Yorkshire's director of cricket, David Byas, is hoping that pay-back time arrives at Bristol today when his side cross swords with Gloucestershire in the semi-finals of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.

Gloucestershire, the Trophy holders, have become the kings of the limited overs game and are a tough nut to crack but Yorkshire are determined to take them apart in order to make it through to the Lord's final on August 28.

Victory will mean far more to Byas, however, than just a big day out at headquarters.

It will also heal the scars inflicted by Gloucestershire in two Cup clashes between the sides five years' ago when Gloucestershire were beginning a spell which has seen them win 28 out of their last 33 one-day knockout games.

The first of these encounters came on a glorious day at Lord's in the final of the Benson and Hedges Super Cup when Yorkshire and an army of fans travelled to London with high hopes but returned home humiliated and crestfallen as a result of being on the receiving end of a good hiding by 124 runs.

Yorkshire - captained then by Byas - simply under-performed in all departments and were never in with a shout from the moment Gloucestershire captain Mark Alleyne won the toss and decided to bat first.

The manner of Yorkshire's defeat was deeply felt by Byas, who has never been able to tolerate his team giving anything short of their best, and he was determined they would make amends a fortnight later in the semi-finals of NatWest Trophy at Bristol.

Again, it was not to be, but at least there was no carnage this time as Gloucestershire shaved it by only six runs after Halifax's Gary Fellows gave them a late scare by smashing 19 of the 20 runs which came off the game's penultimate over.

Byas himself batted superbly to make an unbeaten 71 but twice he watched in dismay as full-blooded straight drives thudded into the stumps at the other end to prevent certain boundaries.

Now Byas says: "Having beaten Lancashire so sensationally in the quarter-finals a few weeks' ago, it would be tragic if we went and fell at the last hurdle but I am confident that we can make amends for what has happened during the past."

The record book, however, is slightly in Gloucestershire's favour because they have won two of the three meetings between the sides but Yorkshire can take some comfort from knowing that they won a second round NatWest Trophy thriller at Bristol in 1993 with just two balls remaining.

Chris Broad smacked an unbeaten 114 in Gloucestershire's 60-over score of 241 for three and all seemed over for Yorkshire until Peter Hartley, now a first class umpire, and Richard Stemp belted 15 off the penultimate over and then Hartley memorably struck West Indian pace ace Courtney Walsh for two boundaries to pull off a dramatic victory.

The teams first faced each other at Headingley in the Gillette Cup in 1976 when that great Pakistan batsman, Zaheer Abbas, guided Gloucestershire to their 233 target with a stunning 111.