A great player from Yorkshire's past who made a marvellous impression at the opening of the East Stand was Sachin Tendulkar, who became the county's first overseas player when he joined them in 1992.

Tendulkar even broke off from India's practice session to call in on the ceremony and make an impromptu speech, telling everyone how his four-and-a-half months with Yorkshire as a 19-year-old was one of the most enjoyable periods of his life so far.

He made several good first class scores at Headingley during that summer but never a century and he quite wrongly felt that he had in some way let the Yorkshire public down.

"I was only young and my expectations were probably too high," he told his audience.

The star of India added: "I hope you support me tomorrow when I play here again in the Test match."

This time, of course, Tendulkar did not fail and one got the feeling that as well as wanting to level the series for India he was also determined to make the century he believed he still owed the Yorkshire fans.

He satisfied both parties with a magnificent 193 which contained 19 fours and three sixes and spanned 330 balls and 436 minutes.

It was the highest score ever made by an Indian at Headingley, beating the Nawab of Pataudi's 148 in 1967, and Tendulkar's 30th Test century put him one ahead of Don Bradman's tally and left him second in the list only to his mentor, Sunil Gavaskar, who hit 34.

Many Yorkshire supporters would love to see Tendulkar back in the county's colours next summer when each county will be allowed two overseas players but the situation is not entirely that straightforward.

Captain Darren Lehmann will return for the third year of his contract if commitments with Australia allow and Yorkshire have already signed for 2003 fellow countryman Matthew Elliott who is replacing Lehmann for the remainder of this season.

Lehmann will probably not know his position for sure until next March, which makes it almost impossible for Yorkshire to sign anyone else just now.

But given the choice do they really need two top class overseas batsmen?

What with injuries and Test calls, Yorkshire's bowling has often been stretched to its limits this summer and another bowler or, better still, a quality all-rounder, could be the answer.

Elliott is an excellent batsman, who has immediately proved himself to be a shrewd short-term signing, but the decision to keep him on next season has closed the door on other options.

Tendulkar has said that he would like to return to Yorkshire but cannot see himself being available for a full season.

The best chance of seeing him with Yorkshire again could be if Lehmann does come but has to make one or two trips back home.

Tendulkar may be able to fill in those gaps - unless someone else has snapped him up first.

Don't forget to get your copy of the Evening Press on Monday, when we will publish a full report and pictures of how Yorkshire fared in their Cheltenam and Gloucester Cup final showdown against Somerset at Lord's.

Quartet revel in bygone glories

Yorkshire's glory days of the 1950s and 60s were re-lived for a while on the eve of the Headingley Test last week when four of their most famous sons got together to open the new East Stand and members' long room on the ground.

Fred Trueman, Brian Close, Ray Illingworth and Geoff Boycott have not always presented a united front when airing their views on Yorkshire cricket but everyone agreed that they did a magnificent job together on this occasion.

Boycott was nearly always at odds with the other three during his controversial playing days, but happily those wounds are now being healed and Yorkshire members and fans at the opening ceremony rejoiced to see this celebrated quartet sharing the same platform.

And while the present Yorkshire team are today battling it out in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy final against Somerset at Lord's, the famous four will be casting their minds back to the significant roles each of them played in Yorkshire's two previous final appearances when the competition was known as the Gillette Cup.

The first of these was in 1965, the third year of the Gillette competition, when Yorkshire thrashed Surrey by 175 runs and all four of the quartet chipped in with fine contributions.

The showpiece, however, was Boycott's brilliant 146 out of Yorkshire's 317 for four.

It was a stunning performance quite out of character with the master batsman's normally careful approach and it remains one of the greatest one-day innings of all time, as well as the highest individual score in a domestic one-day final at Lord's.

Skipper Close himself rapped out a powerful 79 and he often says that it was only because he told Boycott in the bluntest of terms what he would do to him if he did not get a move on that he came out of his shell.

Whether it's true or not does not really matter because 'Closey' stories are the stuff of legends and Boycott would be the first to admit that no player would verbally contradict the captain's instructions - at least, not if within arm's reach.

After Boycott's blast, Surrey were not in the best of spirits and they were soon sliding to a heavy defeat as Illingworth grabbed 5-29, while Trueman 3-31 and Close 1-12 did the rest of the damage.

Four years later, Yorkshire were in the final again when they beat Derbyshire by 69 runs in a lower scoring contest.

Yorkshire managed only 219-8 off their allotted 60 overs and Barrie Leadbeater claimed the man-of-the-match award with his brave 76, but the best all-round effort came from Close who scored 37 and then took 3-36 in 11 overs.

Updated: 11:54 Saturday, August 31, 2002