Michael Vaughan made the perfect return to action yesterday when he scored a fluent 67 for Yorkshire at Headingley to guide them to victory against Scotland and enhance their chances of finishing top of the North Conference in the C&G Trophy.

Yorkshire, chasing a revised target of 158 from 30 overs, won by six wickets with 19 balls remaining under the Duckworth-Lewis system after Scotland had made 212 for nine in 50 overs.

Vaughan was generously applauded when he came to the crease with Yorkshire on 28 for one and promptly produced all the shots in the book in a remarkably composed performance in view of the time he has been out of the game with his knee injury.

Vaughan, who has been named in Yorkshire's squad of 13 for tomorrow's Championship game against Hampshire at Headingley, said: "It was good to be back and have a good work out but I must stress that this is just the beginning and it doesn't mean that I will be back playing for England on Friday.

"I need to put a few games under my belt for Yorkshire in the next two or three weeks and I will try to play in all of their matches.

"I will now see how I react to a four-day game but I could not have asked for a better start than I had today.

"I felt confident in my own mind over the past two or three weeks that I would play in this game but I didn't say anything because I didn't want another setback.

"I wouldn't have turned out today if I had not felt confident I could do a job for Yorkshire. If I had felt really bad I would have started in the leagues or for the second team."

The England captain last appeared for Yorkshire on July 31 last year when he scored an unbeaten 116 against Kent in the Sunday League and he was so confident in all that he did yesterday that it was as if he had never been away.

He even managed to dominate his third wicket stand of 91 in 14 overs with Darren Lehmann, who was then caught at mid-off with Yorkshire only 19 short of their target.

When Vaughan fell in the following over he had made his 67 off as many balls, with nine fours and a six, which came from a magnificent pick-up over mid-wicket off paceman Dewald Nel.

And it took a breathtaking catch by his former team-mate Gavin Hamilton to end his innings, the Scot leaping high at mid-wicket to pull an astonishing one-handed catch out of the air.

Vaughan calmly homed in on the target and he had only one piece of luck, Ian Moran putting down a low return catch when the batsman had made 19.

Two short stoppages for rain during Scotland's innings were insufficient to reduce the overall number of overs but a heavy downpour during the interval left Yorkshire needing 190 in 40 overs and further interruptions brought the requirement down to 158.

Craig White and Matthew Wood put Yorkshire on course with a 28 opening stand before Wood was beaten by Paul Hoffmann's away swing and after several fine blows through the covers White was bowled off-stump in left arm spinner, Ross Lyons', opening over.

Lehmann joined Vaughan and was quite content to let Vaughan monopolise the scoring as Yorkshire got well ahead of the required rate should there be any more rain but, thankfully, it held off.

Scotland went into the game brimming with confidence after three consecutive victories and they made a bright start with Corey Richards and Ian Stanger rapping out 54 in 11 overs before the powerful Richards was smartly run out by White.

Two wickets to Mitch Claydon and one for Lehmann had Scotland struggling on 70 for four but they were pulled round by a stand of 105, the highest of the match, between wicket-keeper Colin Smith and Hamilton.

Hamilton chipped the ball around nicely for his 43 off 65 balls, with just one boundary, but Smith was in a more robust mood, thumping 71 from 95 deliveries with five fours and a six before being bowled by Lehmann.