ENGLAND coach Duncan Fletcher cast an eye over the 236th Roses match at Headingley yesterday but the performance of the probables and possibles for next week's third Test left him distinctly unimpressed - despite Darren Gough's late burst of three wickets in four balls.

And Yorkshire fans went home in the same uneasy frame of mind after the Championship leaders came off second best against their old rivals who closed the day on 358 for nine.

Lancashire looked even more firmly in charge at the 100 overs stage when they were 346 for six with just four overs of the day remaining before Gough was thrown the new ball with spectacular results.

His first ball was hit straight to cover by Warren Hegg and his second knocked back Peter Martin's stumps for John Wood to come in and pad the hat-trick delivery away for a leg-bye, the next ball being sliced by Glen Chapple to Anthony McGrath at third slip.

The 3,750 spectators left in a happier frame of mind but they were still complaining at the cramped conditions at the ground which was filled almost to capacity because the new West Stand and the bowling green bank of seats were out of commission.

Work continues on the West stand to get it ready for the grand opening by former Prime Minister John Major on the eve of the fourth Test while the bowling green seats had to be left unoccupied because temporary hospitality facilities for the Test were being erected behind them.

The situation caused many members to wonder whether it would have been wiser to have taken this match to Scarborough where the North Marine Road ground's capacity of 11,000 would have been tested.

If Fletcher had hoped to see Gough and Craig White in much improved bowling form he would have been disappointed because they claimed only one wicket between them until Gough's late surge and he did not even get the chance to pass an opinion on Chris Silverwood who dropped out at the last minute because of his back strain.

He received no greater satisfaction out of watching Lancashire bat because Atherton made only 17 and Andy Flintoff, who is back on the 'possibles' list, was dismissed for 12.

The only player on view who looked Test class was John Crawley who hit a fine 73.

With Silverwood unfit and Gavin Hamilton not selected, it fell upon Steven Kirby to share the new ball with Gough and he was soon upstaging England's star bowler.

Kirby bowled Mark Chilton before he had scored, the batsman unluckily tapping the ball into his stumps as it rolled towards them, and he struck again at 35 when Atherton's intended drive was caught at second slip by Matthew Wood.

Flintoff also fell to a catch in the slips when he edged a rising delivery from Ryan Sidebottom to make it 63 for three before Crawley and Joe Scuderi rattled up 75 in 17 overs.

Scuderi, in dashing form, pulled White for his tenth four to reach his maiden Championship half-century off 51 balls but soon afterwards he pulled a short one from Gough to White who took the catch running in from the square leg boundary.

A half-hearted return drive by Crawley was gratefully accepted by Richard Dawson, the Lancashire captain having faced 137 balls and struck 13 fours, but Hegg and Schofield then wore down Yorkshire with a purposeful sixth wicket stand of 115 in 31 overs.

Schofield pulled Kirby for six and smashed Gough for two consecutive cover boundaries with both batsmen going on to reach their 50s in the same over from Dawson.

Schofield made it with his seventh boundary and would have been out next ball if Richard Blakey had not missed a stumping opportunity. It did not prove too expensive, however, because having reached 58 off 101 balls, Schofield sliced a drive at Sidebottom to Byas at first slip.

SCOREBOARD

Crickinto Championship Division One

Yorkshire v Lancashire at Headingley

Lancashire Won Toss

Lancashire First Innings Close

Atherton c Wood b Kirby 17

Chilton b Kirby 0

Crawley c & b Dawson 73

Flintoff c Byas b Sidebottom 12

Scuderi c White b Gough 56

Hegg c Dawson b Gough 76

Schofield c Byas b Sidebottom 55

Chapple c McGrath b Gough 33

Martin b Gough 0

Wood not out 1

Keedy not out 8

Extras b4 lb5 nb18 27

Total 9 wkts (104 overs) 358

Fall: 1-4 2-35 3-63 4-138 5-173 6-288 7-348 8-348 9-349

Bowling: Gough 22-3-60-4 Kirby 22-4-93-2 Sidebottom 16-5-45-2 White 15-2-43-0 Fellows 2-0-11-0 Dawson 18-3-62-1 Lehmann 9-1-35-0

Grace Road: Leicestershire 378-7 (Habib 153, Smith 111, Burns 53) v Kent

Northampton: Northamptonshire 378-3 (Hussey 200no, Loye 52) v Essex

Taunton: Glamorgan 169 (Maher 62, Caddick 5-84; Johnson 4-33), Somerset 246-3 (Burns 81, Bowler 63no)

Division Two

Derby: Nottinghamshire 478-6 (Morris 170, Afzaal 138) v Derbyshire

Cheltenham: Gloucestershire 415-5 (Taylor 140, Snape 100no, Barnett 79) v Sussex

Lord's: Middlesex 326-7 (Strauss 176, Hutton 76no) v Durham

Second Test Match

Harare: Zimbabwe 131 (McGarrell 4-23), West Indies 126-2 (Chanderpaul 74no).