REVENGE would be sweet for Yorkshire against their arch-rivals. But a win over Lancashire at Emerald Headingley is crucial for more than just that.

Yorkshire lost their first Roses County Championship match in 10 years when they were beaten by an innings and 59 runs at Old Trafford in late May, only just failing to recover from slumping to 40-7 in the first innings.

They fought hard to take the game into its final half hour on an attritional pitch, but ultimately Lancashire claimed 22 points and Yorkshire one.

And that is the reason why a White Rose win is of high importance in the latest chapter of the great rivalry, starting tomorrow (11am).

With this the final game of the initial group stage in the Championship, both sides have already secured top two finishes in Group Three and qualification for the top group in the latter stages of the competition in late August and through September.

Six teams will fight it out for the Championship title and the Bob Willis Trophy, but only four games are played.

You don’t play the team you have advanced with, instead half the aggregate of points accrued in initial group stage fixtures against them are carried forwards.

Despite them topping the table by two points from Lancashire, that leaves Yorkshire at a disadvantage unless they can gain revenge.

And it is something they are confident of doing having beaten Sussex home and Northamptonshire away since that solitary aforementioned defeat.

“It will be a tough game,” said coach Andrew Gale, whose players will come up against England Test legend Jimmy Anderson fresh from reaching 1,000 first-class career wickets earlier this week.

“Any Roses game is a tough game.

“It showed that with how the cricket was at Old Trafford. We were gutted not to come away with a draw.

“The preparation isn’t ideal with us playing two nights before in the Blast, but they’re in the same boat.

“The good thing is we’ve got a pretty much different bowling attack to T20. The seamers didn’t bowl a great deal at Northampton, so we’ll have a fresh bowling attack.

“And we know how to play at home. We’re pretty good on our own patch in all formats.

“Hopefully we hit the ground running and are not 25-7 on the first morning!

“You get to this stage of the season and every game is a big game.

“What we’ve got going for us at the minute is that confidence is very high and momentum is in our favour. We’ve just got to keep playing with the same confidence every single game.

“I talk to the lads about making sure we turn up with the right attitude and don’t take anything for granted.”

“We’re playing some good cricket, and we just have to continue that and keep our heads down.

“If we play to the best of our ability, we’ll get to where we want to be.”

While Yorkshire have won both of their games since losing at Old Trafford, Lancashire have lost at Glamorgan, added to a rain-affected draw which they dominated at home to Kent earlier this week.

Anderson claimed career best figures of 7-19 on the second day when play finally got underway, including his 1,000th first-class scalp.

“Some bowler isn’t he!” was Gale’s response when asked about Anderson’s achievement.

But he has urged his young batsmen, the likes of George Hill and in-form Harry Brook, to embrace the challenge.

“George has probably watched him on the telly growing up, and now he’s opening the batting against him in a Roses game,” said Gale.

“My message will be, ‘Take it on. Don’t play the name, play the ball’.”

Sam Northeast debuted in the most recent win at Northampton with scores of three and one.

Facing Lancashire will be the last of his initial two-game Championship spell with Yorkshire, but he is available long-term having left Hampshire permanently.

Is that something Gale and Yorkshire would be open to?

The coach added: “He’s a short-term signing at the minute.

“I’d spoken to a few people and knew he’d had some problems at Hampshire and it wasn’t working out for him.

“With everything that’s happened, I felt we needed another senior player - someone like a Dawid Malan.

“We want to back our own players, but I think we are with some of the lads we’ve got in there.

“Mala could easily get picked in the Test squad against India. They’re crying out for someone like him.

“We’ll see where we’re at come the end of the week.”