WILL Rhodes will do “a fine job” as a replacement opener for England’s Adam Lyth, according to Yorkshire Academy and Second XI director Ian Dews.

Rhodes is set to open the batting alongside Alex Lees when the White Rose county open the defence of their LV= County Championship title against newly-promoted Worcestershire at New Road on Sunday.

The former England under-19s all-rounder was at the top of the order in this week’s three-day University match against Leeds/Bradford at Headingley, which finished in a draw today.

He only scored one and 19, but he gained a valuable hour and 20 minutes at the crease in the second innings on Wednesday evening ahead of his Championship debut.

The left-hander, 20, has previous experience of facing the new ball below first-team level, including successfully for the Yorkshire Academy in league cricket under the watchful eye of Dews.

“Will hasn’t been an opening bat, but we have helped him develop by putting him into that situation in the Academy,” said Dews. “He’s a very good player. He’s technically solid and he knows where his off-stump is.

“If he opens, I’m sure he will do a fine job.

“Will reminds me very much of Gary Ballance. He can go through the gears. You suddenly look at the board and think ‘how’s he got to 70?’ He goes from 30 to 70 in no time.

“He’s done that in league cricket, second-team cricket and for the under-19s. I don’t think anything will faze him.

“It could be a lot worse for him. He could be up at Durham where it’s nibbling around considerably. It shouldn’t be too bad at Worcester – unless it floods!”

Today's final day against Leeds/Bradford drifted towards a draw, with Yorkshire opting to get more match practice under their belts instead of going all out for victory.

Resuming the day on 126-6 in their second innings, they were bowled out for 293 almost an hour into the afternoon, setting the students 421 to win.

When the players shook hands at 5pm, they were 48-4, including 2-6 from 10 overs for left-arm spinner Karl Carver.