THE wind whipped in from North Bay and Warwickshire were all at sea on the first day of the Scarborough Festival.

All out for 129, their feeble effort rekindled Yorkshire's title ambitions on a day far more suited to flying kites than playing cricket.

Yorkshire replied with 25 for no wicket before the second stoppage for bad light proved terminal, with Andrew Gale dominating his partnership with Michael Vaughan.

With Joe Sayers and Craig White left out, it was the first time in three championship appearances this season left-hander Gale had opened the innings.

At least Inzamam-ul-Haq wore a proper cap on his Yorkshire debut, while five of his new team-mates donned woolly hats in the sort of conditions which do nothing for the future of festivals.

Yorkshire were unable to field a second Pakistani, Marton professional Imran Tahir, because they were incorrect in their assumption that the work permit which enables him to play in the North Yorkshire and South Durham League would be sufficient. They hope to have the paperwork sorted out next week.

The miserable weather may have a silver lining for the Scarborough club if the loss of 33 overs to the light helps to get the match into a desperately-need fourth day.

The increasing concentration of county cricket on headquarters grounds means there is no guarantee that Scarborough will retain its two championship games a season without coughing up more money to Yorkshire.

If that is the case, days like yesterday's crowd-repellent won't help them. The festival ought to be sacrosanct, but only the hardiest of diehards, totalling 2,800, braved the risk of hypothermia and in the morning murk it was a bold decision by Warwickshire skipper Darren Maddy to bat first.

He survived only until the tenth ball, then two deliveries later Matthew Hoggard also found the edge of Kumar Sangakkara's bat and the visitors were four for two after collecting four leg byes off the day's first ball.

Hoggard also claimed the last two, also from edged catches, to finish with four for 33. But on the usual Scarborough pitch, which offered good pace and bounce, the Yorkshire bowling was accurate and disciplined, but far from unplayable.

With possibly the weakest attack in division one, Warwickshire are relying on their batting to keep them afloat. Even though they have dropped Jonathan Trott through lack of form and lost Ian Westwood through injury since his century against Durham last month, they should still have enough depth to survive.

But there are tales of discontent, and there was no hint of any collective spirit other than in a seventh-wicket stand of 34 in 15 overs between Alex Loudon and Heath Streak.

They came together at 47 for six and batted responsibly until they became two of the four lbw victims, with the rest all falling to edged catches, apparently unable to cope with a modicum of swing.

Maddy was the first victim, offering a comfortable catch to Inzamam at second slip and the former Pakistan captain must have been grateful it arrived before rigor mortis set in.

He claims to have shed over a stone and was probably reluctant to don extra sweaters in case of accusations that he had eaten all the pies.

Hot soup, as well as pies, would have been the order of the day, and the goose-pimpled waitresses in the lunch marquee were a little embarrassed to have to offer the chilled variety.

"It's not cold, it's freezing cold," said Inzamam, referring to the weather, not the soup, and adding that it had been just the same when he visited in 1992.

With another leg-spinner, Mark Lawson, unavailable for personal reasons, Yorkshire included Ajmal Shahzad.

Like Hoggard, and Anthony McGrath later, he should have struck in his first over as Michael Powell edged him between second and third slip, where Inzamam and McGrath left it to each other.

But Shahzad broke a stubborn third-wicket stand of 21 in 15 overs when a ball which swung in to left-hander Jim Troughton then straightened off the pitch to take the edge and give Gerrard Brophy the first of his four catches.

Powell played slightly across a straight ball from Tim Bresnan to be lbw, then Tim Ambrose played the first well-timed stroke of the day in front of square when he cover drove Bresnan for four.

Those were his only runs, however, as Bresnan found extra bounce to have him caught at third slip.

That brought in Oxford graduate Luke Parker to join Loudon, both men boasting career-best scores against Durham in student days.

Parker's was 140 at The Parks last year, but his struggles to hold down a Warwickshire place weren't helped when he missed a ball from McGrath which moved slightly into him.

Several of the few impressive strokes were played by Alfonso Thomas, who has made first-class centuries in South Africa but has been signed mainly as a seam bowler to replace left-arm spinner Paul Harris.

He was last out for 24, edging a drive to Brophy, but then failed to disturb Yorkshire's opening pair in partnership with Stuart Hole, a former Wycombe Wanderers footballer making his first-class debut.

* nPakistan and Yorkshire batsman Younus Khan has revealed he rejected the opportunity to join the Indian Cricket League over fears it would spell the end of his international career.