THE biggest week of the season looms for Yorkshire next week.

And at the end of it they will know if they are still in with a shout of pulling off a remarkable double in the form of gaining promotion in the Championship and making it through to Lord's for the final of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.

On Tuesday, the Battle of the Roses takes place at Old Trafford and whoever wins this skirmish between two of the second division front-runners should then have sufficient points in the bag to feel pretty confident of going back into the top flight of the Championship.

It is bound to be a typically hard confrontation but whether they win or lose Yorkshire must immediately put the result to the back of their minds as they step on the team coach to take them to Southampton for their C&G semi-final showdown with Hampshire.

Exactly the same sharp focus on a different challenge will be required by Lancashire who are also through to the C&G semis but they have the far less arduous journey to Edgbaston for their match against Warwickshire.

One giant leap at the Rose Bowl and Yorkshire are back at Lord's and hoping to repeat their triumph of 2002 when they defeated Somerset in the final by six wickets.

But getting there will not be easy because Hampshire are formidable opponents at any time and if England allow Kevin Pietersen to play for the home side then the fireworks will be even more spectacular.

Yorkshire have locked horns four times previously with Hampshire in the summer's premier knockout competition with each side having won twice.

The first tussle between the sides was in the Gillette Cup in 1974 when they met at Bradford in a first round match and Yorkshire emerged winners by 41 runs.

Batting first, Yorkshire managed a modest 233-6 in their 60 overs, John Hampshire doing the lion's share of the scoring with an unbeaten 87. The innings was given late impetus by Richard Hutton who blasted two sixes in a final over from Robert Herman which cost 22 runs.

The visitors could only muster 192 in reply, Chris Old, Arthur Robinson and Geoff Cope each claiming two wickets but the surprise package was Barrie Leadbeater who rarely turned his arm over but on this occasion captured 3-47.

John Hampshire, incidentally, hangs up his umpire's coat at the end of the season and he officiated at a Yorkshire match for the last time last weekend in the totesport League game with Scottish Saltires at Edinburgh.

Three years later the sides met at Dean Park, Bournemouth, when Hampshire gained revenge by 86 runs, Trevor Jesty scoring 69 out of their 261 total.

Yorkshire's star performer was Arnie Sidebottom with 4-36 and he then hit 45 as wickets fell around him, John Rice grabbing 5-35.

The next encounter was at Southampton in the 1980 quarter-finals when Yorkshire cruised it by seven wickets.

Chasing 197 they were struggling on 55-3 but Bill Athey (93no) and Jim Love (61no) saw them to the finishing line with an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 142.

Yorkshire often find Southampton a happy hunting ground but it was not so when they were there in the quarter-finals of the NatWest Trophy in 1990, despite heroic all-round efforts from Peter Hartley, now on the first class umpires list after ending his first class career with Hampshire.

Hartley returned the splendid figures of 5-46 from his 12 overs as Hampshire could only muster 229-9 but a nightmare followed and Yorkshire were fired out for 118 in 39 overs to lose by 111 runs.

Skipper Martyn Moxon was needlessly run out in the very first over and it became 9-3 as Ashley Metcalfe and Simon Kellett fell in the space of one blistering over from West Indian Malcolm Marshall who went on to claim 4-14 in two virtually unplayable spells of top quality fast bowling.

Hartley tried to turn the tables with a brave half century but nobody else had the stomach for a fight.

It's 15 years now since Yorkshire and Hampshire last met in the competition and more will be at stake in next Saturday's game than ever before.

From next year, the C&G takes on a new format with two conferences of ten teams, the top side from each conference contesting the final at Lord's after playing every other side in their section once.

Sadly, knockout cricket will have bitten the dust for ever but if Yorkshire can get through to the last old-style final it should be some day at Lord's on September 3 - particularly if they find themselves involved in quite a unique battle of the Roses.

Updated: 12:48 Saturday, August 13, 2005