Andrew Gale and Phil Jaques starred in Yorkshire's highest ever opening stand to get their Friends Life t20 campaign up and running with a routine 22-run win over defending champions Leicestershire at Headingley yesterday.

The pair shared 116 inside 13 overs to help to post a commanding 170-4 – Gale making 70 off 42 balls and Jaques 48 off 41 – before Leicester replied with 148.

Left-handers Gale and Jaques fashioned an immediate recovery from Friday’s opening North Division defeat against Durham, in which they bowled and fielded well but batted poorly for large parts.

The visitors started their chase brightly thanks in the main to Josh Cobb's 46 off 28 balls, helping to take their score to 85-2 in the early stages of the tenth over.

But the game-breaking moment came when Cobb and West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan (45) had a mix-up which gave wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow time to throw to bowler Moin Ashraf, who whipped off the bails at the non-striker’s end.

From there, Yorkshire always looked like winning. Azeem Rafiq took two wickets before, with the Foxes needing 50 off five overs with five wickets in hand, Ryan Sidebottom turned the screw with some expert death bowling.

Pyrah, Rafiq and Sidebottom took two wickets before Australian Mitchell Starc removed Wayne White, Ned Eckersley and Matthew Hoggard in the contest’s final over.

Gale opted to bat first and he hit six fours and three sixes in total, bringing up his half-century off 29 balls.

Yorkshire lost some impetus when the pair departed in the space of nine balls, but Bairstow (17 off 13 balls) and David Miller shared an entertaining third-wicket stand of 39 off 26 balls.

Yorkshire face Derbyshire under lights at the County Ground tonight (7.10pm).