Greg Blewett predicts he will make at least as big an impact with Yorkshire this summer as his South Australian team-mate Darren Lehmann managed over the past couple of seasons.

Blewett's chances of showing off his talents on the first day of Yorkshire's opening championship match against Gloucestershire at Headingley improved today after seeming remote yesterday with the ground sodden from heavy rain. But today's fine weather looked as though there would only be a brief delay to the scheduled start.

Since 27-year-old Blewett arrived in England it has not stopped raining long enough for him to tune up outdoors and the deluge was so severe yesterday that it forced Yorkshire's inside for their photocall.

Despite his watery baptism into county cricket, Blewett is confident he will go on to score a lot of runs and he says that the success Michael Bevan and then Lehmann have enjoyed with Yorkshire has only made him even more determined to do well.

Blewett added that he would also be in friendly competition to outscore all the other Australians on the championship scene and he was already determined to surpass the 241 not out which Justin Langer notched for Middlesex in their opening game.

"Lehmann told me what a good bunch of blokes I would be joining at Yorkshire and that the club had a really outstanding squad of players," said Blewett.

"I am a pretty similar type to Lehmann, who is a close friend, and I am sure I will enjoy myself this summer just as much as he has done over the past couple of years."

Blewett said he was delighted to have won back his Test place with Australia this winter and he was looking to improve his cricket still further with Yorkshire and force his way into his country's one-day side again.

Former Yorkshire and England off-spinner Geoff Cope, now on the county committee, was guest speaker at yesterday's opening luncheon at Elland Road along with Christa Ackroyd from Yorkshire Television.

Yorkshire president Sir Lawrence Byford presented Darren Gough with two mounted cricket balls with which the star paceman has taken hat-tricks - one for England against Australia in the Sydney Test and the other for Yorkshire in a day-night match against Western Province at Newlands.

Sir Lawrence also presented Gavin Hamilton with the Jack Copcutt Memorial Trophy for being the most promising young player last season and he handed over cut glass decanters on behalf of the club to John Pearson, who is retiring as the ECB's Yorkshire regional cricket development officer, and Ralph Middlebrook, who has retired as manager of the indoor school at Headingley.

Yorkshire chairman Keith Moss and other officials, including captain David Byas, left the function early in order to travel to London for a meeting last night with Yorkshire MPs who are supporting the club's bid to attract funding for the £11m redevelopment of Headingley.

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