Craig White once again called correctly in the 242nd Roses match which began at Headingley today and he decided to give Lancashire first use of a pitch which had green tinges in it.

White has now won the toss in all five of this season's Liverpool Victoria Championship matches and there was a surprise before the start when off-spinner, Richard Dawson, was left out in order to play an extra seamer in John Blain.

Yorkshire made one other change with Gerard Brophy coming back after recovering from a broken finger and replacing Simon Guy while Lancashire had Brad Hodge making his first Championship outing of the season.

Jason Gillespie opened the bowling from the Kirkstall Lane end and began with a maiden to Lancashire captain, Mark Chilton, and Deon Kruis also kept a clean sheet in his first over to Iain Sutcliffe.

Yorkshire kept faith with out-of-touch opening batsman, Joe Sayers, who has made a wretched start to the season with only 43 runs in six Championship innings to give him a miserable average of 7.16.

But director of cricket, David Byas, decided to give at least one more chance to the former Oxford Blue and England Under 19s captain who is under pressure for his place from the free-scoring Andrew Gale.

"I think it is worth supporting Joe in this situation and a knee jerk reaction would not have been in his best interests or that of the team," said Byas.

"Joe has prepared meticulously for the new season and although he hasn't yet been able to build an innings he doesn't look out of nick.

"We have discussed the problem at length and Joe told me he would have been more concerned if he had been getting out when reaching 20-25 rather than in single figures.

"I think what he says is very true because the start of an innings is when a batsman is at his most vulnerable and I value his honest opinion.

"My decision was also influenced by the general improvement in our batting over the weekend when we reached 263 for two declared to save the Championship match against Kent at Canterbury and then hit 341 for three in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy thriller with Northamptonshire.

"Matthew Wood had also been badly short of runs until then but he has now found some form and I hope that the same thing will happen to Joe. He appreciates that he cannot go on for ever without making runs."

Yorkshire entered the Roses match uncomfortably close to the relegation zone and still seeking their first win of the season whereas Lancashire are sitting pretty in fourth place with two wins from three matches and a game in hand of the three teams above them.

But Yorkshire can take heart from having the more impressive record in recent Roses matches, winning three and drawing four of the last seven encounters and they have not lost to Lancashire at Headingley since 1998.

Unfortunately, Yorkshire today were missing Matthew Hoggard, who was taking an enforced rest after the Test match, but last year he was the star of the Roses show at Headingley when he denied Lancashire with an epic piece of courageous batting.

Hoggard came to the wicket 15 minutes before tea on the final day with Yorkshire 182 for eight and apparently heading for a humiliating defeat. He stuck to the crease like a limpet, blocking 138 balls in 146 minutes for his unbeaten 64 and in the process putting on 45 in 20 overs with Richard Dawson and then an unbroken 46 in 21 overs for the last wicket with Deon Kruis.

Yorkshire: Wood, Sayers, McGrath, Lumb, Lehmann, White, Bresnan, Brophy, Gillespie, Kruis, Blain.