YORKSHIRE may have gone from champs to chumps in the four-day game, but they stepped up their pursuit of two one-day trophies with a floodlit demolition of Durham last night.

Yorkshire are four points behind leaders Worcestershire in division one of the National League after a 28-run win inspired by superb bowling from Chris Silverwood. Perhaps fired up by the England selectors' preference for Stephen Harmison, Silverwood took 3-6 in his first three overs to wreck Durham's chances of challenging Yorkshire's 222 all out.

A fast yorker had Michael Gough lbw, Danny Law edged a flat-footed waft to slip and Paul Collingwood offered no stroke to a ball which cut back to trim off stump.

With a Tim Bresnan ball of almost yorker length hitting Nicky Peng's leg stump via an inside edge, Durham were 17 for four.

Teams batting second under lights in this country rarely win, and although the barely adequate Headingley lights were on they had hardly become necessary before Durham looked doomed.

There was little drama for a crowd of over 4,000 - more than had watched Yorkshire's C & G semi-final win against Surrey the previous day - even though Gary and Andrew Pratt both scored half-centuries.

Andrew contributed a hearty 59 off 56 balls to their sixth wicket stand of 88 before being caught at long-on with 82 needed off ten overs. With Ryan Sidebottom struggling with a groin injury, Yorkshire's lack of back-up bowling was exposed, but Durham's tail were unable to give Gary Pratt the necessary support.

He had done an excellent job in making his top one-day score against a first-class county, but was left on 84 not out when Durham were all out for 194 with seven ball left.

For once Durham escaped a butchering by Darren Lehmann, who made only three before becoming Gary Pratt's tenth run-out victim of the season.

But in his final home appearance of the season in this competition, Lehmann received further reassurance that he is leaving the county in good one-day hands.

Youngsters Vic Craven and Gary Fellows both hit their first National League half-centuries of the season at roughly a run-a-ball and Michael Lumb made 32.

Durham made a dreadful start with Neil Killeen sending down four wides in the first over and Ian Hunter two in the second, and things were looking particularly bad when Law came on for the 11th over and left-hander Craven pulled his first three balls for four, six, six.

Yet when they had Yorkshire 125 for five in the 27th over Durham were very much in the game and missing two difficult chances proved costly as Fellows and Lumb put on 61.

Andrew Pratt had taken an excellent right-handed catch to get rid of Anthony McGrath, who was looking dangerous. But the wicketkeeper was unable to hang on to a thick edge offered by Fellows on 14 off Nicky Phillips, and Lumb had made only four when a fierce pull off Killeen went through Lewis's hands at mid-wicket.

Although not quite as impressive as Craven, Fellows capitalised with some well-placed strokes. He was out in the 39th over, slicing a drive off Collingwood to backward point, then things turned full circle for Killeen. He had seven wides in his opening three-over spell, but took two wickets in the final over to finish with three for 42. Unable to include Harmison because of his likely Test debut on Thursday, Durham made one change by bringing in Hunter, while Yorkshire were without all their England men.

After the wayward start, Hunter moved one away from an off stump line in the sixth over to have Matthew Wood caught by Andrew Pratt.

Mark Davies replaced Killeen for the next over and Silverwood swung across his first ball and was adjudged lbw by Jeremy Lloyds. The action replay in the Sky-televised match supported Silverwood's obvious grievance, and the fact that the technology was available scuppered Lehmann. When Craven played the ball into the covers and the captain set off for a run he was swiftly sent back.

Without the availability of a replay he would probably have been given the benefit of the doubt, but it showed that he fractionally failed to beat the direct hit.

* Durham are to protest that they were not allowed to include Gordon Muchall last night, although Yorkshire fielded his England U19 teammate Tim Bresnan with the second Test against India starting at Southampton tomorrow.

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