Opportunity knocks for young bowlers

Championship Division 2 Nat League Division 2 Captain Craig White Coach David Byas Overseas Players Jason Gillespie Darren Lehmann In Gerard Brophy Out Andy Gray Ismail Dawood Ian Harvey Phil Jaques David Lucas Chris Taylor Chris Silverwood

Revolving door
In come the proven Australian Test players Darren Lehmann and Jason Gillespie, plus the keeper Gerard Brophy from Northants. Out go Phil Jaques, Ian Harvey and Chris Silverwood.

Winter wonderland
Home, sweet home! Thanks to a £9m loan from Leeds City Council, Yorkshire finally clinched the £12m purchase of Headingley, guaranteeing Test status for the next 15 years.

Strengths
The batting. Expect Lehmann to score heavily on his return, with support from Matthew Wood, the emerging Joe Sayers, a strong middle order and Brophy, a man with five first-class hundreds to his name. And then there is Michael Vaughan, who will presumably require match practice before rejoining England.

Weaknesses
The pace trio of Gillespie, Deon Kruis and Tim Bresnan cannot be expected to perform week in, week out in all competitions. England will be the priority for Matthew Hoggard and, of the backup bowlers, only John Blain has played much first-team cricket. Opportunity knocks for the young ones ... but Yorkshire may yet rue the decision to release Silverwood.

Best-case scenario
If key players stay fit, there is enough all-round quality to surprise one or two people in the Championship and they can only improve on 2005 in Twenty20 and the one-day league. The simmering frustration over last year's C&G semi-final fiasco at The Rose Bowl could be the catalyst for another strong showing.

Worst-case scenario
One Championship since 1968 and a single knockout trophy since 1987 say it all. The perennial underachievers blow it again.

Hard worker: Tim Bresnan seized his chance when others were injured © Getty Images

Young one to watch
Tim Bresnan. Silverwood's injury problems opened the door for the 21-year-old last year and he responded with 47 Championship wickets. Relishes hard work - and he can bat a bit, too.

Key man
Jason Gillespie. Has a big point to prove after the Ashes campaign. An outstanding season back home in South Australia indicates that the motivation is still there.

What they say
"We won't be sitting around gathering dust in Division One," says the director of cricket David Byas. "People will look at our squad and think we are capable of making a real challenge. If our big players stay fit we are as good as anyone."

Mark Wagh
Tough times for this proud county may well continue this year. A need for top-order runs is paramount if they are to mount any serious challenge and give the likes of Kruis a chance to win games. Gillespie and Lehmann will need to be consistently spectacular if Yorkshire are to avoid returning to Division Two.

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