IT’S cricket, Lord Hawke — but not as you knew it, sir. The martinet peer of the realm, who led his county out of the 19th century and into the 20th, was probably spinning in his grave, but Yorkshire went down to their first defeat in the Twenty20 Cup, this 21st-century mutation of the game.

The indignity was that they were on the receiving end of 97 in just 61 balls, the highest individual score of the competition so far, from a Victorian, no less — Brad Hodge, the Australia A all-rounder. Hodge’s belated command of the Leicestershire innings posted a target of 175 that, while Yuvraj Singh was careering forward in reply, looked light but proved enough as the Foxes won their opening match.

Leicestershire were only 100 for four after 15 overs when pace gave way to the off spin of Andy Gray, Yorkshire’s own Australian, who conceded five sixes before he had sent down his tenth ball, three in succession to Paul Nixon. With Michael Lumb sharing the fifth bowler’s allocation at the other end, 74 were plundered from the final five overs, Hodge racing from 50 to his 97 in 17 balls.

Nixon, with 43 from 26 balls, was bowled off his pads by Gray, and Hodge, facing the last ball with the chance of recording Twenty20’s first century, was leg-before swinging lustily towards the mid-wicket boundary.

Thanks to the bravura onslaught from Yuvraj, who made 71 from 37 balls with 14 fours and a six, out of a 95-run second-wicket stand with Craig White in eight overs (as White managed just six at the other end), Yorkshire thundered to 101 for one by the ninth over.

But Jamie Grove claimed three wickets, including Singh’s, in his first two overs and Jeremy Snape’s specialist one-day spin brought him figures of three for 14. Both Gavin Hamilton and Tim Bresnan fell to Snape balls that kept low and Gray was deceived through the air by his slower ball to return a catch.The lower order then succumbed to Hodge in his own off-spinning mode.

Ryan Sidebottom was bowled trying to give himself room, Richard Blakey was stumped and Chris Silverwood, swinging at the final ball of the innings, was also had his stumps knocked back. Hodge’s dozen balls brought him three for six.

One suspects that spectators may tire of endless fours and sixes but this game was decided by poor bowling from Yorkshire and opportune bowling from the Foxes.