DIRECTOR of Cricket David Byas described Yorkshire's performance as "absolute rubbish" after it took them only 100 minutes on Friday morning to slump to a ten-wicket defeat against Somerset at Scarborough.

But Byas said he was still confident that Yorkshire could battle their way back in the Championship race for promotion.

Somerset required just six for their first victory of the season after Yorkshire's last seven wickets had crashed for 97 runs and the only crumb of comfort was that acting captain Matthew Wood became the first player to carry his bat for the county since Geoff Boycott against Surrey at Abbeydale Park in 1985.

Wood's unbeaten 66 out of a sorry total of 160 included five fours and a six and came off 109 balls. It was his sixth half-century in seven consecutive Championship innings.

With the large crowd left grumbling in the sun following Yorkshire's surrender, Byas said: "I would like to stress that the groundsman prepared an outstanding four-day pitch and we would have died to win the toss which we did.

"The game was lost in the first innings because if we had batted as we should have done we would have declared just before tea on the second day with 600 on the board but to be out for 296 for just criminal.

"The pitch was beginning to turn when we resumed today and if we had played as we should have done then conditions would just have been right for leg-spinner Mark Lawson to come into his own in his debut game.

"We cocked it up in a big way on the first day but you would not then expect an international pace attack like ours is to give away 180 and 190 runs in two sessions. It was woeful."

"Matthew Wood deserves praise for his two innings but we are too often dependent on Darren Lehmann and other batsmen should also be going out and making their mark."

The day began disastrously for Yorkshire when Nixon McLean produced a beauty in his first over which nipped back and trimmed Ian Harvey's bails and this was followed by a tremendous assault by Lehmann on paceman, Simon Francis, whom he clattered for 32 off 11 balls with six fours, a six and a two.

But Francis soon gave way to off-spinner Keith Dutch and Lehmann mis-drove his second ball high to mid-on where the same Francis made no mistake with the catch.

Wood continued to fight hard but the procession continued at the other end, Dutch finishing with five for 26 and McLean 5-45 to give the West Indian match figures of 11-124.

Yorkshire have a chance to redeem themselves tomorrow when they again meet Somerset at Scarborough in Division Two of the totesport League.

Their last match against Durham Dynamos a fortnight ago had to be abandoned because of bad weather and since then leaders Middlesex Crusaders have lost two consecutive matches but remain top, ten points ahead of Phoenix who have two games in hand.

Somerset are languishing in eighth place but after their Championship performance Yorkshire will be treating them with the greatest respect.

Yorkshire will choose from the same team just beaten, plus paceman Tim Bresnan and off-spinner Andy Gray.

Updated: 10:39 Saturday, July 24, 2004