Gary shining as Craig's stand-in

It is one problem after another for Craig White after a winter in which everything went right and he re-established himself as a player of international repute.

Within the space of three weeks, however, he has had a series of setbacks which have not only held up his return to the England side but could also result in a change of role with Yorkshire.

First he tweaked a hamstring while training with England ahead of the first Test, then he collapsed in Scarborough for a reason which medical tests cannot establish, and now he is recovering from a knee injection to relieve the pain from a cyst.

The knee complaint prevented White from coming back into Yorkshire Phoenix's side against Leicestershire Tigers last Sunday and this lack of cricket meant he was not ready for the Championship game with Durham.

Although White made a generally good start to the season, he did not do much opening the innings in either of the first two Norwich Union National League matches and one now wonders if he will get that particular job back again.

In White's absence, skipper David Byas promoted Gary Fellows to go in first with the captain.

The 21-year-old has responded very well, scoring 30 in an opening stand of 77 with Byas against Gloucestershire Gladiators and then smacking a career-best 62 while featuring in a 113 second-wicket stand with Richard Blakey against Leicestershire Foxes last Sunday.

The latter was a particularly good effort by Fellows because the sodden outfield meant that several of his best shots pulled up short of the boundary when they would have been certain fours in drier conditions.

White is a superb pinch-hitter when the mood is upon him and he has played some memorable innings but his inconsistency is a worry.

Fellows is improving all the time and has already built up a reputation for getting Yorkshire out of trouble in these 45-over matches.

Yorkshire do not have a National League game tomorrow but it will be interesting to see who Byas decides to open with against Kent Spitfires at Headingley next Sunday if White is back in the running by then.

Richard Blakey has settled well into his new No 3 role in the coloured clothing competition and his 62 against Leicestershire left him as Yorkshire's leading run scorer with 163 from four innings - and top of the averages with 54.33.

This was Blakey's best score in this form of cricket since 1993 when he hit 96 against the same opponents at Grace Road.

But that game will always be remembered more for Michael Foster's astounding innings of 118 off only 70 delivieries, with eight sixes and seven fours.

Blakey's 96 contained ten fours and two sixes and his fifth wicket stand of 190 with Foster remains a record for the county.