Cricket: Foxes flounder to Silverwood

YORKSHIRE PHOENIX moved out of the bottom three of the First Division of the National League at Scarborough yesterday as they beat Leicestershire Foxes by seven wickets with 12.2 overs to spare.

Vince Wells, the Leicestershire captain, won the toss but saw his top batsmen fail again as the visitors were restricted to 139 for 9 by tight Yorkshire bowling led by Chris Silverwood on a slow pitch.

Overlooked by England's selectors for the winter tour to South Africa, Silverwood took nine wickets in the Championship win over Kent on the same ground this week and followed that with 3 for 16 in his nine overs yesterday. He was well supported by Ryan Sidebottom and Craig White as Leicestershire lost half their side for 63 runs inside 28 overs.

Chris Lewis tried to inject some momentum into the innings and drove Anthony McGrath for a straight six in the 27th over but in the next he tried another big hit against the left-arm spinner Ian Fisher and sliced a catch to McGrath at short third man, departing for 22.

Paul Nixon and Jon Dakin hit Fisher for a six apiece but failed to go on, Nixon edging Silverwood to be caught behind and Dakin being well caught by Michael Vaughan on the boundary at long-on.

It was a dismal performance by Leicestershire, who were forced to call up their second team captain Phil Robinson for his first senior game for three years because of injuries to Ben Smith and Darren Stevens. Robinson made only a single from 12 balls before being bowled by Silverwood.

It was not until the Australian Michael Kasprowicz came in that the visitors achieved some respectability. He hit five fours in a fighting 38 before being run out by Silverwood in the last over having put on 45 for the ninth wicket with Dominic Williamson.

Yorkshire were given an aggressive start by White, who hit 28 from 29 balls and put on 50 with Vaughan for the first wicket. White was bowled by Wells and Vaughan went on to make 41 before being athletically caught by Nixon off Tim Mason.

Kasprowicz bowled Richard Blakey for a single but by then Yorkshire were close to victory and they were hurried on by McGrath, who hit a six and three fours in an unbeaten 24 from 17 balls as his team eased to 142 for 3 by the 33rd over.