Date-stamped : 02 Aug95 - 14:30 NWT Quarter Finals: Yorkshire v Lancashire Headingley, 1 August 1995 Bevan gives Yorkshire the edge in tense finale - Peter Deeley Yorkshire (170-8) bt Lancashire (169) by 2 wkts IT WAS Yorkshire Day yesterday, with the white rose on sale in the streets of Leeds, and the county celebrated the occasion by easing their old enemy from across the Pennines out of the competition to enter their first NatWest semi-final in 13 years. The game attracted a capacity-plus audience but it was a dour struggle, in keeping with these meetings over the decades - though quite riveting for all that. For the committed, the tension of the final act must have been unbearable. At the start of the last over, with Yorkshire needing three runs, David Byas, the Yorkshire captain, was chewing his finger-nails on the balcony as Michael Bevan took a single off Glen Chapple`s first delivery. The onus was now on the No 10, Peter Hartley, but after one dot ball he played Chapple calmly through midwicket for two and the Tykes had taken this latter-day War of the Roses. Both sides approached the pitch with extreme caution and there were only two half-century stands and two individual fifties, from Mike Watkinson and Bevan. Headingley has a reput- ation for fickleness but though this one turned slowly, it was probably the nature of the occasion that induced such caution. Lancashire will be kicking themselves for being bowled out having failed to make use of six-and-a-half overs. But Yorkshire were no hares: indeed with 10 overs to go and 43 wanted, they faced a higher run rate than anything which had been achieved in the game. It was Darren Gough`s arrival that generated some much-needed verve It was Darren Gough`s arrival that generated some much-needed verve, particularly for Bevan who had then been in for 2.5 hours for 35 runs and seemed unable to get going. Gough, who before the start passed a fitness test on the foot in- jury which had kept him out of the reckoning for the Old Trafford Test, immediately started turning ones into twos and Lancashire`s fielding began to wilt under the pressure. These two added a quick 23 before Gough was bowled trying to hit over the top in Ian Austin`s final over. But his urgency had com- municated itself to the Australian and in the 58th over Bevan at last made space to play his shots, hitting Chapple for 10 in three balls. Bevan batted in all for just short of three hours and his un- beaten 60, with five boundaries, which won him the individual match award, came at less than a run every two balls - an indica- tor of just how tough all batsmen found it. Officially there were 18,900 in the ground, with the gates shut by midday and another 2,000 still outside. Ted Lester, associated with Yorkshire for half-a-century as player and scorer, could not remember a full house at Headingley for a county fixture since the halcyon days of the 1950s. Two hundred spectators were sitting on the parapet above the hos- pitality boxes at the Kirkstall Lane end: more were crowded on the balconies - and even the sloping roof - of adjoining houses, and watchers were allowed to encroach on the ground itself between the boundary ropes and the advertising hoardings. They saw Lancashire get off to a bad start with Michael Atherton nudging Gough`s 10th delivery, a wide ball, to the wicketkeeper. Robinson, too, struck early, trapping Jason Gallian leg before. "It was like a one-day international with the big crowd. I knew I had to stay there to the end." Craig White claimed two wickets in his second over and it was left to Neil Fairbrother, whose footwork enabled him to pierce the field where others failed, and Watkinson to rally Lancashire with a 70-run stand - the biggest of the game. But immediately after lunch Fairbrother was stumped going down the pitch to Paul Grayson, and Wasim Akram lasted only five balls before hitting Bevan tamely to mid-on. As soon as Robinson came back Watkinson, on 55 from 88 balls, hoisted him high to midwicket and White took a good catch over his shoulder, effectively ending the Lancashire innings. In only his third knock of the season for Yorkshire, Ashley Metcalfe contributed an invaluable 33 and Richard Blakey may have been unfortunate to be given run out on a brilliant return from John Crawley at silly point. But Bevan kept his head. He said: "It was like a one-day international with the big crowd. I knew I had to stay there to the end." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)