Yorkshire have closed their ears to those who pour scorn on the new Twenty20 Cup and today they will be putting the final touches to a strategy which they hope will see them win the final at Trent Bridge on July 19.

A combination of wanting to restore pride and scooping the £42,000 on offer for the winners has resulted in head coach Kevin Sharp insisting on his team taking the competition very seriously.

The top prize is £12,000 more than Yorkshire would land from finishing top of the Second Division of the Championship.

It was originally intended that the winners of the Twenty20 would rake in £52,000 but the ECB have lowered the prize by £10,000 because of financial restraints brought about by England not playing in Zimbabwe in the World Cup. Other prize money has been similarly affected.

Yorkshire's opening match is tomorrow (10.30am) at Headingley against Derbyshire.

"Just because it is only 20 overs a side does not mean there is no room for experienced players or no time to exercise some care while batting," said Sharp.

"We had a dummy run in April and the team going in second found themselves ten for six chasing a 120 target. This was because they had tried to slog.

It now seems certain that New Zealand captain, Stephen Fleming, will play.

Yorkshire have completed all the paperwork necessary for signing him and he is due to arrive at Headingley this afternoon.

Fleming is only available until the beginning of September, which means he will miss the last three Championship matches.