Floodlit cricket came to Headingley for the first time last night and was a resounding success with more than 10,000 spectators packing into the ground for the AXA League Roses clash.

The only disappointment for local fans was the result, Yorkshire being crushed by 101 runs to give Lancashire a four point lead over Essex at the top of the table.

But it was still a memorable occasion for two Yorkshiremen, Darren Gough thrilling the crowd with a hat-trick and Skipton-born Glen Chapple destroying his native county with a career-best six wicket haul for Lancashire to earn him the man-of-the match award.

Chapple's explosive spell sent Yorkshire back for 81, their lowest Roses score in the competition, and Lancashire gained their emphatic victory with a full 15 overs to spare.

The size of the crowd delighted Yorkshire's director of marketing, Mark Newton, who had feared that the recent bad weather and the counter attraction of Premiership football at Elland Road could have had a serious affect on the attendance.

But half of the crowd was made up of non-members who brought in gate receipts of £47,500 whereas only about 15 to 20 per cent of the total attendance normally comes through the turnstiles.

"I am overjoyed that so many people should attend and I am particularly pleased that floodlit cricket is such an obvious appeal to younger fans," said Newton.

"Tonight has been so successful that we will be staging similar events in the future without any doubt."

Bursts of music, fireworks when boundaries were struck, barbecues, stilt walkers and a host of other attractions brought a new dimension to cricket on the Test ground.

Winning the toss, Lancashire chose to bat in the daylight and the backbone for their 182 for eight was supplied by opener John Crawley who batted for 37 overs while making 73 off 114 balls with five boundaries.

Golden boy Gavin Hamilton, who can do no wrong at the moment, grabbed three wickets and held on to two catches, but it was Gough who insisted on standing in the glare of the spotlights.

He achieved his hat-trick by having Lancashire skipper Wasim Akram caught at long off and Warren Hegg at mid-on, both catches being taken by Hamilton, and off the first ball of his next over he knocked back Gary Yates' off-stump.

With the ball appearing to move about more as the night wore on, Yorkshire got off to a dreadful start and were 15 for three in eight overs and the Tykes never recovered as they slipped to a heavy defeat.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.