YORKSHIRE fear new captain Darren Lehmann will be unavailable towards the end of the season as well as at the beginning of the campaign.

It has now been accepted that Lehmann will miss out on the first three weeks of the season because of his call-up by Australia for the Test tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe.

But Australia are also pencilled in to visit Pakistan at some stage in September and this raises the prospect that the county champions could be without Lehmann for the last few matches as they strive to retain the title.

Details of the tour of Pakistan are sketchy at the moment but Yorkshire cricket chairman Bob Platt is trying to pin down more precise information.

It will be a double bombshell for Yorkshire if Lehmann is missing at both ends of the season and it would increase problems over the captaincy.

Yorkshire have already indicated that Vaughan would lead the side in Lehmann's absence at the start of the season if available but he is more likely to be asked to rest up towards the end of the season as England prepare for their Ashes tour which starts in November.

Updated: 11:52 Monday, February 04, 2002