Craig White, who broke down in agony while bowling at The Oval on Sunday, made a shock decision to play solely as a batsman in Yorkshire's three-day match against India 'A' at Headingley which began today.

"I am still feeling very sore and there is no way I can bowl, but I am confident I can get through with the bat," said White, who underwent two scans on his injured side yesterday.

The first scan indicated that there was no fresh damage to White's rib, but the result of the second scan will not be known for a day or two.

"I feel that I may have started bowling again too soon after my pre-season operation," said White.

"I will not bowl for at least two or three weeks and at the end of the season I will assess whether I can continue as a bowler," he added.

White came into the side in place of Ryan Sidebottom, who is resting foot blisters, but Yuvraj Singh had to withdraw because of a sore throat. He was replaced by Gary Fellows.

With only 104 runs from six Championship innings, Yuvraj needed to play in this game. His place could now be in doubt next week when Yorkshire meet Durham at Riverside.

India 'A' soon made their mark today after Yorkshire had won the toss and decided to bat first on a humid morning.

In the first over from Lakshmipathy Balaji, Chris Taylor got an edge which just brushed the outstretched hand of Hemang Badani at first slip before rattling the boundary boards.

In the next over captain Matthew Wood left alone a ball from Amit Bhandari which flattened his off-stump.

Vic Craven was the new batsman and he and Taylor both overcame early difficulties to play some pleasant strokes. Craven straight drove Irfan Pathan for four and took three off his next delivery with a similar stroke.

Yorkshire had reached 41 by the 13th over when Taylor moved into his stumps and was lbw to Pathan for 13. His dismissal brought in Michael Lumb, who cover drove his first two balls for two and four and hit a boundary back over the head of Bhandari in the following over.

Lumb, third in the national batting averages, smacked another scorching drive through extra cover before Craven was caught at second slip off Pathan for 27 and Yorkshire were struggling on 60 for three.

Updated: 14:26 Wednesday, July 09, 2003