Australian newcomer, Damien Martyn, will be trying to help Yorkshire achieve their first Championship double of the season in the match against beleaguered Somerset which begins at Headingley today.

Somerset chairman Peter Anderson has already warned his players their careers are on the line and has said the search is on for new recruits "to try to halt the terrible downward spiral the club now finds itself in."

As part of that policy of change, Somerset include three of the younger members of their playing staff in Neil Edwards and Gareth Andrews, both 19, and 20-year-old Tom Webley.

One of Yorkshire's three Championship successes this season was at Taunton in late June when they won by ten wickets after a double century from Matthew Wood and a maiden century from Andy Gray.

The stakes are high in the current game because if Yorkshire cannot beat their dispirited opponents it will kill off their slender promotion hopes, and increase pressure in their own camp to bring about changes at the end of the season.

But Martyn, now fully recovered from the stomach virus which prevented him from making his debut against Surrey Lions on Sunday, is confident that all is not lost.

"I think there is still a chance of going up and I am looking forward to the challenge of trying to make it happen," he said.

Martyn's previous experience of county cricket was in 1991 when he joined Leicestershire. Playing for the Second XI, he finished the season as their top scorer with 656 runs from nine matches.

He has now scored 2,000 runs in 33 Tests for Australia and has racked up 11,452 runs with 34 centuries in 162 first class matches as well as playing in 126 one-day internationals, including this year's World Cup final triumph against India when he hit an unbeaten 88.

Somerset welcome back Jamie Cox, but the Aussie's return from a back injury is tempered by the news that Aaron Laraman misses out because of a groin strain.