CRICKET: David Warner

There is always that extra

tension and rivalry to a Roses match and it looks as if over the next few weeks that Yorkshire and Lancashire are going to be involved in three epic battles - each one of vital importance.

The first and perhaps most emotive is next Wednesday when Yorkshire return to the lion's den at Old Trafford in a bid to reach the third round of the NatWest Trophy.

Then comes comes the clash which could lead to the biggest prize of all as the sides square up in the championship at Headingley on August 14 in a match

involving Sunday play.

Before the current round of matches, Lancashire had shot their way up to second in the table, while Yorkshire sixth with a game in hand of all those above them.

Whoever wins this Roses battle could be the side which goes on to lift the championship trophy in late September.

The most colourful of the three encounters will be the AXA League match at Headingley on August 24.

Yorkshire have chosen this game as their first day-night fixture and, with the White and Red Rose teams sharing top spot in the table, the confrontation looks perfectly timed.

But just for the moment, Yorkshire are

pre-occupied with the NatWest Trophy game, which the players desperately want to win because it will avenge those two semi-final defeats of a couple of years' ago at Old Trafford which still prey so cruelly on their minds.

Yorkshire did, of course, beat Lancashire at Old Trafford last year in a Benson and Hedges Cup zonal game, but the pressure then was nowhere near as acute as now because both teams went on to fight another day.

This time everything is at stake, just as it was in 1996, and Yorkshire need to lay their ghosts once and for all.

The NatWest semi-final was the game in which Yorkshire laid on a helicopter to whisk Michael Bevan to London on his way back to Australia straight after the match and, although he lived up to his billing with a fighting 85, Yorkshire were never really in the frame, the 19-run margin not accurately reflecting Lancashire's supremacy.

It was the Benson and Hedges semi-final of that season which gripped many cricketing pundits and brought about one of the most exciting finishes to a knockout match ever.

Yorkshire overcame a disastrous start in poor weather to reach 250 for five and their fans were ready to start celebrating when Lancashire dipped to 174 for seven.

Then 77 runs rushed from the last five overs as Yorkshire completely lost their bottle and former Undercliffe bowler Peter Martin hit the last ball of the match for two to bring Lancashire a one-wicket victory with their last pair at the crease.

The day of reckoning is now at hand and whoever wins on Wednesday will then have the psychological advantage in the championship and AXA matches which follow next month.

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