Cricket: Valiant Vaughan battles in vain

Yorkshire 256 & 163 Nottinghamshire 403 & 18-2 Notts won by 8 wickets

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE won one battle yesterday, but finally admitted defeat in another. After four years of sporadic service to the county, Chris Lewis was granted his wish to leave in search of employment nearer his London-based family.

Lewis's departure - greeted by cheers from the home crowd - was an ironic footnote to the bravura display by England's new star all-rounder, Dominic Cork, and was framed in a familiar context, "absent injured". Lewis has now played his last game for Nottinghamshire, having registered only 37 first-class appearances in four years.

Fortunately, the pathos of Lewis's exit was offset by a ruthless performance by the home side, which demolished Yorkshire and their Championship aspirations - fourth-placed Yorkshire needed to win this game in order to close the gap on the leaders. But the first two days had seen Nottinghamshire seize the initiative, batting all day Friday to ease past Yorkshire's modest first-innings score.

So the first session of play yesterday set the tone for the remainder of the match. Resuming at 366 for eight, Nottinghamshire were able to defy Yorkshire for a further hour, during which time they took the first- innings score to 403 - a lead of 147.

With less than an hour before lunch Yorkshire signalled the general mood of capitulation by losing two wickets in careless fashion. Simon Kellett was first to go, run out by Paul Johnson's astute throw to the wicketkeeper Wayne Noon, as the opener turned without looking for a second run off Michael Vaughan's drive. And in the next over, David Byas looped a simple top-edge to Noon as he tried to turn Chris Cairns off his legs. Reduced to 18 for two, Yorkshire clung on for the sanctuary of lunch, with their Australian import Michael Bevan presumably provoked by the sight of a Kiwi, taking three fiercely hit boundaries off Cairns. Nottinghamshire's previously aggressive field placings suddenly took on a more defensive formation as the slips were dispersed to the outfield, and Yorkshire lunched at 44 for two.

With Bevan in aggressive form and Vaughan ready to drop anchor, Yorkshire seemed to have the ingredients for an afternoon of resistance. Not so, as they lost a further three wickets in the first hour of the session.

Bevan lasted only as far as the second over after lunch before backing away from Jim Hindson's slow left-armer to be out lbw. In came the 19- year-old novice Tony McGrath at number 5, only to depart in the next over lbw to Andy Pick.

Nevertheless, Vaughan dug in, and nursed Bradley Parker as far as 86 before the uncapped batsman became Hindson's second victim, clean bowled for 12. Hindson, whose neat left-arm deliveries were deceptively difficult to get away, eventually tempted the dogged Vaughan into a false stroke for a caught and bowled, reducing Yorkshire to 98 for six, still 50 runs short of forcing Notts to bat again. After a short respite, Richard Blakey was snapped up behind by Moon off Cairns for nine, before Peter Hartley blazed token resistance with successive sixes off Hindson, but then nicked Cairns to Noon.

Richard Stemp then edged Cairns again to Graham Archer at second slip, and Yorkshire were all out for 163 on the stroke of tea as Tim Robinson caught Chris Silverwood close in off Hindson, leaving Notts needing just 17 runs to win. Not even Geoffrey Boycott could talk of the chances.