UPBEAT Steve Rhodes refused to be crest-fallen in defeat against his native Yorkshire -- but he admits the loss of Shoaib Akhtar cost Worcestershire dearly.

Shoaib was sidelined for the tight Frizzell County Championship clash, which the White Rose side egded yesterday by three wickets, after a calf injury left him '70 per cent' fit.

Seam duo Kabir Ali and Matt Mason toiled hard at New Road to swing the to-and-fro fixture in the County's favour.

However, on an increasingly uneven surface, Shoaib's pace would have been vital and head coach Rhodes was frustrated to have the Pakistani watching events unfold from the balcony.

"Shoaib would have been a real handful out there," said Rhodes.

"It's just one of those things. He was 70 per cent fit and could not have gone on to that pitch and played.

"It wasn't a serious calf strain, but he may have only bowled two or three overs and where would that have left the rest of the bowlers in the team?

"It was a sensible choice to leave him out and we've got to hope that he bounces back and runs in hard, because on that wicket he would have been lethal.

"He's frustrated as much as anybody. He sits there on the balcony and sees the lads toiling out there when they are five or six wickets down, and he knows that's his time and that's when he can make a big difference."

Worcestershire return to the nets on Friday in preparation for Sunday's totesport league clash with Glamorgan at New Road.

Rhodes is confident Shoaib will be in shape to take on the Dragons.

He added: "There's every chance Shoaib will be fit for that game. After that we have a Championship match at Northampton and I'm sure he'll enjoy running in there."

The County's second consecutive loss has slipped them behind Lancashire to third in Division Two.

Richard Dawson saw Yorkshire to their victory total of 268 with an unbeaten 51 from 58 balls.

There was a glimmer of hope for Worcestershire when Ismail Dawood edged Mason to wicketkeeper James Pipe, but Dawson kept his cool.

Rhodes added: "I'm not too down. I thought it was a sterling effort with the ball from Kabir and 'Mase'.

"On our own performance, a couple of guys might have gone on in the first innings and reached a bigger total individually. That would have helped.

"But we dominated the game for a long time and I'm pleased with the overall performance."