Yorkshire cruise to victory over Somerset

Yorkshire Phoenix gained an easy five-wicket win with ten overs to spare in their first Norwich Union National League Division One match of the season against Somerset Sabres at Headingley.

On an awkward pitch, run scoring was difficult until Anthony McGrath joined Yorkshire captain David Byas in a hard-hitting stand of 72 in 15 overs for the second wicket which moved Yorkshire swiftly towards their modest target of 155.

Both batsmen played some powerful shots, Byas twice driving spinner Keith Dutch for big sixes and McGrath produced some wonderful ground strokes that brought him seven fours in his first 32 runs.

Byas fell for 48 attempting another big blow off Dutch but McGrath went smoothly on to 58 when he cut Ian Blackwell into his stumps, having faced 84 balls and cracked 11 boundaries.

Yorkshire lost Darren Lehman and Gary Fellows either side of McGrath's dismissal but young Michael Lumb won them the match with an enormous six off Blackwell.

Somerset were clearly handicapped by losing opening bowler Graham Rose with a knee strain at the end of his first over and it was Rose who had earlier provided the only real threat to Yorkshire's keen attack after Somerset had won the toss.

Rose, coming in at a difficult 25 for two, played well for his half-century but when he had scored 58 off 99 balls with four boundaries he pulled spinner James Middlebrook and was caught on the mid-wicket fence by competition debutant Tom Baker.

Matthew Hoggard and Paul Hutchison both did well with the new ball but it was the spin of Middlebrook and Darren Lehmann that really stopped Somerset in their tracks in the middle of the innings, each bowler picking up a couple of wickets.

Yorkshire were also without Darren Gough, Craig White and Michael Vaughan while Marcus Trescothick and Andy Caddick were forced to sit it out for Somerset.