CHAMPIONSHIP leaders Yorkshire suffered a Roses shocker at Old Trafford yesterday when they crumbled to 164 all out, their last eight wickets toppling in 22 overs for the addition of 38 runs.

Lancashire, only 16 points adrift of their Roses rivals in the table, then made brisk progress with the bat but a couple of late dismissals saw them close on 149 for five to leave Yorkshire in with a shout.

With four of their players in the Test team, Yorkshire were able to give a first class debut to opening batsman Simon Widdup while Anthony McGrath and Ian Fisher both came in for their first Championship appearances of the season.

Widdup had little time for the jitters because he was straight in to bat with David Byas after the captain had won the toss and the 23-year-old right-hander was off the mark with a confident single from the first ball he received.

Byas soon nudged Skipton-born Glen Chapple to second slip and after Richard Blakey had got away with an edge just short of the arc, he and Widdup settled into a second wicket stand of 55 in 15 overs.

Widdup hit consecutive balls from Saurav Ganguly to the boundary, the second going close to Mike Smethurst who was slow to react at mid-wicket, and Blakey should have gone for 22 but wicketkeeper Warren Hegg dropped his edge off Smethurst.

Former Yorkshire left-armer Gary Keedy joined the attack at 67 for one and his first ball turned as it brought Widdup forward, Ganguly pocketing the catch at slip.

Blakey continued to make careful progress but Darren Lehmann was in his best form and he plundered runs off Keedy and Ganguly to charge to 37 at which stage he overtook his partner who had been in 16 overs longer.

It was very much Yorkshire's morning and they went in to lunch happy at 126 for two but the slump began in the first over of the afternoon when Lehmann was lbw to Chapple for 38.

Chapple had both Matthew Wood and McGrath caught behind, McGrath off a lifter which he clearly thought had brushed something other than the bat, and soon after Blakey had completed his first half-century of the season he pushed forward at Keedy to give Hegg his third consecutive catch.

Yorkshire were 161 for six and all the wickets had fallen to the two Yorkshiremen but it was Smethurst who was largely in charge of the mopping up operation with three quick dismissals.

Chris Silverwood rapped back for Yorkshire in his first over with a vicious yorker which John Crawley got some bat on but could not prevent rolling into his stumps, but Mark Chilton and Neil Fairbrother then dashed up 50 in eight overs as Silverwood and Paul Hutchison wasted the new ball.

The first over from James Middlebrook brought the dismissal of Neil Fairbrother who seemed unhappy with his lbw decision and Chilton's robust innings of 35 ended at 78 when he played at a widish ball from Hutchison and was caught behind.

Ganguly and Lloyd were largely untroubled by either pace or spin, despite the poor light, and Ganguly straight drove Fisher for six as the stand approached 50 in ten overs.

They had added a brisk 69 in 13 overs when Lloyd was bowled off his pad by Fisher for 35 and Yorkshire gained another crucial wicket in the closing overs as Fisher pulled off a stunning one-handed catch at deep mid-on when Ganguly mistimed a big hit at Middlebrook.

Pitch liaison officer Alan Smith - who spared Yorkshire from having points deducted against Kent at Headingley in the previous match - watched the 15 wickets go down and although there was certainly plenty of turn on the first day, the pitch did not appear to be too much to blame for the dismissals.