Tykes win at a cost

Yorkshire got their season back on course with an exciting victory by 11 runs over Northamptonshire at Northampton yesterday in the AXA League, but it was only achieved at a cost.

In dashing for a second run as he went to his half century, Australian Darren Lehmann suffering agonising muscle spasms in his lower back and soon afterwards had to bat with a runner until he was dismissed for a fighting 70.

Lehmann's back was too sore for immediate treatment and he was hoping for physiotherapy upon arrival in Cardiff later last night in readiness for Yorkshire's AXA match against Glamorgan tomorrow.

It may be some time yet, however, before Lehmann will know whether he will be fit for that game or the championship fixture with Gloucestershire which follows on Thursday.

Yorkshire are keeping their fingers crossed that the prolific left-hander will not be sidelined because this week they are without Darren Gough, who will be playing for England, and Chris Silverwood, who has sore shins.

Twice Yorkshire fought back from difficult positions yesterday to win their third AXA match in four outings, first recovering from 35 for three to reach 198 for six, and then putting the brake on their opponents at 110 for two in 25 overs when Northants were threatening to run away with things.

But Northants were also partly responsible for their own downfall because they took so long to bowl their overs that they had two overs docked while they were batting and this increased the pressure on them in the closing stages.

The umpires took into account time lost for a ball change in the first over of the match and on-the-field treatment for Lehmann, but Northants did not respond to warnings that they were generally behind the clock.

Put in to bat, Yorkshire soon got in trouble as Michael Vaughan, Craig White and David Byas all went cheaply, Byas just managing the boundary he required to become only the fifth batsman in the county's history to reach 4,000 Sunday runs.

Lehmann and Anthony McGrath steadied the situation, however, with McGrath pacing his innings carefully while Lehmann pressed on, but boundaries were hard to come by for both batsmen although Lehmann managed to lift David Capel over mid-wicket for six.

A television replay showed Lehmann had made his ground on completing the second run that brought him his 50 but he was in obvious pain and after pulling Jeremy Snape for four he had to call on Vaughan to run for him.

Lehmann increasingly attempted to score by way of boundaries and he had just swung Paul Taylor through mid-wicket for four when he tried the shot again and had his off and middle stumps spreadeagled after facing 65 balls and hitting five fours and a six.

McGrath completed a valuable half-century with just two fours before he holed out to deep cover off Snape's final ball and Bradley Parker added momentum to the innings with a dashing 37.

He was then out to a spectacular catch at backward point by Snape who knocked the ball up into the air and screwed round to catch it on the way down.

Dropped chances, brilliant catches and spectacular scenes of stumps flying out of the ground all featured when Yorkshire took the field but Northants built steadily after Russell Warren had been bowled neck and crop by Ryan Sidebottom.

Mal Loye, dropped on 12 by Craig White off his own bowling and again by White on 50, proved hard for Yorkshire to shift and he had put on 61 with Kevin Curran for the second wicket before his captain had his leg and middle stumps removed by Gavin Hamilton.

Tony Penberthy drove powerfully until Gough changed the course of the game by plucking out his off-stump and David Sales was dismissed in Michael Vaughan's first over to a catch by Byas which was even more stunning that the one held earlier by Snape.

Byas flung himself at full stretch to his right at short mid-wicket and gripped the ball as it was almost past him.

White was rewarded for his accuracy by forcing Loye to chip to mid-on after his solid 65 had come off 95 balls with two fours and a six and with Yorkshire tightening their grip, Northants got well behind the asking rate.

Rob Bailey made a late charge and when he got to 29 he became Northamptonshire's heaviest Sunday run-scorer, taking the crown off Wayne Larkins, but his run out by substitute Matthew Wood's throw from the boundary edge to Richard Blakey, told Yorkshire they were home and dry.

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