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Duo stake their England claim

Lancashire (149) bt Yorkshire (114-7) by 14 runs

Two of the players who stand to benefit most from a confidently-predicted shift towards new blood in England's selection policy this weekend made influential and timely contribitions as Yorkshire's bowlers claimed supremacy in the first of three ``Roses matches in a week.

Chris Silverwood, who is expected to replace the injured Dean Headley in the side for next week's fourth Test against New Zealand, bowled with sustained pace and hostility to claim three for 22.

Michael Vaughan, whose faltering batting form has so far denied him promotion to the England side, demonstrated his all-round abilities by taking two for 31.

Yorkshire, who drew first blood in this annual tribal conflict when they beat Lancashire in the quarter-finals of the Natwest Trophy, gave every sign of having derived a marked psychological advantage from this success as the Red Rose wilted to 149 all out in 44.1 overs.

The two sides meet again in this competition at Old Trafford on Tuesday in a game which should decide whether either of them can sustain a challenge to Worcestershire for the First Division title. Then it will be back to championship action on Thursday, also in Manchester.

But before the next encounter, Yorkshire face a NatWest semi-final against Gloucestershire, their recent conquerors in the final of the Benson & Hedges Super Cup.

Even without Gavin Hamilton, who is recovering from a hamstring strain, and Matthew Hoggard, out for the season after knee surgery, Yorkshire's attack looked full of quality as Lancashire, who opted to bat on an uneven, bowler-friendly pitch, subsided to a total which looked extremely difficult to defend.

Despite cool, overcast conditions a crowd of about 10,000 saw Yorkshire begin their subjection of the old enemy inside two overs.

Mike Watkinson fell in pursuit of a ball slanted across him, Michael Atherton's 15 in 57 minutes ended with a full-blooded carve to gully and Lancashire were torn between the need to retrench and the desire to attack when Andrew Flintoff top-edged an inelegant pull and John Crawley jay-walked out of his crease.

Neil Fairbrother, who so often prospers by cunning where others fail with muscular aggression, this time departed cheaply as Vaughan straightened one enough to beat the sweep. Lancashire were beyond revival when Silverwood returned with a testing, three-wicket spell.

There was no sign of a weak link in a well-balanced Yorkshire attack as left-arm seamers Ryan Sidebottom and Paul Hutchison and all-rounder Craig White also generated the pace and movement to confine Lancashire to such a meagre total.