AN EXTRAORDINARY contest that produced 680 runs, 15 sixes and three individual hundreds, two of them quite brilliant, went to the very end before Yorkshire secured their first win of the season in any competition. Requiring five to win, Riki Wessels could only squeeze a full-length ball from Tim Bresnan for two.

That Northamptonshire remained in contention for so long, chasing a target of 342, owed everything to David Sales, their captain, whose 161 from 114 balls was the second highest for his county in one-day cricket. He batted with a runner towards the end having tweaked a hamstring.

Sales put on 215 in 26 overs for the fourth wicket with Chris Rogers after Northamptonshire seemed to have left themselves too much to do in the second half of the innings. Sales could not have timed the ball more sweetly, while Rogers hit 85 from 76 balls.

Ultimately the loss of Sales and Lance Klusener to catches in the penultimate over from Richard Dawson proved too much, even though Ben Phillips hit the last ball of the over for six. Northamptonshire required nine from six balls but Bresnan responded with the tightest over of the last ten.

While the pitch was ideal for strokemakers, bowlers in general struggled to find the right length. It made for an entertaining spectacle and Northamptonshire will rue the fact that both Craig White and Darren Lehmann (twice) were dropped on their way to hundreds.

White compiled 112 at a run a ball while Lehmann accelerated towards a rare exhibition of one-day batting. He struck Klusener for a six and four fours in the final over, hitting the last 62 of his unbeaten 118 from only 21 balls.

SCOREBOARD

YORKSHIRE

*C White c and b Phillips 112
M J Wood b Brown 36
A McGrath c Klusener b Brown 23
D S Lehmann not out 118
M J Lumb not out 32
Extras (b 6, lb 5, w 9) 20
Total (3 wkts, 50 overs) 341
S M Guy, T T Bresnan, R K J Dawson, A W Gale, J N Gillespie and G J Kruis did not bat.

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-94, 2-151, 3-224.

BOWLING: Nicholson 10-0-76-0; Klusener 10-0-73-0; Phillips 10-0-61-1; Wigley 10-0-69-0; Brown 10-0-51-2.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

R A White run out 22
U Afzaal c Lumb b Dawson 38
B M Shafayat c Dawson b Bresnan 10
*D J G Sales c McGrath b Dawson 161
C J L Rogers b Bresnan 85
L Klusener c and b Dawson 5
M H Wessels not out 5
B J Phillips c Gillespie b Bresnan 6
M J Nicholson not out 2
Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 1) 5
Total (7 wkts, 50 overs) 339
D H Wigley and J F Brown did not bat.

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-39, 2-53, 3-90, 4-305, 5-326, 6-326, 7-334.

BOWLING: Gillespie 10-0-58-0; Kruis 8-0-53-0; Bresnan 10-0-82-3; Dawson 9-0-56-3; Lehmann 10-0-44-0; White 3-0-42-0.

Umpires: G I Burgess and T E Jesty.