Kent v Yorkshire (County Championship) : Day One

BROTHERS-IN-LAW Darren Lehmann and Craig White joined forces in a record-breaking stand against Kent at Canterbury yesterday after Yorkshre had slumped to 34 for four on the opening day of the Liverpool Victoria Championship match.

The pair amassed 229 together in 71 overs to post the county's highest fifth- wicket partnership in games between the two sides.

Although captain White then departed for a solid 79, there was no stopping Lehmann, who seems to produce a gem in every innings he plays at the moment.

The Australian had battered an unbeaten 176 out of 312 for five, leaving him to make a further 16 today to complete 1,000 Championship runs against his favourite county.

Lehmann's sublime innings, which includes 22 fours, comes on the back of consecutive scores of 150, 64 and 87. He is still in only his fifth Championship knock of the season and he has already scored 483 runs, taking his current average to a phenomenal 120.75 and proving that, at 36, his powers are as great as ever.

When Lehmann's Yorkshire career is over - and that could be at the end of this season - he will look back with particular affection on his battles with Kent.

This was his third and highest century inside the county and on his last appearance at Canterbury four years ago he won the Walter Lawrence Trophy for thumping the fastest century of the season off 89 balls.

There was nothing flash about this latest innings, however, because the first three in the order had all departed when he came in at 26 for three and the fall of Michael Lumb eight runs later left Yorkshire in danger of total disintegration after White had maintained his 100 per cent winning record with the toss this season.

Once the early moisture in the air had burned away the swing that had been there for the pacemen became less of a threat and Lehmann and White saw Yorkshire safely through to lunch and then batted throughout the afternoon session.

For a while after the interval, White middled the ball even better than his partner, who had one or two edges without ever being in serious danger of getting out, and after White had completed his first 50 of the season, Lehmann cantered to his century off 166 deliveries with a dozen boundaries.

Lehmann and Anthony McGrath already hold the record third-wicket stand against Kent of 195 and when Lehmann and White had moved their partnership beyond 185 they had beaten Geoff Boycott and Kevin Sharp's best for the fifth wicket of 185, made at Tunbridge Wells in 1984.

White had arrived at the crease at 12.15pm and it was 5.30 when he was finally out, bowled off his pads by Darren Stevens after facing 197 balls and striking five fours, the stand also being Yorkshire's fifth highest against any county for the fifth wicket.

But Lehmann continued to dominate Kent's jaded attack and by the close he and Tim Bresnan had added 49 to leave Yorkshire in with a good chance of securing maximum batting bonus points for the first time this season.

Scorecard

Durham v Middlesex at Riverside (Durham Won Toss)

Durham First Innings Close
J J Lewis lbw b Dalrymple 21
(over-balanced trying to sweep 95b, 2-4s)
J P Maher c Scott b Louw 106
(edged ball which left him off pitch 207b, 16-4s)
G J Muchall c Scott b Silverwood 17
(edged drive to keeper 29b, 2-4s)
G J Pratt lbw b Betts 8
(half forward, ball swung in 24b, 1-4)
D M Benkenstein c Hutton b Betts 19
(clipped to mid-wicket 28b, 4-4s)
G R Breese b Dalrymple 8
(played inside straight ball 28b, 1-4)
P Mustard b Silverwood 78
(played back to ball which kept low 114b, 10-
4s, 2-6s)
O D Gibson c Scott b Silverwood 38
(edged excellent away swinger 65b, 7-4s)
C D Thorp lbw b Silverwood 4
(beaten for pace 8b)
G Onions not out 20
(27b, 3-4s)
M L Lewis not out 0
Extras (lb4 w1 nb16 pens 0) 21
Total 9 wkts (104 overs) 340
Fall: 1-78 2-119 3-131 4-159 5-192 6-208 7-
296 8-302 9-327
Bowling: Silverwood 26-4-85-4. Louw 29-6-94-
1. Betts 9-1-29-2. Richardson 18-4-71-0.
Dalrymple 22-4-57-2.