Yorkshire's winter woes were left firmly behind them today as new captain Darren Gough and his team headed for London and tomorrow's Championship curtain-raiser against Surrey at The Oval.

If Yorkshire can pull off a victory at the expense of last season's division two champions it will be a real coup for Gough because he could not be facing a tougher challenge.

It is five years since Yorkshire last met fierce rivals Surrey in Championship cricket and they have not beaten them away from home since 1978 when they won by five wickets with time rapidly running out at The Oval.

Their last Championship appearance at the Test venue was in the penultimate match of the 2001 season when Yorkshire had just clinched the title for the first time in 33 years and Surrey were still struggling to avoid relegation.

Much against the wishes of captain David Byas, coach Wayne Clark agreed to rest some key players, including Darren Lehmann, and Yorkshire went on to be crushed by an innings and 46 runs.

Surrey's victory allowed them to avoid the drop and Yorkshire conceded a costly double to the Brownhats the following summer when the Tykes started out as champions and finished up relegated.

Tomorrow's match brings together the two Come Dancing champions, Gough and Mark Ramprakash, with Gough doing all in his power to stop Ramprakash finding his rhythm at the crease.

Ramprakash tore attacks apart last summer when he thrashed 2,278 first-class runs with eight centuries and nine 50s at an average of 103.54 and he warmed up yesterday by completing a century against Leeds-Bradford Universities' Centre of Excellence at The Oval.

Surrey go into the match much better prepared than Yorkshire who have only played one properly competitive friendly match - their limited overs contest with Durham at Riverside last Friday which they lost by 14 runs.

But the team appear to have responded magnificently to the return of Gough after three years at Essex and they will be doing all they can to show that he is a worthy captain.

Meanwhile, former Yorkshire and England captain Brian Close has been elected president of the Yorkshire CCC Players' Association in succession to Jimmy Binks.

And the Association also agreed at their annual meeting at Headingley Carnegie that former Yorkshire and England left-arm spinner Don Wilson should be their president-elect.