Questions need to be answered

SET TO DAZZLE: Australian Darren Lehmann's return to the Yorkshire fold is a massive boost

Few would quibble with the general view that on paper Yorkshire have a squad which is at least the equal of any side in the country, yet the players know from bitter experience that other factors can often result in high expectations not being fully realised.

The good news, of course, is that Yorkshire start out as one of only five counties who will compete in both the first division of the newly structured PPP healthcare Championship and the CGU National League.

Another bonus is that they will have their star Australian batsman Darren Lehmann back in their ranks. The superb left-hander was unable to make it for a third consecutive season with his adopted county last year because of the World Cup and how Yorkshire missed him.

His South Australia colleague Greg Blewett, nice man though he is, surprisingly turned out to be a flop as a replacement, and without Lehmann being present to set the example too many of the other batsmen also fell by the wayside.

For the first time this century, not one Yorkshire batsman completed 1,000 first class runs in the season and the biggest disappointment of all was the way in which Matthew Wood's form completely deserted him.

Fortunately, Anthony McGrath came good when given what was almost certainly his last chance, and if he maintains his form and if Wood strikes it rich again then Lehmann should not find himself short of capable partners, particularly if skipper David Byas and Michael Vaughan - when available - can also move up a gear on last season.

Craig White, Gavin Hamilton and the emerging Gary Fellows are all players who can at least bat as well as they can bowl and it is the responsibility of all of them to ensure that Yorkshire do not suffer a repeat of last season when only Worcestershire collected fewer than the Tykes' 21 batting bonus points in the championship.

It was a very costly failure because a further eight batting bonus points would have seen them finish in third position in the table instead of sixth and would have scooped them £22,000 in prize money.

This time, however, out-of-form batsmen are unlikely to be persevered with for long and Byas has already made it known that youngbloods like Ripon's John Inglis and Doncaster's Simon Widdup will get a chance if they are up to it.

Widdup perhaps more than Inglis furthered his claims on the pre-season tour of Australia.

One of the most knotty problems Yorkshire need to untangle is how to discover a successful opening batting combination, stability at the top of the order being badly lacking over the past couple of years, notably in the championship.

Neither Wood nor McGrath has managed to make a go of it and, although Vaughan has played the occasional great innings, he has yet to find any real consistency.

It has still not been entirely settled as to who Vaughan's opening partner will be in four-day cricket and, of course, when Vaughan is on Test duty then Yorkshire willneed to find a replacement.

A solution could be to promote Richard Blakey to go in first on a regular basis, but Byas is still weighing up his options and a final decision will probably not be taken until the Benson and Hedges Cup group matches are out of the way.

When it comes to fast bowling, Yorkshire have a battery of pacemen who are the envy of everyone else, but they need to be fit to fire on all cylinders to be truly effective.

Long term injuries took their toll last season and fingers remain crossed that things will be better this time, although Paul Hutchison still gives cause for concern.

But for serious back trouble, Hutchison would be playing for England by now, such has been his outstanding record since launching his Yorkshire career, but he continues to have problems in settling into the new run-up which it is believed will reduce his chances of future injuries.

It was a big blow when he was pulled out of the pre-season tour of Australia because he was not at that stage ready for a match and there would seem to be some way still to go before he can look ahead with confidence.

Matthew Hoggard, another of Yorkshire's potential big guns, was also plagued by injury in the second half of last season after a robust start to the campaign, but following a knee operation he rebuilt his strength with South African side Free State during the winter and was then in fine fettle in Australia.

The full fitness of both Hutchison and Hoggard are key factors in helping Yorkshire to make it big because neither Darren Gough nor Chris Silverwood are likely to around once England start up their own plans for the forthcoming visits of Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

Unlike Gough, White and Vaughan, Silverwood did not win one of the 12 new ECB contracts, but it will come as a surprise if he is ignored by England for long.

If he is called up, then his absence for Yorkshire will perhaps be more of a blow than being without Gough, who has been a part-timer for a couple of years because of England calls and injuries.

Last season, for instance, Gough claimed 17 championship wickets for Yorkshire, whereas Silverwood captured a career-best 59.

Gavin Hamilton's wretched time in South Africa during the winter probably means Yorkshire will see more of him than would otherwise have been the case.

With Ryan Sidebottom also very much in the frame, as well as the cool-headed and competitive Fellows, Yorkshire should have enough in reserve to withstand the pressures of being without Gough, White and Silverwood.

If Yorkshire can avoid a crop of injuries and if one or two youngsters come to the fore, then they have every chance of being the top side at the beginning of the 21st century, just as they were at the start of the 20th.

But they must also clearly demonstrate that they will not fall apart at the seams, no matter how strong they look early on.

They need no reminding that last season they were the kings of cricket in the spring, yet when it came to the crunch they keeled over too easily and Yorkshire must be able to take punches as well as give them if they are to wear a champion's belt this summer.

see also 'Tykes slide to defeat'

'Wood aiming to recapture his form'

'Tykes tie up top stars'

'All change on penalties and points'

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.