Scarborough more than Fair!

Burns and Dutch start our proceedings and add 35 in 5 overs before the captain is caught, one handed diving forward by...Ian bleeding Harvey off Tim Bresnan. That brings Ricky to the crease. Trivia question...who last wore the number 14 shirt for us?

63 for 1 in 10 and Harvey (minus Alice band) is working on his country's captain in maroon for the first time...and boy does this crowd want him out! Pongo skies one which drops into no man's land and there's a huge sigh of disappointment when no-one manages to clutch it to their bosom.

Ball 1, over 12 and up goes one from Dutch into the big gloves of Dahwood. 67 for 2 as Hildreth joins Ponting and gets a 2. Then off we go for rain.

It's 2:15 when the guys get back on and we've lost 2 overs (it won't be the last stoppage as the rain's floating about). We move on to 80 by the 15th with Ponting on 23 and Hilda on 9.

We're off again after 15 minutes with 95 up with 18 overs gone. Heavier showers and none too promising horizon. Ricky's moved to 30 and JH has 16.

Back on at 2:50 and 41 overs to face and 100 up in the first 3 balls. Ponting has a look at Dawson and McGrath and then deposits Dawson under the scoreboard and McGrath to the pavilion to bring up his 50 (52balls). By the end of the 25th, we have 132 but Hildreth is having real trouble getting Dawson off the square.

Yorkshire bring Harvey back as the 100 partnership arrives. The rate slows to 4 but for how long? Well they milk the spinner for 11 so not that long, although Hilda nearly runs himself out going for the suicidal single and having to scramble back. In the next over he's not so lucky when he mis-times from Harvey and wanders back for 32. 149 for 3 and Frank Jr is the next in to provide the home side with a left/right problem.

John goes for his own suicide second and is run out trying to get back. Ponting doesn't seem happy about the decision and has a chat with tyhe umpire about how the stumps were broken..but they ain't calling Frank back and KP's at the crease - 159 for 4 after 29 and a bit.

With 10 to go, there's 163 up and 6 wickets left...220 should be the minimum expected. 173 by the 33rd suggests it won't be much more! But they bring Bresnan back and we reach 189 by the end of the 35th. 200 comes up with Ponting smacking a full toss for 6.

KP starts to look to move it on and puts one into orbit...straight to Wood for 21. 206 for 5 and in comes Ian Blackwell. At 225, RP goes too his first one day hundred for his county- 101 balls as well.

Blackie goes to 21 in quick time and wwe have 240 with the last over to come. McGrath to bowl, one, one bye, six (full toss), Ponting bowled for 113, Laraman in, dot, four - 252 not too shabby!

Cock-up - Nixon is playing and Woody isn't. We may moan aabout our PA people but at least they tell us the team changes!! No Lehmann so that's a bonus though! Burns is keeping (surprise). Harvey and Wood open with Nicko taking the first.

Harvey skies Frank Senior and it's 3 for 1 Ho Ho! The fans are not impressed but by the end of the 5th they seem happier at 28 for 1 with Wood and Lumb going for Frank especially.

Aaron on in the 7th,to cut the runs, with 33 up. He goes for 5 but Frankie then goes for zilch!

Nevertheless, they have 57 for the loss of only 1 wicket, up with the D/L, at the end of the 10th and it is game on!

Ahead of the D/L, Yorkshire now face Gareth Andrew at the start of the 12th. They take him for 4 boundaries as Wood (theirs) goes to 50 off 35 balls. Blackie also drops him (hard chance) which doesn't help!

Blackie gets Wood but we're still leaking runs - 116 for 2 at 17 with the spinners trying to stem the tide at both ends. Nip and tuck comes to mind if they don't get it sorted.

KP is on at 20 with 124 for 2 on the board. Lumb goes to 50 and Yorks are flying towards the total with little trouble. 150 up in the 22nd and unless this changes the Tykes will walk it. Too many loose four balls and shoddy ground fielding will do it to ya everytime! Ricky is definitely unimpressed...well there's a surprise!

Then KP gives us hope as he gets Lumb caught by Frank Senior for 71 - 163 for 3. In comes captain McGrath! Nixon and Keith then go on a spoiling mission pulling us back to an almost level D/L that gets the Yorkshire fans on their own players' backs again.

Nixon puts in a rough 31st but they need 70 off 10 and its close. But we have to bowl Gareth Andrew and he can't keep it consistently tight. The 200 comes up in the 33rd and another Tyke (Gayle) passes 50. strength in depth we don't have and line and length we can't bowl at both ends at the same time!

At the end of the 36th it's 227 and the large Yorkshire lady is doing her warmup. We need what we haven't got in the present side, a tight, at-the-death bowler who breaks partnerships and skittles incomers. Gareth Andrew and Simon Francis simply aren't it.

By the time McGrath is run out in the 38th, it's academic at 242 because Frank has gone for double figures again. Dutchy comes on for the 39th but with 3 to win it's too late - a boundary fiinishes it with 2 overs to spare. Couldn't defend it guys...happened too often. Good batting performance let down by the 'press' and the seam attack.

The Yorkshire crowd are made up by this victory. They are also really surprised that we aren't devastated by such a loss. Think that sums up exactly how far we are from where we should be. I wonder if Ricky will have words today. I wonder whether we'll see changes for tomorrow's game at Taunton against the Pears...let mee know how it goes!!

v Yorkshire CC2 @ Scarborough 21 July

A new start? A more succesful second half of the season? Well it has to happen on the North Yorks coast if it's going to happen anywhere. Nixon Mclean returns after an injury baseed absence and is joined by the return of Noddy Turner behind the wicket. They face a Yorkshire side with its own problems, bringing in unknowns to cover - Ishmail Dahwood playing his first game for 5 years for example.

I'm planning to see the Friday and/or Saturday so I'm hoping for good things. Yorkshire batting first bodes well - could keep it going for four days (the new enthusiasm hasn't got to me yet). I wasn't expecting Nixon to return with 6 for 79 and although Wood got 59, McGrath 48 and an injured Lehmann (very impressive) added 90, the Tykes are fielding with 296 to defend.

Keith Dutch continues to impress with 3 for 87 and Larry contributed the other wicket.

So now it is Ricky Ponting's turn. He's definitely advertised as NOT the Somerset captain but he runs the pre-match huddle, he's moving fielders and congratulating bowlers. Mike B seems quite happy and the small handful of Somersetians seem quite OK about it!

Peter Bowler goes at 31 but that's it for a while. Ricky and the re-vitalised Frank J add just under 200 and both go past 100. John with his first triple figure 109 and Pongo, taking us to another level with 112. If we add to that Blackwell's 73 off 54 balls and Dutchy adding 29 towards the end then our 500 plus score is not the surprise that it feels to us. We're not used to this.

So I get to Yorkshire with the home side well behind and finishing Day 2 at 64 for 3 as Nixon and Dutchy carry on where they left off in innings 1. I'll go in about 12 and hopefully see us get them out before the end of thee Third day.

By 12, we have them at 131 for 8 and after Nikko adds another five-fer and Dutchy joins him (at one time he was 4 for 15) with 5 of his own. We need 6 to win and lots of disgruntled White Rose supporters are on their way home by 1:00 having been hammered by 10 wickets. Not at all shabby - the locals see it as par for their season, it certainly ISN'T par forr ours! Big points and on to a TSL2 win on Sunday!!

The report may arrive here but I'm away so it may be better to look on the messageboard unless something appears here very quickly after the game. Enjoy it people who go!