A mouth-watering Benson & Hedges Cup semi-final is in prospect at Headingley where Yorkshire, currently sitting pretty at the top of the CricInfo Championship first division, entertain one-day kings Gloucestershire.

It was two seasons ago that Gloucestershire overwhelmed Yorkshire in the B & H final when skipper Mark Alleyne cracked 112 runs off only 91 deliveries to take the West Country outfit to 291 in their 50 overs, a target that Yorkshire never looked like reaching.

That win paved the way for Gloucestershire's remarkable run of victories in limited-overs competitions. They now have four consecutive cup successes under their belt and are hot on the trail of number five.

But many are wondering whether the trip to Headingley could spell the end to their run of success.

There is certainly a confidence about Yorkshire this season as they aim to end a barren spell of 14 years without a trophy.

In the B & H quarter-final at Taunton they crushed Somerset by eight wickets with more than 13 overs to spare, thanks largely to an unbeaten century by England's Michael Vaughan.

Somerset coach Kevin Shine was able to witness at first-hand the strength of the Yorkshiremen. Shine said: "On their day they are as good as any side in the country. They have a wonderful bowling attack and you need to get Lehmann and Vaughan out early.

"Lehmann is an amazing talent - he scores at a phenomenal rate from the moment he comes in. It is quite freakish really; before you know it, he is into his 20s and you have only bowled at him for five overs."

As for Vaughan, Shine said: "That is the best I have ever seen him play. There have been doubts about him as a one-day player, but when you see him play like that there can be no doubts.

"Gloucestershire might be holders, but if Yorkshire have their full-strength side available, on paper they are pretty special."

And Yorkshire are likely to be able to field that full-strength side. Vaughan and Darren Gough return from England duty while Matthew Hoggard and Craig White will be hoping to sharpen up ahead of the Ashes.

Gloucestershire, meanwhile, will have their own match-winner back in Australian Ian Harvey following his success in the NatWest Series.

Yorkshire coach Arnie Sidebottom is full of respect for Gloucestershire's achievements and hopes his side can learn something from the cup holders.

He said: "We don't necessarily want to copy Gloucestershire, but they are the best one-day side in the country and we would like to beat them.

We have got a home draw this time and we are very pleased with how the season has gone so far. The first team are top of the championship, the second team are top of the championship and the Academy side are top of the championship.

"It's going well, but the hard part is still to come. We have been in this position before and faltered. Hopefully it won't happen again.

"Everyone looks at us on paper and says that we have the best side in the country but we haven't won any silverware.

"It would be unbelievable if we could get to the final. When we last won at Lord's in 1987 there were 29,000 people there and 28,000 of them were from Yorkshire. We'd easily sell it out again if we got there."

Gloucestershire captain Mark Alleyne said: "Yorkshire have had a good side for a number of years and they probably feel it's about time they get a bit of silverware in the cabinet.

"We've come up against them plenty of times in the past and I think they'll want to put one over us.

"The guys with the England contracts will do most of the damage - along with Darren Lehmann."

The other semi-final sees Nottinghamshire, this season's surprise package in limited-overs competitions, travel to The Oval to take on the might of Surrey.

The Londoners, with their remarkable all-round strength, will no doubt be favourites but Notts have impressed this season in the Norwich Union League following promotion last season and will be no pushovers.

Alec Stewart, Ally Brown and Ben Hollioake all return from international business and Graham Thorpe will hope to be fit. Saqlain Mushtaq also arrives at The Oval for his first county game of the season having completed his duties with Pakistan.

Nottinghamshire cricket manager Clive Rice said: "It's a really important game. We need to start doing things right - and then it's the big crunch.

"Surrey have got a good depth of players. When people like Alec Stewart, Thorpe, Tudor and Ward come in, they've got a formidable side."

Surrey coach Alan Butcher said he had been impressed with Nottinghamshire this season. He said: "They are looking quite a good unit. The players they have brought in have had an effect.

"Darren Bicknell has also been playing well too, and we're very pleased for him because he was a popular figure here. We just hope he doesn't do too well on Monday!

"It's fair to say we haven't matched the standards we have set for ourselves over the last couple of years yet but I think most sides would struggle with six or seven of their regular first-team squad on international duty or out injured."

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