Date-stamped : 24 Jul96 - 02:18 County Championship 1996 Yorkshire v Hampshire St George's Road, Harrogate 18, 19, 20 July 1996 ====> REPORT (Day 1, 18 Jul 1996) James sets the pace By Andrew Collomosse at Harrogate First day of four: Yorkshire (76-0) trail Hampshire (266) by 190 runs IF Yorkshire fail to secure the victory that will take them back to the top of the championship table Kevan James will have much to answer for among the White Rose cognoscenti. As is their habit at Harrogate, where Yorkshire have won their last four championship matches, they rolled up in their thousands to find James intent on spoiling the party. Entering the fray at the fall of Jason Laney with 22 on the board in the 10th over, James hung around for 60 overs and 232 minutes against a testing attack before he was fifth out for 71 with the total on 228. It was not pretty and he did he look remotely secure, play- ing and missing or edging close to the field. Yet only one chance to David Byas at second slip on 25 went to hand. He added 53 in 20 overs with John Stephenson for the second wicket and a further 110 for the fifth wicket with the more fluent Matthew Keech, who then wrecked his hopes of a second successive championship century with a suicidal runout. It remains to be seen whether Hampshire`s total will be enough on a sporting track and the ease with which Martin Moxon and Michael Vaughan took Yorkshire past the half century suggests James`s effort may be in vain. They contributed 13 boundaries as Yorkshire reduced the deficit by 76 off only 13 overs. ====> REPORT (Day 2, 19 Jul 1996) McGrath and Byas make Hants suffer By Andrew Collomosse at Harrogate Second day of four: Hants (266 & 19-0) trail Yorks (427) by 142 runs HAMPSHIRE`S long-suffering fielders will doubtless agree that, on balance, Robin Smith had the better deal. Summoned to appear in the High Court case involving his erstwhile England colleague Ian Botham, Smith rode out of town on the early train south. So he was spared a day of unremitting hard labour as David Byas and Anthony McGrath flayed the Hampshire attack to all corners of St George`s Road. Byas posted his first championship century of the season and McGrath the second of his career as they added 272, the third highest fourth- wicket partnership in Yorkshire`s history. All this after the visitors had sparked a few early qualms among another bumper crowd by snapping up the wickets of Martyn Moxon, Michael Vaughan and Michael Bevan in 12 overs with just 45 added to Yorkshire`s overnight score. It was to be another 76 overs before Hampshire had anything else to cele- brate. Byas, typically, led from the front, compiling a measured half century from 122 balls before cutting loose with some imperious driving to reach three figures 61 balls later. His century included 19 boundaries and he gave only one chance, a caught and bowled to John Stephenson on 112, before he fell leg before to James Bovill with the next ball. McGrath, surely an England player of the future, was equally impressive and included two sixes and 20 fours in a career-best 137 that also ended with a leg before decision from umpire Bird. His departure sparked a collapse, with the last seven wickets falling for 34 runs in nine overs. But with an overnight de- ficit of 142 Smith will have plenty of food for thought when he reappears today. ====> REPORT (Day 3, 20 Jul 1996) Yorkshire feel benefit of Hartley Graeme Fowler at Harrogate Overnight: Yorkshire 427 (D Byas 138, A McGrath 137; J N B Bovill 5-58, C A Connor 4-97). Hampshire 266 (K D James 71, M Keech 63). Hampshire 19-0. YORKSHIRE took 10 Hampshire wickets and scored the 89 runs needed without loss in a calm display of superiority. The only resis- tance was a bright 44 from Robin Smith, a stoic 26 in 36 overs by Paul Terry and an exciting 86 by Matthew Keech, who for the second time in the match passed fifty and was run out. The day belonged to Yorkshire who took only 21 overs to reach their target at the delightful home of Harrogate Cricket Club. The temperature at St George`s Road, somewhere in the upper 70s, was higher than the average age of the crowd, but not by much. Thankfully, the young who were here witnessed a Yorkshire team displaying a vitality unseen since some of the eldest specta- tors were themselves quite youthful. Having lost the Benson and Hedges semi-final to Lancashire off the last ball of the match, many past Yorkshire sides would have coasted slowly downhill until the end of the season. Not so David Byas`s balanced and competitive team. Very few cap- tains in county cricket can call upon an attack as talented as it is varied. The brightest jewel may be Darren Gough, but if you look closely Chris Silverwood, Richard Stemp, Craig White and Michael Bevan are all precious. Peter Hartley completes the crown; this underrated bowler has taken 31 wickets so far this season and is one of the key reasons for Yorkshire`s success. Regular as clockwork and very seldom injured, Hartley was Yorkshire`s leading wicket-taker last season with 71 and re- turned five for 57 yesterday. Such figures are all the more creditable when you consider he is in his benefit year. Financial success is more than deserved; he is the epitome of an honest cricketer and the benefit system was designed for his kind. With the maturing Silverwood, White and Gough`s exciting bowl- ing, the new ball is well taken care of. Gough, forever experimenting, bowled straight and fast, troubling every batsman. His dismissal of Smith was classical bowling straight from the Botham book. Having previously had Smith sway back from a rising ball he bowled a fast off-cutter/spinner. Smith, eager as always to attack, was struck on the underside of his right elbow playing forwards and the deflected ball hit leg stump. With England expecting a sterner contest against Pakistan than the one with the Indians, Gough is exactly the man they need. Yorkshire would miss him, but for once they are not a collection of individuals, they are a team. And a good one at that. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2@*.cwru.edu)