Was this the most difficult county selection of all? That record number of 30 county championships (Surrey are still a distant second with 18) certainly suggests that Yorkshire have more great players to choose from than any other county. In particular, the White Rose county has been blessed with an abundance of outstanding opening batsmen and left-arm spinners. But, as we all know, a collection of great individuals is not necessarily a great team.

It was tempting to omit an overseas player altogether, given Yorkshire’s protracted refusal to employ anyone even born outside the Broad Acres until Sachin Tendulkar was recruited in 1992. But the phenomenal run-scoring of Darren Lehmann in recent seasons demands inclusion, well ahead of the contributions of other theoretically bigger names from overseas, such as Tendulkar and Richie Richardson.

There are few shrinking violets in this team, so a strong and skilful captain is essential. This was perhaps the most difficult choice of all. I considered including Brian Sellers, the legendary leader in the inter-war years, but his batting was too weak for such a stellar line-up, so I resolved to choose between F.S. Jackson, Hutton, Illingworth, Close and Vaughan, all of whom captained England with distinction. Riches indeed.

1. Herbert Sutcliffe: One of only five batsmen in history to average more than 60 in Test matches, Sutcliffe had a watertight technique and immense powers of concentration. He set the mould for the archetypal Yorkshire opening batsman.

2. Len Hutton: Thank goodness I did not have to choose between Sutcliffe and Hutton. Among English opening batsmen, they have probably only been surpassed by Jack Hobbs. So there is, sadly, no place for Geoffrey Boycott. Perhaps it would be fun to ask him to carry the drinks.

3. Michael Vaughan: I am aware what a controversial selection this is. Firstly, Vaughan has mediocre record as a batsman for his county. Secondly, I am making him my captain - ahead of several outstanding historical candidates - despite the fact that he has never led Yorkshire in the championship. But Vaughan wins his place for the package of skills he brings to the team, namely his batting ability ( 17 Test hundreds and counting) and the leadership attributes that have made him one of England’s finest captains. We’ll know just how good a skipper he is after a few days leading this lot.

4. Maurice Leyland: What a man to have coming in at No 4 to solidify the innings. The doughty left-hander was at his best in a battle and, if the unthinkable happened and both Sutcliffe and Hutton failed, Maurice would wander out unperturbed to steady the ship. And if the luminous left-arm spinners mentioned below were ever to fancy a rest, Leyland’s tweakers would be a more than useful stopgap.

5. Darren Lehmann: I watched with awe at the end of last season as Lehmann inched ever closer to George Hirst’s record score of 341. When he fell two runs short, there was disappointment and relief in equal measure. Wonderful though it would have been to witness such history, it seemed right that record remained with a Yorkshireman. But that innings cemented the Australian’s place among the county’s leading batsmen. Statistically at least, with an average of 68.76 from 88 matches, he is out on his own.

6. George Hirst: When Lehmann was asked how he felt after falling short of Hirst’s record score, he replied: “George was a better player than me, anyway.” Hirst might not have been a better batsman but, as one of the game’s great all-rounders, he will fit nicely into the No 6 slot in this team. His fabled left-arm in-swing bowling – “like facing a sharp throw in from mid-off”- would confound modern batsmen.

7. Wilfred Rhodes: Who’s the greatest all-rounder the game has produced? Well, he bats right-handed, bowls left-arm and was born in Kirkheaton. That well worn exchange, which may just be coloured with a little White Rose bias, allows for an answer of either Hirst or Rhodes. Messrs Grace and Sobers, among others, may quibble, but between the wars there would have been few disputes. With his canny left-arm spin, Rhodes took a world record 4,187 first-class wickets, which is never likely to be broken, and was a good enough batsman to open for England.

8. Arthur Wood: The issue of a wicketkeeper’s batting ability is a topical debate, but it is just as relevant in an historical selection meeting. Of Yorkshire’s outstanding glovemen, Jimmy Binks is often considered the finest, but his batting was limited (first-class career avge 14.73), whereas David Bairstow was a better batsman (avge 26.44) but inferior stumper. Wood gets the nod, as a better batsman than Binks (avge 21.20) and a better ’keeper than Bairstow, whose skill in standing up to the wicket would be invaluable with Verity and Rhodes in the side.

9. Hedley Verity: Nowhere on earth has produced such a rich tradition of left-arm spin bowlers and Verity was the best of the lot, ahead of Peate, Peel, Rhodes, Wardle and Wilson. In helpful conditions he was unplayable – 10 for 10 (against Notts in 1932) speaks for itself – but his sharp turn, mastery of length and wicked arm ball made him a handful in any conditions.

10. Fred Trueman: No need to weigh up the claims of alternative candidates here, no need to invoke statistics, for Trueman was, of course, t’finest fast bowler that ever drew breath. He had pace, devilishly late out-swing and the perfect fast bowler’s temperament. His feats with the ball were matched only by the number of legends that grew around him. Everyone in Yorkshire has a Trueman story to tell.

11. Bill Bowes: Trueman’s new-ball partner is a more difficult selection. After Trueman, two more of England’s top nine Test wicket-takers are from Yorkshire, Matthew Hoggard and Darren Gough, while Allen Hill, George Ulyett, Schofield Haigh and Chris Old were all formidable opening bowlers. But we are picking a team here, rather than just players with the best records, so a tall bowler able to extract bounce would be the best foil for Trueman. At 6ft 4in, not quick but highly skilled in the arts of seam and swing, Bowes is the man.

My favourite XI

The term “hero” is a tricky one to deal with for a Yorkshireman of my relative youth. For most of my life, Yorkshire’s performances have been anything but heroic and the players have been known more for falling out than mucking in.

So to select a team of White Rose heroes, I have picked the players that I have most enjoyed watching over the last few years, but also made several sorties into the history books. Reading about the exploits of great players from Yorkshire’s illustrious past, especially when viewed through the Red Rose-tinted spectacles of Neville Cardus, has always given me at least as much pleasure as watching the modern team. The characters depicted by Cardus are certainly heroic, even if the tales attributed to them are apocryphal at best.

1 and 2. Percy Holmes and Herbert Sutcliffe: Even for a nipper growing up in Yorkshire in the 1980s, the phrase “Holmes and Sutcliffe” was something that you just heard, even if you did not know what it was all about (a bit like bread and dripping). It was always “Holmes and Sutcliffe” (because Percy took strike), never “Sutcliffe and Holmes”, even though Herbert was much the more famous. And the summer of 2007 just happens to mark the 75th anniversary of their record opening stand of 555 for Yorkshire against Essex in 1932.

3. Michael Vaughan: I played with and against Vaughan a few times when we were in our teens. Even the way he lobbed the ball to you in the field had a certain style and assurance. As a Test batsman in recent years, his classically elegant strokeplay has made him one of the game’s most watchable players. His cover drive is a stroke of sheer beauty.

4. Darren Lehmann: I have been lucky to watch several glorious innings from the gifted Lehmann in recent seasons. Last year, Kent were reduced to putting all nine fielders back on the boundary to Lehmann and still he pierced the field numerous times. His power and placement was extraordinary: time after time, two chasing fielders would converge just as the ball was crossing the rope. A huge talent, unfulfilled at Test level, but revered in Yorkshire.

5. Brian Sellers: Captaincy skills should be highly prized and, as this is purely a whimsical team, I can pick Yorkshire’s finest captain, even though his batting was weak. Sellers was intensely competitive, tactically brilliant and a firm but skilled leader of men and he won the championship six times in eight seasons.

6 and 7. George Hirst and Wilfred Rhodes: Another double act that could not possibly be left out of any team like this. Reading about the legendary deeds of these two sons of Huddersfield, mainly through Cardus, has been an immense pleasure. And I still find it astonishing that the village of Kirkheaton, just over the hill from my home town, should have produced two such titans of the game.

8. Adil Rashid: It is much, much too early to be describing this 19-year-old as a hero. But he is the embodiment of future promise: potentially the most exciting English cricketer of his generation, a successor to Andrew Flintoff as all-rounder and, as a leg spinner, he could be capable of winning more Test matches. I am just praying that he is handled well and given the chance to develop properly as a person as well as a cricketer. Much is at stake.

9. David Bairstow: You couldn’t miss Bairstow when he was keeping wicket for Yorkshire. He bristled with energy and always looked as though he was about to do something exciting. All of which makes his suicide a few years ago seem all the more incomprehensible.

10. Emmott Robinson: One of Cardus’s most colourful characters, I’m giving him the new ball, which he cherished so dearly. He was said to carry it in protectively cupped hands, barking a “nay, nay” if any fielder threw the new ball in on the bounce. I love Cardus’s tribute to him: “No statistics can get to the value of him. The scoreboard cannot reflect human nature, Yorkshire human nature, in action. He was not named Emmott Robinson for nothing.”

11. Matthew Hoggard: Described himself as the “boring one” of England’s celebrated fast-bowling quartet that won the Ashes in 2005, but Hoggard is never dull to watch. I think Cardus would have enjoyed writing about his idiosyncrasies.