Tykes seeking 'high and dry' Surrey double (From York Press)

Tykes seeking 'high and dry' Surrey double

9:57am Friday 20th July 2007 in Sport By David Warner

LEADERS Yorkshire will be looking increase their slender lead at the top of LV County Championship division by completing the double over Surrey at Headingley Carnegie today.

Yorkshire, clinging on to their top-of-the-table place by a single point, are desperate for a change to drier weather because heavy rain has wrecked their last three outings and brought about inevitable draws.

Five of their last 12 days of championship cricket have been totally obliterated and the first day's play has been washed away in the last three fixtures.

It is a far cry from the start of the season, when Yorkshire played under blue skies and they were in tip-top form for the opening match at The Oval, when they crushed Surrey by 346 runs in Darren Gough's first game as captain.

Jacques Rudolph hit a century on his debut and there were also maiden centuries for Yorkshire from Jason Gillespie and Tim Bresnan, while Craig White weighed in with a ton in the second innings.

Adil Rashid got Yorkshire back on track in the first innings with his top score of 86 and the leg-spinner also made valuable contribution with the ball, claiming seven wickets in the match.

Three victories from the first four matches left Yorkshire sitting comfortably at the head of the table, but they are now without a win since May 12, when they beat Worcestershire at Headingley by an innings and 260 runs.

They then lost to Durham at Riverside and their last four games have all ended in draws.

Rashid and Bresnan both return after missing Yorkshire's last match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

The duo were playing for England Lions against India, Bresnan hitting a career-best 126 off 166 balls with 16 fours and a six.

The only doubt concerns wicketkeeper batsman Gerard Brophy, who had a poor game in the Twenty20 Cup quarter-final match against Sussex at Hove on Wednesday, which Yorkshire lost by 38 runs.

Brophy was included after coming through a fitness test on the fractured little finger on his left-hand shortly before the game.

He was due to be reassessed this morning with Simon Guy standing by to take his place if necessary.

Yorkshire: White, Sayers, McGrath, Younus Khan, Rudolph, Brophy or Guy, Adil Rashid, Bresnan, Gough, Gillespie, Kruis.