FLOODLIT cricket clearly appeals to Darren Gough. The England all-rounder ended his only previous county appearance under lights with a hat-trick in Cape Town in April.
And he repeated the feat last night, dismissing Wasim Akram, Warren Hegg and Gary Yates to mark Headingley's first day-night encounter against their Red Rose rivals.
Bright evening sunshine greeted a large and enthusiastic crowd seeking revenge for the recent defeat by Lancashire in a Roses match on the same ground.
But the Headingley faithful had to wait until the 11th over before they had much to shout about. For John Crawley and Michael Atherton made untroubled progress against a Yorkshire attack to which Darren Gough returned from international duty and Chris Silverwood and Paul Hutchison after injury.
Yet it was uncapped left-arm spinner Ian Fisher who claimed the first victim when, with his fourth delivery, he persuaded Atherton to clip a straightforward catch to Anthony McGrath, running in from the deep mid-wicket boundary. His departure exposed Yorkshire to the dual menace of Neil Fairbrother and Crawley, who plundered 180 and 56 off an under-strength attack in the recent Roses game. They added 50 in 10 overs with ominous ease before Gavin Hamilton entered the fray.
The Scottish all-rounder changed ends after one over to have Fairbrother caught behind off his seventh delivery and Graham Lloyd bowled off an inside edge four balls later.
It was a double strike that halted Lancashire in their tracks and apart from one majestic straight six from Andrew Flintoff off Hutchison they were kept on a tight rein by some keen Yorkshire bowling and fielding.
Crawley finally reached a laboured half-century from 88 balls in the 29th over, but two overs later he lost Flintoff, superbly caught low down by the diving David Byas at short-midwicket to give Hamilton his third wicket.
The Yorkshire captain pulled off an even better catch to remove Crawley seven overs later, plunging to grasp a full-blooded drive at short extra cover to end a 138-minute stay that brought the Lancashire batsman five fours from 114 deliveries.
Hopes that Wasim might provide much-needed pyrotechnics in the closing stages ended when he hoisted Gough towards long-on where he was well caught by the diving Hamilton.
Hegg fell to the next delivery, another victim of the Gough-Hamilton axis, and Gough produced a yorker with with the first delivery of his next over to remove Yates for his hat-trick.