It was a near perfect day for Yorkshire as they got their Friends Provident Twenty20 campaign back on track with a thumping win over Leicestershire at Grace Road.

There were encouraging two-wicket displays from Rich Pyrah and Tino Best as the hosts, whose captain Matthew Hoggard elected to bat first, could only post 148-8 on a slow pitch yesterday.

Man of the match Andrew Gale and Jacques Rudolph then both hit half-centuries as Yorkshire knocked off the runs for the loss of only one wicket with 17 balls to spare.

And to top it all off, Tim Bresnan, who was using this as a fitness test ahead of linking up with the England squad for their one-day international series against Australia, reported no ill-effects after three weeks out with a stress reaction in his left foot.

Bresnan claimed the wicket of Wayne White in bizarre fashion, the Foxes bowler treading on his stumps as he tried to evade a wide bouncer down the leg side, and went for 21 runs in his four overs.

Just before leaving for Southampton, he said: “It feels all right.

“I’ll know more in the morning, but hopefully I’ll pull up well.

“Overs in the middle are important with injuries like these. As well as four overs at full steam in a match situation, I got some fielding as well.

“I’m disappointed not to have had a bat with us winning so convincingly.

“I would have liked to have tested it out more to start with, but you can’t win ’em all.”

Yorkshire have shown throughout their seven North Division matches that they cannot win them all, but they rarely looked like losing a fifth.

The only blip of the day was when Steve Patterson was ordered out of the attack for bowling two dangerous full tosses above waist height in his last over.

He automatically receives three penalty points on his record, and another six within the next two years will mean a two-match ban.

England Lions batsman James Taylor recorded an innovative career-best 60 off 42 balls, while Australian opener Brad Hodge added 43 off 40 for Leicestershire.

Pyrah, whose figures of 2-19 were the pick, had opener Jacques du Toit caught at mid-on by Rudolph in the sixth over and bowled Will Jefferson in his next.

And Best had Taylor caught at long on by Rudolph and bowled Claude Henderson in the last over of the innings.

Gale and Rudolph then flew out of the blocks in response, reaching 47-0 after five and sharing a fabulous 103 in 11.3 overs for the first wicket.

Rudolph’s 53 off 37 balls was his third 20-over half-century for Yorkshire, and his third against Leicestershire.

Gale, whose side face Worcestershire at Headingley tomorrow, hit ten fours in 65 not out off 42.

Herschelle Gibbs also reached 29 not out.

Gale could see his name in today’s England Lions squad for their forthcoming triangular series with India ‘A’ and West Indies ‘A’.