Cricket Round-up: Gooch dressed in best

GRAHAM GOOCH enjoyed a happy afternoon at Scarborough yesterday, becoming the leading run-maker in Sunday League history besides helping Essex to a three-wicket win with eight balls to spare against Yorkshire.

Essex, who head the chasing group behind Middlesex, had Mike Garnham in the match-winning role, though, for the second time in four days. He followed up his 53 in the NatWest Trophy win over Lancashire with an unbeaten 33 made from only 32 deliveries.

Gooch, meanwhile, dismissed Martyn Moxon and Simon Kellett in his first two overs as Yorkshire were held to 162 for 5 and later made a vital contribution of 43 from 55 balls. When he had reached 24, Gooch overhauled the 7,040 runs made by Warwickshire's Dennis Amiss, who had held the record since 1985.

Later, however, some fine bowling by Moxon, Darren Gough and Peter Hartley brought Yorkshire back into the game and Essex required 48 from the last 10 overs with five wickets in hand. That was the cue for Garnham to make his winning contribution.

Ian Botham walked tall at Taunton, combining the announcement of another fund-raising venture with some uncharitable work against his former county. Somerset went down by 11 runs to Durham as Botham made 27, took three wickets and held a fine return catch in an entertaining game that produced 515 runs. Botham plans a 500-mile walk along the South Coast during the autumn in aid of leukaemia research.

Three half-centuries had seen Durham plunder the Somerset bowling to the tune of 263 for 4. Wayne Larkins hit two sixes and three fours in his 52, but the main stand came from Dean Jones (83 from 70 balls) and Paul Parker (82 from 67). They added 141 in 24 overs for the third wicket.

Somerset were then left with the almost impossible task of scoring their runs at 6.5 an over, but 73 from Andy Hayhurst helped to keep them in the hunt until the closing stages and they went down bravely on 252 for 8.

Martin Bicknell took a hat-trick as Surrey beat Derbyshire with three balls remaining at The Oval. Bicknell, though, was not aware that he had achieved the feat until the players left the field. Bicknell, who collected 4 for 48, removed John Morris, Derbyshire's top-scorer with 78, at the end of the seventh over and followed up by dismissing Karl Krikken and Ian Bishop with the first two balls of his eighth. But, because the overs were bowled 45 minutes apart, the achievement went unnoticed.

Alec Stewart then hit a superb 86 to set up Surrey's sixth successive League win. The Surrey captain struck nine boundaries off 100 balls and shared in a fast-scoring stand of 62 with Jonathan Robinson, who included two enormous straight sixes in his 27 as Surrey reeled in the 209 needed for victory.

Worcestershire maintained their record as a jinx side for Leicestershire with their eighth successive League win at Grace Road, squeezing in by six runs after taking out their opponents - 92 for 1 at one stage - for 165.

The Worcestershire total of 172 had hardly looked substantial enough, Tom Moody top scoring with 66 off 88 balls, but Graeme Hick managing only 17 in his first innings since the third Test.

When James Whitaker and Nigel Briers put on 79 for the first wicket in 20 overs, a Leicestershire win appeared the most likely outcome. Instead, they lost five wickets for 30 runs in 10 overs and slipped to their ninth successive home defeat after six batsmen failed to reach double figures.

Northamptonshire sank almost without trace at Moreton-in-Marsh, where the seamer Andy Babington wore a smile and his Sunday best with figures of 4 for 21 as Gloucestershire romped in by 78 runs. Richard Scott (3 for 23) also helped out as the visitors disappeared for 98 inside 34 overs.

Warwickshire - with four defeats in the League - also found themselves coming second in a one-day friendly yesterday when the peckish Jimmy Cook marked his return to English soil with an unbeaten 101 at Edgbaston as Transvaal opened their 10-match tour with an eight-wicket win.

Mushtaq Ahmed took 6 for 43 with his leg spin, Pakistan winning the rain-affected one-day international in Glasgow after Scotland were bowled out for 108 when trying to make 146 in 19 overs.