Dropped catches cost Yorkshire dear at Headingley yesterday where Hampshire, the Championship's Second Division leaders, reached 322 all out on a pitch which offered plenty of assistance to the fast bowlers.

Five chances of varying degrees of difficulty were spurned by Yorkshire but had they all been held the visitors could well have struggled to make more than 150.

The costliest miss was probably that of Dimitri Mascarenhas who was put down by Ian Harvey at first slip before he had scored. Mascarenhas went on to make 49 in a partnership of 80 with centurion Nic Pothas but had he gone at the first time of asking Hampshire would have been struggling on 124-6 in 42 overs with the bowlers still fresh.

Pothas, too, had a life, giving a sharp high chance to wicketkeeper, Simon Guy, when he was 71, and he went smartly on to an otherwise faultless century off 169 balls with 12 fours and two sixes before Chris Silverwood had him caught by Matthew Hoggard at mid-off without addition.

There was an element of good fortune for Yorkshire about his dismissal because Hoggard slid forward to take the low catch and the ball appeared to lodge between his knees.

Hoggard, in his only Championship match before joining up with England, got the wicket of Derek Kenway with his tenth delivery, but the most successful of the bowlers were Silverwood and John Blain who had an equal share in six dismissals.

Craig White held himself back too long before deciding to bowl on the sort of pitch he usually likes and he did not appear until straight after tea when Hampshire were 246-6. He was rewarded by bowling Chris Tremlett to pick up his first Championship wicket for Yorkshire since taking 2-85 in the Roses match at Headingley two years' ago.

Winning the toss for Yorkshire, White was happy to see his side have the better of the first session, Lawrence Prittipaul's departure to the last ball before the interval to a good one from Harvey leaving them on 97-4.

Acting captain Will Kendall had made 41 of them with some solid strokes, particularly early on, but the ball after completing his 50 with eight boundaries Blain had him caught low down by Matthew Wood at second slip. Kendall also benefited from a 'life', however, Australian Phil Jaques, on his Yorkshire debut, dropping him at first slip on 30.

Two more catches went down as Hampshire surged on as Pothas raced to his century.

Yorkshire were left with eight overs in which to bat and Wood and White made smooth progress up to the last ball of the day when Tremlett surprised White with a bit of extra bounce and he was caught at slip.

Updated: 10:59 Thursday, May 13, 2004