CHRIS Silverwood won the battle to claim Darren Lehmann's wicket in The Yorkshiremen's match against Tim Rice's International XI on the first day of the Scarborough Cricket Festival yesterday.

But it was Lehmann who finished up on the winning side as the Internationals, comprised entirely of Australians, cantered home by five wickets with five balls to spare after being set a 255 target.

Both Darren Gough and Silverwood were keen bag the prize scalp of their Australian team-mate and Lehmann faced some pretty hostile deliveries from the pair before he flashed outside off-stump at Silverwood and was caught behind for 28 by Bradford-born Steve Rhodes, now with Worcestershire.

Put in to bat, Yorkshire had three batsmen who notched half-centuries in David Byas (70), Anthony McGrath (60) and Rhodes (50 not out), and while the Internationals had no-one who got that far all seven of their batsmen made telling contributions.

Rival Sheffield Shield captains David Boon (Tasmania) and Tim Moody (Western Australia) knocked off the runs in an unbeaten 76 stand in 12 overs but the man-of-the-match award went to Justin Langer, of South Australia and Middlesex, for a fine all-round performance which brought him four for 39 in eight overs and 46 runs off 57 balls with eight fours.

Openers McGrath and Matthew Wood gave Yorkshire a rapid start with a century stand in 22 overs before McGrath was bowled in the same over in which he had struck left-arm spinner Brad Young for two sixes to go alongside the one he had already taken off paceman Joe Scuderi with a remarkable shot over cover.

Byas either side of lunch batted freely to include for fours and two sixes in his 70 from 73 deliveries, putting on 59 together in ten overs with Rhodes whose half-century contained four boundaries and came off 48 balls.

After Gough and Silverwood had shared the new ball, Paul Hutchison came on to have Michael Slater caught at slip with his first delivery and Ryan Campbell's stand of 53 with Matthew Mott was broken by Durham's Wakefield-born paceman John Wood who followed through to side foot the ball into the stumps to run out Campbell.

Yorkshire were today meeting Durham at Scarborough in their bid to retain the Yorkshire Electric Trophy which they won last year by five wickets.

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