YORKSHIRE are anticipating a ding-dong battle against Roses rivals Lancashire in the quarter-finals of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy at Old Trafford on Wednesday, June 16.
Not only would a Yorkshire victory take them one step nearer Lord's but it would go a long way towards making up for the humiliation felt this season at labouring in a lower division than Lancashire in both the Championship and the totesport League.
Nothing captures the imagination on the county scene quite like a Roses clash and the only regret since one-day cricket began over 40 years ago is that the two sides have never met in a Lord's final.
Yorkshire's director of cricket David Byas will be able to pass on useful information about the Red Rose opposition as a result of his season with them as a batsman in 2002 and he's already looking forward to a gripping contest.
"Both sides should have all their England and overseas players on show and there is every prospect of a fantastic match," said Byas.
"Lancashire are a very strong side and are challenging for honours on all fronts this season but I am still optimistic that we can beat them if we are on our best form."
The batsman Yorkshire will be looking to for a massive score is opener Matthew Wood who has earned a big reputation for churning out the runs in the C&G competition.
Wood's boisterous 160 against Devon the other week followed hard on the heels of his unbeaten 71 off Dorset's attack in the previous round and it took his aggregate in four matches over the past two seasons to 378 for twice out.
Even over a longer timespan Wood has been successful more often than not and in a total of 14 matches he has plundered 683 runs.
Admittedly, his C&G runs this time have come off Minor Counties' opposition, but he has still played with great style and panache and his record breaking 160 used up only 124 balls and contained 23 fours and four sixes.
His knock beat by 14 runs the previous highest by a Yorkshire batsman in the country's premier knockout competition which was Geoff Boycott's 146 in the 1965 Gillette Cup final against Surrey at Lord's.
Myth has now attached itself to that great innings by the batting maestro of his time and the story goes that Boycott only came out of his shell after the tea interval when he was given a roasting by captain Brian Close and told to get a move on or else.
True or not, it is still a tale which nobody enjoys telling in colourful detail more than Close himself.
During the course of Wood's innings at Exmouth he added 144 for the second wicket with Michael Lumb to post Yorkshire's tenth highest partnership for any wicket in the competition, and his 124 alliance which followed with Australian Phil Jaques was the county's best involving an overseas player.
There have now been 36 century stands by Yorkshire and the best of all remains the unbroken 242 posted by Martyn Moxon and Ashley Metcalfe against Warwickshire at Headingley in 1990.
Simon Kellett and Craig White (207 v Ireland at Leeds in 1995) and Boycott and Bill Athey (202 v Kent at Leeds in 1980) are the only other double-century partnerships, while the fourth highest in the list is Boycott's alliance with Close of 192 which paved the way for victory in the previously mentioned 1965 final.
Yorkshire's match with Devon produced a wonderful day's cricket and brought a total of 690 runs which is far in excess of the previous highest aggregate in a Yorkshire match of 576 when Worcestershire visited Headingley in 1982 in what proved to be one of the Tykes' most astonishing victories.
Glenn Turner's 105 took Worcestershire to a formidable 286-5 and Yorkshire had staggered to 40-4 when rain ended play for the day. The following morning, however, Neil Hartley (58) and David Bairstow (92) led a spirited recovery in which Chris Old struck an unbeaten 55 as Yorkshire made it by three wickets with three balls to spare.
Updated: 10:32 Saturday, June 05, 2004
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