Australian Ian Harvey led Yorkshire's batting feast against Essex at Headingley yesterday which virtually guaranteed that they will scoop up maximum points from their opening Championship match of the season.

With Michael Lumb and Darren Lehmann also in tremendous form, Yorkshire sprinted to 408 to give them a first innings lead of 146 and a late collapse left Essex still one run in arrears with only four wickets remaining.

Like some of Yorkshire's previous overseas players, Harvey got close to recording a century on his first Championship appearance but he was lbw to Graham Napier for 95.

Lehmann, 26 overnight, raced to a dramatic half-century off 50 balls with ten boundaries, but he fell to the next delivery which he forced off the backfoot to Will Jefferson at backward point.

Harvey, who had come in following the fall of Chris Taylor to the 11th ball of the day, smashed back a drive which felled bowler Adrian McCoubrey with a blow behind the right ear.

After lying prone on the field for several minutes, McCoubrey was taken to hospital for an X-ray, which revealed no serious damage.

Lumb sped to his 50 by cracking Graham Napier for three boundaries in an over.

When Harvey achieved the same landmark it took him to 6,000 first class runs.

Both batsmen were in their 70s when Lumb drove back a low return catch to James Middlebrook and was out for 76 from 131 balls with 11 fours.

Their stand of 148 in 33 overs was a Yorkshire record for the fifth wicket against Essex, overtaking the 141 set by Edgar Oldroyd and Wilfred Rhodes at Leyton in 1926.

Chris Silverwood hooked Napier for six into the West Stand before the bowler trapped a bitterly disappointed Harvey lbw, his 95 coming off 118 balls with 13 fours.

Silverwood was last out for a meaty 37 from 31 deliveries with six fours and a six.

Andy Flower and Aftab Habib took Essex to within 11 runs of wiping out the arrears before Lehmann deceived Flower into driving high to Craig White at deep mid-on and three balls later producing one with sufficient turn to bowl Mark Pettini.

Silverwood had James Foster caught behind and then Brant fended off a Silverwood bouncer to Matthew Wood at slip.

Updated: 10:10 Saturday, April 24, 2004