FIREBRAND Steven Kirby achieved Yorkshire's best match figures in 36 years at Taunton yesterday.

He completed his own career-best return of 8-80 in the ten-wicket Championship triumph over Somerset.

He finished the match with 12-128 and the last time a Yorkshire bowler came out of a game with better overall figures was when off-spinner Ray Illingworth collected 14-64 against Gloucestershire at Harrogate in 1967 in the Championship.

As well as Kirby's 8-80 being the best by a Yorkshire bowler since Craig White's 8-55 at Gloucester in 1998 his innings and match returns were also the best by anyone in the Championship this season.

Kirby, who topped 100 first class wickets during the course of the game, exceeded his previous best match analysis of 12-72 against Leicestershire at Headingley in 2001.

Told it was the best Yorkshire bowling performance since Illingworth, Kirby said: "I honestly don't know what to say, I am really shocked by the news.

"It may have been my day today but the other lads have been bowling brilliantly and it could have been anyone of them who had bagged the wickets. I could not have done it without fantastic support at the other end.

"It is an old clich, but it doesn't matter who takes the wickets as long as someone does.

"There has been a lot of criticism of me in the past that I only take wickets on helpful and responsive pitches so it was nice to be successful on the good Taunton track."

Kirby said that he had learned a lot at the Academy in Australia a couple of winters ago and also from Fleming over the past two weeks. He also denied that he went too far with his on-the-field glaring antics.

"There is a time and a place for it and you learn from experience but I cannot change the way I am. I am not going to be made to look a complete chop out there and although there is occasionally some banter more often than not I am only giving the batsmen a glare."

When the final day began, Somerset still trailed by 24 with four wickets in hand and Chris Silverwood shared the attack with Kirby who had already taken four second innings wickets for 48 runs.

Ian Blackwell and Aaron Laraman quickly set about wiping out the deficit and they were one run away from levelling the scores when Blackwell played a wishy-washy stroke outside off-stump at Kirby, and was well caught by Simon Guy diving low to his left.

Kirby continued to be a menace -while treating the batsmen to all of his usual glares and stares - but runs flowed at the other end as Laraman and Nixon McLean punished Silverwood with McLean inflicting most of the damage.

But then Kirby took charge as McLean sliced him to Andy Gray on the cover point boundary, and later in the over he bowled Steffan Jones as he lunged forward.

Kirby wrapped up the innings at 306, Yuvraj holding a stunning catch at second slip to dispose of last man Simon Francis, and Yorkshire were left to make 70 for their first Championship win since later April.

Matthew Wood (30) and Stephen Fleming (40) knocked off the runs in 13 overs..

Yorkshire gained a maximum 22 points from the match but then had a quarter point deducted by the umpires because of a slow over rate.

- Yorkshire 2nd XI's one-day game against Durham at Clifton Park, yesterday, was washed out by heavy rain without a ball being bowled.

Updated: 10:02 Tuesday, July 01, 2003