Yorkshire got themselves into even deeper trouble at Edgbaston yesterday when their Championship match against Warwickshire briefly turned into a Twenty20-type contest - with Australian paceman Jason Gillespie getting cracked for two massive sixes in the space of three balls.

Trailing by exactly 100 runs on the first innings, Yorkshire expected their opponents to build carefully on their lead, but instead of Nick Knight opening with Ian Westwood, Warwickshire sent in the potentially explosive Neil Carter.

The plan worked a treat because in Gillespie's second over he hooked him to the back of the second tier of the Ryder stand and two balls later he pulled him for another big six into the Eric Hollies' stand.

The thumping left Yorkshire badly winded and even though Gillespie hit back by having Westwood caught low down at second slip by Anthony McGrath to make it 61-2, Warwickshire finished 146-2 at the close and 246 in front.

Craig White's decision to stick Warwickshire in on the first day became even more difficult to explain yesterday morning as Yorkshire creaked to 216 all out.

Their top batsmen were in a distinctly edgy mood, the first four wickets all falling to slip catches.

McGrath looked in a different class while all this was happening but Yorkshire would have been 96-5 if White had not been dropped behind the wicket by Tim Ambrose off his first ball from Groenewald.

Timing the ball well off the back foot, McGrath cruised to 48 with seven boundaries before he fell lbw to Carter and Yorkshire staggered in to lunch on 113-5.

A revival after the interval between White and Gerard Brophy was assisted by the dropping of Brophy at second slip on 21. The stand was worth 44 and going well when White was unluckily run out, Brophy's straight drive brushing Groenewald's hand and going into the stumps with the captain out of his crease.

Alex Loudon's off-spin immediately accounted for Brophy for 40 as the batsman lost his middle stump aiming to sweep and in the end Yorkshire were grateful just to get beyond 200 and pick up their first batting point of the season.

England captain Michael Vaughan took a further step towards full fitness by doing warm-up work on the field during the lunch interval.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan yesterday put in a bid to the England and Wales Cricket Board to stage next year's Twenty20 Cup finals at Headingley.

Updated: 11:19 Friday, April 28, 2006