RAMPANT Yorkshire overpowered Lancashire by an innings and 37 runs at Old Trafford yesterday to complete their first Roses double in the Championship in 23 years.

This in itself was sufficient cause for celebration but the achievement paled into insignificance compared to the fact that Yorkshire's seventh win of the season virtually made sure that they will become the new county champions.

It's still too early for skipper David Byas to shout it from the roof tops that the title is coming back to Yorkshire for the first time since 1968 but their lead is such that they would have to experience calamitous results in their last four matches to be pipped at the post.

They can expect tough encounters in away visits to Leicestershire and Surrey but the two home games against Glamorgan and Essex at Scarborough should make sure they stay out in front.

Everything seems to be on their side at the moment, including the weather, and Yorkshire squeezed 20 points out of Lancashire - their fourth maximum haul of the season.

It means that they have opened up a 24 point gap at the top over second-placed Somerset who could only draw with Leicestershire, both sides taking nine points from their game at Taunton.

And Yorkshire have the added bonus over all their serious challengers of a game in hand.

The weather hit Yorkshire hard on the first day which was a complete blank and Byas admitted that when play finally got started after lunch on the second, he thought they were only competing for bonus points and a draw.

But his team quickly seized the initiative and they never released their grip against a sorry looking Lancashire side which could be heading for relegation unless they pull themselves together.

Byas refused to be drawn into saying that Yorkshire had already done enough to win the Championship but he commented: "We just want to concentrate on beating Leicestershire at Grace Road next week and that will not be easy because they are a good side and there will be some tough cricket.

"But we will go on taking it one session at a time and if we do well in each of them we will come out on top."

Lancashire set out yesterday on 74 for 1 which left them requiring a further 171 to make Yorkshire bat again but only Mark Chilton looked capable of giving them much aggro.

He and Andrew Flintoff took the score to 100 without any real worries but then Hamilton struck a double blow with two wickets in four balls, first bowling Flintoff between bat and pad for 43 and then pinning Joe Scuderi lbw.

Hamilton gained another wicket when Graham Lloyd cut weakly to Gary Fellows at point and the writing was on the wall for Lancashire shortly before lunch with the dismissal of Chilton for 74 off 159 balls with nine fours. He took a step down the wicket to Dawson and was smartly stumped by Richard Blakey.

Chilton's departure marked the end of all serious resistance and it took only a dozen overs after the interval to pick up the last five wickets at a cost of 16 runs, Dawson continuing to impress by finishing with four for 2

SCOREBOARD

CricInfor County Championship

Divsion One

Lancashire v Yorkshire

at Old Trafford

Yorkshire first innings: 467-9 dec (White 186, Wood 115) Lancashire first innings: 242 (Hegg 78, Flintoff 52)

Lancashire Second Innings

Chilton st Blakey b Dawson 74

Crawley c Dawson b Silverwood 8

Flintoff b Hamilton 43

Scuderi lbw b Hamilton 0

Lloyd c Fellows b Hamilton 2

Hegg c Byas b Dawson 26

Schofield c & b Lehmann 5

Chapple st Blakey b Dawson 7

Wood c White b Dawson 3

Keedy b White 1

Smethurst not out 1

Extras b8 lb4 nb6 18

Total (66.2 overs) 188

Fall: 1-13 2-100 3-100 4-112 5-162 6-173 7-174 8-182 9-186

Bowling: Silverwood 4-1-12-1 Hutchison 14-1-51-0 Hamilton 13-3-33-3 Dawson 17-8-29-4 Lehmann 8-2-23-1 White 8.2-1-19-1 Fellows 2-0-9-0

Yorkshire (20 points) beat Lancashire (4) by an innings and 37 runs

Northampton: Northamptonshire 355 (R J Warren 84, A L Penberthy 77), Kent 202-1 (D Fulton 116no). Final day today.

Updated: 11:09 Saturday, August 11, 2001