Yorkshire step out against Somerset at Lord's today hoping that the figure 33 will prove to be just as significant as it did last season when they became County Champions for the first time since 1968.

Now they are desperate to win the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy and end a similar run of 33 years since they last triumphed in the season's premier one-day competition.

Brian Close's team achieved that success by lifting the Gillette Cup in 1969 and in the intervening years Yorkshire have got close to another end-of-summer final without quite managing it.

In both their 1965 and 1969 Gillette final appearances, Yorkshire won the Cup, but Somerset are the current holders of the C&G Trophy and as the new sponsors only took over last year Somerset cricket chairman Vic Marks is right in his claim that his team have never lost a match in the competition - so something has got to give today.

The form team are Yorkshire, who won their Championship match against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl a couple of days ago while Somerset were being trounced by Lancashire at Old Trafford.

But it has been a generally depressing season for both clubs and Yorkshire skipper Richard Blakey and his opposite number Jamie Cox both want to win today in order to end 2002 with a bang rather than a whimper.

Blakey and his men turned up at Lord's for a net session early yesterday afternoon where they were joined by their England pair of Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard.

Craig White also got his hands round a bat again after being out since the second Test with pulled side muscles and he will open the innings but is not fit to bowl.

The main worry continues to be Chris Silverwood who bowled only five overs against Hampshire before limping off with a painful ankle injury.

He is due to have an injection shortly before the start and the probability is that he will play, despite being well below full fitness.

Wives and girlfriends travelled to London for today's match and a whole tribe of Bradford-born Anthony McGrath's relatives were down at cricket's headquarters.

It was McGrath who rallied Yorkshire in the quarter-finals when he and Gary Fellows got Yorkshire out of deep trouble with an unbroken 128 stand for the sixth wicket which helped them equal Essex's 283 and go through to the semis by virtue of losing fewer wickets.

McGrath could well be a match-winner again, particularly as will probably have to make a significant contribution with the ball this time in view of the problems concerning White and Silverwood and also Ryan Sidebottom who has still not properly shaken off a groin injury.

McGrath's medium-pacers are proving more effective than at any previous time in his career and his 14 Championship wickets are as many as he had taken in all his first class matches for Yorkshire up to the start of this season.

"I really enjoy bowling and I have got plenty of opportunities this time because of our injury situation," said McGrath.

"My batting has also gone quite well in recent weeks and my aim now is to try and complete 1,000 runs before the season is out.

"I would love to do well with either bat or ball, but the only thing that really counts is winning the Trophy and in the end it doesn't matter who plays the starring role - as long as it is someone on our side."

Somerset will be boosted by the almost certain return of their England opener Marcus Trescothick who has been out for several weeks with a broken thumb.

The likely sides are - Yorkshire: White, Wood, Silverwood, Elliott, Vaughan, McGrath, Fellows, Lumb, Blakey, Sidebottom, Hoggard.

Somerset: Trescothick, Bowler, Cox, Burns, Blackwell, Parsons, Turner, Dutch, Johnson, Caddick, Jones.