Yorkshire Phoenix soared to new heights in Division One of the CGU National League at Headingley when they crushed Hampshire Hawks by eight wickets in their most powerful performance of the season to go top-of-the-table.

And assisting them in maintaining their 100 per cent winning record was Darren Gough who made a surprise appearance for Phoenix after contacting the club last night to say he was keen to join them straight away from the dejected England camp.

Until now Yorkshire have had to work hard for their successes, but they were in such dynamic form on this occasion that deadly accurate bowling restricted Hampshire to 132 for seven off their 45 overs and a scorching 115 stand between David Byas and Craig White then helped knock off the runs in only 18.3 overs.

It briefly looked as if Yorkshire's batsmen would not have all their own way when Australian Greg Blewett continued his sequence of disappointing scores by playing the third ball of the innings from Nixon McLean into his stumps.

But Byas and White quickly launched a fearful assault on the bowlers with White being particularly skilful in hitting over the top of the inner field as the second wicket pair took full advantage of fielding restrictions during the first 15 overs.

The game was as good as won when White was finally caught at short cover off Shaun Udal for a blistering 67 off just 48 balls with nine fours and two sixes while Byas was still there at the end with 46 from 50 deliveries, his innings containing nine boundaries.

Former Yorkshire paceman Peter Hartley received a generous ovation from the 5,000 crowd when he opened the bowling with McLean and it was not until the sixth over that runs began to flow freely, Byas starting the spree by hitting Hartley backward of square leg for four.

In the following over he struck three consecutive boundaries with a variety of shots off McLean as the stand raced to 50 in ten overs. Then White took complete charge by flogging 20 off Simon Renshaw's second over. He thumped a six over point as well as three fours and a two and his boundary off the final ball took him to 2,000 runs in this form of cricket.

Although Hartley escaped a real flogging, Byas helped himself to another boundary during a spell in which 40 runs flowed from 19 balls and White dashed to his half-century from 43 deliveries before driving Udal for six which Hartley caught well over the boundary rope to great cheers from the fans. White was left in two minds by Udal's next ball, however, which he hit gently to cover, and it was the captain who appropriately scored the winning runs with yet another boundary.

Hampshire, without former Yorkshire all-rounder Alex Morris who is injured, were put in to bat and had no answer against some of the tightest bowling seen in a long while from Yorkshire's pacemen.

Gough celebrated his return in his third over of a fast opening spell by having Giles White caught behind, but it was Chris Silverwood and Ryan Sidebottom who really got Hampshire into difficulties.

Bowling his nine overs off the reel, Silverwood had Derek Kenway caught clipping to mid-wicket before Adrian Aymes edged him to Richard Blakey and Robin Smith was bowled by a lifting ball which he played down into his stumps off a glove.

Sidebottom, meanwhile, was proving almost impossible to score off as virtually every delivery was bang on target and after conceding a single in his first over he then bowled three consecutive maidens and went 26 deliveries without giving away a run.

His accuracy was rewarded by pinning Will Kendall lbw and although John Stephenson and Matthew Keech helped rescue Hampshire from 38 for five with a 53 stand it took them 20 overs, White and Michael Vaughan continuing to apply the brake.

Keech was out for 27 to a good catch by Anthony McGrath running in from the cover boundary to give Sidebottom remarkable figures of 9-4-14-2 and McLean showed a rare aggressive streak by hitting White over long-off for six. Gough returned to knock back his off stump for 24 from 19 balls, leaving Stephenson unbeaten on 37 carefully grafted runs from 31 overs.

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