YORK beat Harrogate by just three runs in a thrilling Oxbridge Yorkshire League contest.

York elected to bat and were given a solid start by Steve Piercy and Simon Mason with 66 runs off 23 overs before the latter was bowled by Chris Guest.

Dave Catlow and Mike Davies carried on the good work, the latter scoring particularly freely.

Harrogate came back into the game when York lost Mason, Catlow and Will Warne in six balls for only two runs.

With the score at 121-4 and 16 overs remaining, York faced something of a crisis. However, 18-year-old off-spinner Dan Broadbent showed his batting potential with a smooth 53 off as many deliveries. Tom Pringle added his usual not out and York emerged with a defendable if not impregnable total of 232-7.

Harrogate lost Alexis Twigg early to Greg How, but Mike Stamford and former Yorkshire colt John Inglis took the score to 100 and seemed well set, although still needing five an over for victory.

Broadbent joined Jeetan Patel and the off-spinners took control, dismissing Inglis and Stamford within three overs and working their way through the middle order.

However, overseas all-rounder Khalid Hussain-Butt was scoring freely and his unbeaten 67 contained eight boundaries of which four were sixes. He found a dependable ally in Paul Taylor.

When Taylor was finally dismissed, 'Gate needed 30 runs off 20 balls but Hussain was still hitting the boundaries.

York had fielded well throughout with a brilliant boundary catch by Warne, while two more by Pringle supplemented two stumpings from Nigel Durham.

How claimed the ninth wicket with a long throw to run out Guest and with four needed off the final delivery, Hussain drove straight back to Patel with James Bryant over-committed on the back-up.

York remain third in the league.

Updated: 11:21 Monday, June 16, 2003