YORKSHIRE are still battling hard on three fronts in their quest to bring silverware to Headingley by the end of the season but one important issue already seems to have been resolved.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man ... and when captain Craig White went down injured during the Championship match at Worcester, Richard Dawson stepped forward to lead the side and he barely put a foot wrong.

The off-spinner-batsman handled his bowlers well to restrict Worcestershire to 222 in their second innings and it was his enterprising unbeaten half-century which then brought Yorkshire an outstanding victory that boosted their promotion prospects.

He stayed in charge for the high-scoring totesport League game against Surrey which Yorkshire lost by only three runs before his astute captaincy was a major factor in the 33-run triumph over Northamptonshire in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy quarter final match - a result which has set up the mouth-watering possibility of the first ever Lord's Roses final on September 3.

Dawson's skill against Northants was in bringing Matthew Hoggard back into the attack at a critical time when wickets needed to be taken to halt the visitors' advance. Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, Dawson is hyper-active in the field and he seems to get a further adrenaline rush from the captaincy rather than it becoming a burden.

Several Yorkshire followers with a sound knowledge of the game have told me how pleased they have been with Dawson's leadership. He is obviously at ease doing the job and his early successes will not have been lost on White who must know that he cannot afford long spells out with injury if he is to hold on to the post.

Updated: 10:36 Saturday, July 23, 2005