CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

Gough's season in doubt as Yorkshire march on in style

Yorkshire (263-7) bt Lancashire (208) by 55 runs

With one mighty trans- Pennine leap Yorkshire have finally banished years of enslavement. Their last three visits to this ground in knockout cricket brought defeat, twice in 1996, and on each occasion Lancashire went on to win the cup. They have waited a long time for this victory and they thoroughly deserved it.

Not since 1987 have Lancashire lowered the flag at Old Trafford in this competition. They had won 14 successive matches before yesterday and a crowd of 18,000 scented another so long as Michael Atherton and Neil Fairbrother were together. When they departed to consecutive balls, and two more wickets went down at once, the game tilted towards Yorkshire, who had in fairness bowled and fielded with greater flair.

The delight that accompanied their victory was soured by the less pleasant news that Darren Gough will probably miss the rest of the season. Gough will have a third scan on his troubled calf today and has resigned himself to a lengthy lay-off. England's premier fast bowler, whose career has been blighted by persistent injury, must now prove his fitness before the winter tour of South Africa.

Without Gough as their spearhead, Yorkshire remain competitive. They have reached the final of the Benson and Hedges Super Cup, which they contest at Lord's on Sunday against Gloucestershire, and they will play Gloucestershire at Bristol on Aug 15 in the second semi-final of the senior knockout cup, which has switched this year to 50 overs a side.

It was a wonderful day for Craig White, whose two wickets, allied to a well-struck 43 after Yorkshire won the toss, won him the man-of-the-match award. When Yorkshire lost a Benson and Hedges semi-final here three years ago, and White's wayward bowling contributed heavily to the defeat, he was distraught. So he was entitled to be a happy man last night.

If anything, Greg Blewett was happier. The Australian all-rounder has not enjoyed the most profitable of starts to his county career but he excelled yesterday as the man with the golden arm. His first ball bowled Atherton for 61, his fifth had Andrew Flintoff lbw, and he ended up with four for 18 as Lancashire lost their last eight wickets for 44. He also ran out Warren Hegg from backward point with a direct hit.

That last half hour was quite astonishing. Lancashire were 164 for two, and Atherton had added 90 in 16 overs with Fairbrother, when Chris Silverwood returned to beat the little left-hander. That is always a good wicket in one-day cricket, and when Blewett struck oil with the next ball, Yorkshire had gained a foothold they were determined not to surrender.

From the start of the day they impressed with the resolution of their cricket. White cracked his runs merrily and, after Blewett had been snaffled at slip, David Byas constructed a sensible innings. The pitch, one of the newer ones on this relaid square, played a good deal better than many had suspected, and Byas, with Michael Vaughan then Anthony McGrath, carried his side towards a decent total.

Vaughan was beaten by one of the balls that misbehaved, as it turned and kept low. There was some low bounce but one could not say it was an uneven pitch, merely on the slow side. John Crawley was to get a ball later that crept a touch, but the batsmen could not grumble. Yorkshire did, after all, make 263 for seven, which they would happily have settled for beforehand.

By the time Byas lifted Ian Austin to long-on he had made 72 from 100 balls, and established the foundation of that total. He added 111 in 20 overs with McGrath who, regrettably, chose to mark his second successive half-century in this competition by acknowledging only his team-mates. He is quite a talented player but he is a thoughtless young man. Prod him, somebody. This game was never meant to be a private ritual.

Though Richard Harden went cheaply, Gavin Hamilton bashed two dozen useful runs to push on past 250 and make Lancashire chase more than five runs an over. They would not normally quake at that prospect and were not doing yesterday until Fairbrother was rudely disturbed 15 overs from the line.

Byas, who led by example, ran a tight ship in the field. Whereas Lancashire frequently looked sloppy, Yorkshire were quick to the ball and always conveyed the impression that this was going to be their day. Now comes the hard part, reaching Lord's and winning there in the cup that counts. It is 30 long years since they did so.