Yorkshire survived a stunning 20-ball half century from all-rounder Gareth Andrew to kick-start their T20 campaign at the expense of Worcestershire at Headingley last night.

There is still plenty of room for improvement with the bat as the White Rose failed to hit a six in scraping to a competitive 152-7 on a slow pitch after Andrew Gale won the toss.

The running between the wickets will also need to be improved if they are to build on a first North Division success at the third attempt.

But their bowling and fielding was impressive for most of the time - until Andrew came to the crease with his side at 67-5 and 86 needed off 7.4 overs.

He finished 60 not out off 26 balls, hitting five fours and four sixes, but he could not get enough strike as Yorkshire defended 12 runs off the last over.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid led the way with two wickets in his second over - he had only conceded one from his first with the new ball - and Rich Pyrah also struck twice in his first over later on.

Rashid finished with 3-19 from his four overs and Pyrah 4-21, but Ryan Sidebottom bowled a superb last over to Andrew and tail-ender Shaaiq Choudhry.

Yorkshire won by two runs as Worcester finished on 150-7.

To be fair to Yorkshire, batting conditions were not easy. That was highlighted by the fact that Gale's 29 off 15 balls, including five fours, was the highest score of their innings.

The likes of Jonny Bairstow, Adam Lyth and Gerard Brophy all struggled to find rhythm as a good start - 40-1 inside five overs - was not taken advantage of.

Three wickets for seamer Andrew and two for Bangladeshi left-arm spinner Shakib-Al-Hasan helped to increase nerves inside the home dressing room as they fell to 131-7 early in the penultimate over of their innings.

But that was when Sidebottom and Rashid started an alliance that eventually turned the match - with both bat and ball.

Sidebottom clubbed a couple of boundaries in 16 not out off eight balls as Rashid nudged and nurdled an important 13 not out off nine.

They added 21 in the last 11 balls to gain their side some momentum before they also combined effectively with the new ball as Worcester chased.

Rashid conceded one run from his first over, Sidebottom three from his first and then Rashid took two wickets in his next to reduce the score to 12-2.

He had Moeen Ali caught at short third-man by a diving Sidebottom and trapped Alexei Kervezee lbw within three balls, later bowling Daryl Mitchell.

Pyrah got Vikram Solanki and Shakib in his first over and then James Cameron and Ben Scott late on in the midst of a nerve-jangling finish.

Yorkshire face Roses rivals Lancashire at Old Trafford tonight.

SCORECARD

Yorkshire v Worcestershire
At Headingley Carnegie.
Yorkshire
A W Gale c Solanki b Shakib Al Hasan 29
J M Bairstow lbw b M M Ali 24
A Lyth c M M Ali b Choudhry 13
A McGrath c Shantry b Andrew 21
G L Brophy c Mitchell b Andrew 18
G S Ballance c Scott b Andrew 9
A U Rashid not out 13
R M Pyrah c & b Shakib Al Hasan 5
R J Sidebottom not out 16
Extras (b1 lb1 w2 pens 0) 4
Total 7 wkts (20 overs) 152
Fall: 1-40 2-64 3-73 4-99 5-114 6-125
7-131
Did Not Bat: D J Wainwright, S A Patterson.
Bowling: D G Wright 2-0-17-0. Shantry 3-
0-24-0. Shakib Al Hasan 4-0-32-2. M M Ali
3-0-19-1. Choudhry 4-0-28-1. Andrew 4-0-
30-3.

Worcestershire
M M Ali c Sidebottom b A U Rashid 1
V S Solanki c Patterson b Pyrah 28
A N Kervezee lbw b A U Rashid 0
Shakib Al Hasan b Pyrah 3
J G Cameron c A U Rashid b Pyrah 28
D K Mitchell b A U Rashid 15
G M Andrew not out 60
B J Scott c & b Pyrah 0
S H Choudhry not out 5
Extras (b2 lb5 w3 pens 0) 10
Total 7 wkts (20 overs) 150
Fall: 1-11 2-12 3-36 4-37 5-67 6-126 7-133
Did Not Bat: D G Wright, J D Shantry.
Bowling: A U Rashid 4-0-19-3. Sidebottom
4-0-17-0. Patterson 4-0-37-0. Pyrah 4-0-
21-4. Wainwright 3-0-36-0. McGrath 1-0-
13-0.
Yorkshire beat Worcestershire by 2 runs