MATTHEW Hoggard celebrated his call-up on England's forthcoming tours by grabbing an early wicket in Yorkshire's crucial Championship match against Second Division leaders Worcestershire at New Road today before batsmen took the upper hand.

Opener Stephen Peters and Kadeer Ali rattled up the runs in a profitable second wicket stand and in the 24th over Worcester had progressed to 83-2.

Yorkshire must win the game and then beat Gloucestershire at Headingley next week in the final match of the season if they are to take third place in the table and gain promotion at the first time of asking.

If they do go up it will help take away some of the bitter taste left in their mouths from a couple of days' ago when they were relegated from Division One of the National League.

Winning the toss, Yorkshire decided to insert Worcestershire who opened with Peters and Graeme Hick and it was the fifth over before Hick scored the first boundary by straight driving Hoggard to the fence.

There was a surprise in the Yorkshire line-up with Darren Gough being dropped in order to accommodate Chris Silverwood who has now recovered from the stiff neck which kept him out of last week's game with Somerset at Headingley.

Yorkshire director of cricket, Geoff Cope, said there was nothing sinister in the decision to leave out Gough and he would be up for selection again next week.

After omitting Gough, it was decided he would return home later in the day with Menston-born Joe Sayers joining the game as 12th man.

Silverwood shared the new ball with Hoggard and he almost had a wicket in his third over, Peters cutting into the gully where Craig White dived full length but could not quite hold on to the ball which sped off for four.

A wicket came in the next over, however, as Hick sparred outside off stump at Hoggard and was taken chest high at first slip by Richard Dawson for seven, making Worcestershire 15-1.

Unfortunately for Yorkshire, Peters and Kadeer Ali began to make rapid progress in a second wicket stand which reached 50 in 13 overs.

But soon after turning to spin Yorkshire were rewarded when Peters was bowled for 44 by Dawson.

Bradford-born paceman, David Wigley, whose one first class appearance for Yorkshire was against Surrey at Guildford last season, was making his Worcestershire Championship debut and the two other Bradfordians in the home side were wicketkeeper David Pipe and off-spinner Gareth Batty.

Updated: 14:57 Friday, September 12, 2003