Burly paceman Lesroy Weekes was making his CricInfo Championship debut for Northamptonshire at Headingley today and is determined to prove that Yorkshire have blundered.

Weekes has been closely associated with all levels of Yorkshire cricket since becoming attached to the club in 1994 when Steve Oldham spotted him on Yorkshire's pre-season tour of the West Indies and persuaded him to spend his summers in England.

Montserrat-born Weekes played for Yorkshire against his fellow countrymen at Headingley last season and returned career-best figures of six for 56 after which the cricket committee recommended he be put on full contract.

But Bob Platt and his team were howled down by the general committee on the grounds that they felt Yorkshire had enough young fast bowlers in reserve without adding a 29-year-old to their wages bill.

Weekes felt badly let down but he was soon snapped up by Northants who had lost Devon Malcolm to Leicestershire and were looking for a strong bowler capable of putting in a lot of overs.

Ryan Sidebottom, Matthew Hoggard and Michael Vaughan returned for Yorkshire who were without them for last week's Championship match against Essex at Chelmsford because all three were in the Test squad.

But Darren Gough has been forbidden by England to play and Anthony McGrath dropped out with the groin strain which caused him to miss Yorkshire's B&H Cup match against Somerset at Taunton on Tuesday.

McGrath returned home to see a specialist who reported a deep seated injury which will take between four and six weeks to clear up.

Gavin Hamilton and Craig White are both currently involved in Yorkshire's Second XI Championship game against Worcestershire Seconds at Scarborough as they recover from shin and back trouble respectively.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire skipper David Byas has praised Vaughan for his sparkling 125 not out which so devastated Somerset and earned Yorkshire a Benson and Hedges Cup home semi-final against holders Gloucestershire on June 25.

It also enhanced Vaughan's chances of finding himself in England's one-day squad for the NatWest series against Pakistan and Australia when it is announced today.

"I was thrilled by his performance and you won't see anything better in one-day cricket," said Byas.

Yorkshire (v Northants) from: Richardson, Vaughan, Wood, Byas, Lehmann, Lumb, Fellows, Blakey, Middlebrook, Silverwood, Sidebottom, Hoggard.

Updated: 09:32 Friday, May 25, 2001