Yorkshire were seeking to complete an early season double in their Championship match against Northamptonshire which began at Wantage Road today.

But Yorkshire's confidence has taken a couple of nasty knocks since opening their campaign with victory over Northants by an innings and 343 runs at Headingley in mid-April.

On Bank Holiday Monday they crashed to 54 all out against Essex Eagles, their lowest score in any form of one-day cricket, and a couple of days ago they lost by 166 runs to Derbyshire in the Championship.

Despite that reverse, they remain third in the Second Division table but morale will be further shaken if they should lose to Northants who this week became the first county side to go down to a Centre of Excellence after Cambridge UCCE beat them off the very last ball of the match at Fenner's.

Darren Gough and Chris Silverwood bagged 13 wickets between them in the win against Northants but neither was playing today. Gough is still missing with a hamstring strain and Silverwood is having an injection on a sore right elbow which makes it difficult for him to throw in from the boundary edge.

With Northants expected to prepare a pitch to suit their slow bowlers, Yorkshire included off-spinners Richard Dawson and Andy Gray in their squad of 12 and both could get a game - as they did a couple of years' ago in Yorkshire's championship-winning season.

Gary Fellows returned after recovering from a hand injury with Scott Richardson dropping out but he could be back next week when Yorkshire will have said au revoir to Michael Vaughan who will be with England at Lord's for the first Test against Zimbabwe.

Yorkshire have not won at Northants in the Championship since 1984. Since then they have played them 11 times and have come away with five defeats and six draws.

Yorkshire (v Northants) from: Vaughan, Wood, McGrath, Lumb, Blakey, Fellows, Gray, Dawson, Sidebottom, Hoggard, Kirby, Bresnan.