Yorkshire are all psyched up to take that one extra step on Monday which will lead to their appearance in the Benson and Hedges Cup final at Lord's on July 14.

Every ticket has been snapped up for their semi-final clash with title-holders Gloucestershire at Headingley and they will be urged on by a capacity crowd of over 6,000 which has produced gate receipts of £85,000.

Unfortunately, the closure of the new West Stand immediately after last Sunday's one-day international so that it can be fully fitted out in time for the Ashes Test in August, has meant that Yorkshire have not been able to cope with the clamour for seats.

Had the ground been fully operational it would have had a capacity of around 15,000 and it is interesting to speculate how many of the seats would have been occupied for Yorkshire's biggest match of the season so far.

In view of the interest shown in the game one wonders if Yorkshire were wise to have rejected the invitation from Scarborough Cricket Club to take the match to North Marine Road.

The seaside ground can accommodate about 11,000 spectators and more money would have been taken and fewer fans would have been left without a ticket.

One possible reason why Yorkshire said 'no' is that the players could feel they have a better chance of beating their opponents at Headingley than Scarborough.

Certainly, Yorkshire's battery of fast bowlers are better equipped than Gloucestershire's to get the most out of the Headingley pitch which rarely favours batsmen in one-day matches - as England found to their cost on Sunday.

Skipper David Byas is confident that Yorkshire can lay the Gloucestershire ghost of 1999 which still haunts them. In that year, Mark Alleyne's team beat them in the final of the Benson and Hedges Super Cup at Lord's and then dealt them a double blow by knocking them out of the semi-finals of the NatWest Trophy at Bristol.

Gloucestershire Gladiators have already beaten Yorkshire by five wickets at Bristol this season in the Norwich Union League but Byas is undismayed by that result.

"They are not the same power away from Bristol and if we play to the best of our ability I think we should make it through to the final," he said.

The other semi-final is between Nottinghamshire and Surrey and Byas knows who he wants to meet up with at Lord's.

"I hope it will be Surrey because all the lads would love to take them on and beat them fair and square," he added.

Updated: 11:06 Saturday, June 23, 2001