Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by two wickets.

Yorkshire Phoenix lifted themselves nervously off the ground with a two wicket win over Gloucestershire Gladiators in their first Division One match in the new CGU National Cricket League at Headingley yesterday, but for a long while it looked as if they would never get airborne.

After sending in the Gladiators and snaring them for 145 on a slow pitch, Yorkshire appeared unlikely to need anything like their full 45 overs as Craig White hit out to such stunning effect that he had walloped 49 out of 83 for two in 15 overs.

But he then departed lbw to James Averis and the fall of Anthony McGrath and Gavin Hamilton both for ducks put intense pressure on Yorkshire, who were grateful to scrape home with ten balls to spare.

Gary Fellows drove the winning boundary in extremely murky light and showed a cool head in only his second limited overs match.

Yorkshire won the toss and went out to field in their orange coloured clothing for the first time in this country.

White's ascribed No 13 shirt proved lucky for him because he picked up four wickets for 25 runs.

Ryan Sidebottom bowled splendidly in claiming three for 14 and he and White ploughed through the last six Gloucestershire wickets in 21 balls while 11 runs were being added.

The only time Yorkshire had looked under any real threat was when opener Richard Dawson launched a brutal assault on Gavin Hamilton when he came on as first change.Dawson drove Hamilton's first two balls for fours on either side of the wicket. The fourth and fifth deliveries were lashed for sixes with a single coming off the last to give him 21 from the over.

Dawson was beaten and bowled by a beauty from Sidebottom off the first ball of the next over and Hamilton came back strongly to have Mark Alleyne edging a catch to Richard Blakey.

Greg Blewett suffered his third failure inside a week for Yorkshire when he dragged Mike Smith into his stumps the ball after pulling him for four, but David Byas and White took control by scoring 36 in three overs.

In between Byas being bowled by Jon Lewis for 21, White struck both seamers high over point for sixes and he continued to attack Smith with glorious drives through extra cover.

He was looking for the single to complete his half-century when he fell lbw to James Averis, having faced 39 balls and hit five fours and two sixes.

Averis and Alleyne bowled with great accuracy. After McGrath and Hamilton had gone, Michael Vaughan and Richard Blakey added only six runs in eight overs.

Vaughan was caught by Jack Russell off Averis for 27 off 79 balls and the wicketkeeper also took a legside catch to send back Blakey for eight from 34 deliveries.

Darren Gough eased frayed nerves with some positive shots in an invaluable 15 but in the end it was the calmness of Fellows which saw Yorkshire through.

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