YORKSHIRE dropped a bombshell after the Roses match had been abandoned yesterday by axing veteran wicketkeeper Richard Blakey from the side to play Somerset at Taunton tomorrow.

Blakey, 33, who made his Yorkshire debut 15 years' ago, is this season's leading wicketkeeper in the Championship with 40 victims behind the stumps but he has been ditched because of poor batting form.

His place goes to 21-year-old Rotherham-born Simon Guy who made his Yorkshire debut in the first class match against Zimbabwe at Headingley in May when he caught the eye by holding four good catches and scoring a confident 29 not out in the first innings and ten in the second.

Blakey has reached two signficant milestones for Yorkshire this season, first completing 12,000 first class runs and then last week claiming his 700th victim behind the stumps.

But his batting slump has seen him score only 39 run in his last seven first class innings and skipper David Byas said: "Richard took the news exactly as I would have expected him to. He was very disappointed but there was no falling out over it. He has not scored the volume of runs either he or the team would like and it was felt the best way for him to get them was in the second team.

"He is still very much an important part of the one-day side, however, and he will be joining us in Taunton at the weekend for Sunday's National League game against Somerset."

Yorkshire will be missing all four of their Test players at Taunton tomorrow and Harrogate's Vic Craven returns to the side in Michael Vaughan's absence to open the innings with Simon Widdup.

Much to Yorkshire's relief Gavin Hamilton is fit again following his side strain and comes in for Craig White while 19-year-old seamer Chris Elstub holds on to his place in a squad of 12 which also includes spinner Ian Fisher and James Middlebrook but only one of the slow bowlers is expected to play.

Torrential rain yesterday morning dashed Yorkshire's hopes of winning the Roses match at Headingley which was abandoned because of a waterlogged field even before the scheduled start of the final day.

Yorkshire had been eager to make early inroads into the Lancashire second innings which stood on 127 for two, giving them a lead of only 18.

But Yorkshire took 11 points from the draw compared to Lancashire's nine and this had the effect of knocking their Red Rose rivals out of second place in the table and occupying it themselves.

Yorkshire are now just three points adrift of Surrey in what has become an exciting three horse race in for the Championship with Surrey still having to play Lancashire twice - and Yorkshire once at Scarborough.

Yorkshire (v Somerset) from: Widdup, Craven, McGrath, Lehmann, Fellows, Byas, Hamilton, Guy, Silverwood, Fisher, Elstub, Middlebrook.