Aex Lilley, pictured, top-scored with 45, but a worrying period for Yorkshire was not helped yesterday when the Seconds went down by 169 runs to Unicorns A, a record-breaking defeat in the Second Eleven Trophy competition.

Six fours and seven sixes would have made the headlines in a broadsheet report on a one-day match...but such was the strike rate of James Ord, opening for Unicorns A - a team of journeymen cricketers with much Second Eleven experience and some young players striving to make a mark on the game.

Ord’s 97 saw sixes landing in the Centre Vale Park, the car park to the side of the mid-wicket pavilion and one endangering the traffic over the wall on the Burnley Road.

The Todmorden ground, sun blessed on perhaps the warmest day of the year so far, looked a picture and the Unicorns, batting first after winning the toss, made the most of it. As well as Ord, there was a 60 from Sean Park - his brother Gary did untold damage for Derbyshire earlier in the season - and nearly 50 for Charles Wootton.

A second-wicket partnership of 121 between Ord and Wootton helped the Unicorns to set a very challenging total of 290 off their 40 overs.

It was always going to be a stiff target for the young Yorkshire batsmen - and when four wickets were lost with 17 on the board that was it! Lilley, 45, and Ben Sanderson, 28, made a token gesture, but the target proved way beyond Yorkshire’s means and the record defeat came in the 30th over.

Words and Statistics: MICHAEL SNOOK

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