and I hope that the advice I have been able to pass on will benefit the younger players in their careers."

Updated: 10:40 Saturday, July 24, 2004