For the second time this season Yorkshire reached the magical figure of 400 to beat Leicestershire by six wickets and pick up 17 points from games in which they had earlier failed to gain a single batting bonus point.

The carbon copy result, this time at Scarborough, brought Yorkshire their fifth Championship win of the season and virtually made certain that they will clinch promotion later this summer.

None of the six batsmen who made it to the crease as Yorkshire chased a 397 target put a foot wrong but the honours went to Otley-born Joe Sayers who marked the occasion by scoring his maiden century for his native county and his third in first class cricket, the two previous ones being while he was at Oxford University.

Sayers, 21, confirmed the widely held opinion that he is an England player of the future by serenely moving to 104 off 347 balls with 14 fours. He was in the middle for six hours and 18 minutes, spanning 104 overs, and it was an innings of which Geoff Boycott would have been proud.

Having been unable to stop Yorkshire achieving their highest ever winning score of 406 at Grace Road in mid-May, Leicestershire were powerless to prevent history repeating itself and they were probably left bitterly regretting their decision not to enforce the follow on after gaining a first innings lead of 179.

With Matthew Wood and Sayers having got the ball rolling on the third evening with an opening stand of 115, the momentum was maintained throughout the final morning by Sayers and Anthony McGrath who had taken the score to 229 for one by the lunch interval.

Sayers offered his only chance on 93 when he edged Ottis Gibson to second slip where Darren Maddy failed to hold on to the ball and soon afterwards the left-hander was pumping the air as he completed his century off 330 balls with a dozen fours off 154 balls.

The second wicket stand was worth 154 in 58 overs when McGrath dragged a ball from Charl Willoughby to Hylton Ackerman at wide mid-on and was out for 89 from 154 balls with a dozen fours.

McGrath, majestic through the covers, had narrowly failed to reach his second match-winning century of the season against Leicestershire - he plundered a brilliant 165 not out in the earlier game - and three overs later Sayers joined him back in the pavilion, this time Maddy holding on in the slips.

Ian Harvey announced himself with two searing fours off Willoughby, Phil Jaques pulled Ottis Gibson for six and the Australian pair's stand of 87 in 16 overs sealed Leicestershire's fate. Jaques departed for 55 but Harvey saw it out to the close when he was unbeaten on 54 with his delighted captain, Craig White, on 18.

Sayers commented: "It was a thrilling feeling to reach my maiden century for Yorkshire and it was all the more enjoyable because it came out of a winning score of 400 for four. It is one thing scoring a century for a losing side and quite another to do so for a successful one, particularly after we had fought back so well.

"I certainly didn't feel sure that the victory was on from the start of our chase but it was a huge advantage to us that we had already scored 400-plus to beat them earlier in the season. We kept speaking about the way they must have been feeling as we got closer and closer to the target.

"My first aim was just to occupy the crease and be there at the end of each session and it worked out well. I have had to wait a long time for an opportunity this season but I am still not taking anything for granted because things can change very quickly."

Updated: 12:04 Monday, July 25, 2005