Yorkshire can still do the silver double! The Academy play York in the ECB Oxbridge Yorkshire County Premier League Cup Final at Headingley Carnegie on Sunday - and yesterday Yorkshire reached the Second Eleven Trophy Final to be played on Monday, September 21...against Lancashire.

Yorkshire can still do the silver double! The Academy play York in the ECB Oxbridge Yorkshire County Premier League Cup Final at Headingley Carnegie on Sunday - and yesterday Yorkshire reached the Second Eleven Trophy Final to be played on Monday, September 21...against Lancashire.

Southern Group runners-up Hampshire made the long trip north to meet Northern Group winners Yorkshire - only to be snared by off-spinning captain Azeem Rafiq, whose 5-33 pegged the visitors down to the modest 181. Adam Lyth, with 52, led the way as Yorkshire ran home by four wickets.

It was the first time Hampshire had played a competitive match at the Yorkshire headquarters: they won the toss, elected to bat, and got off to an express start - but at a cost. Runs flowed as the bowlers strove to contain the riot.

Oliver Hannon-Dalby had Benny Howell caught by Joe Root, and James Lee bowled Chris Benham during the first powerplay - in which 57 runs were scored. Liam Dawson was caught behind by Simon Guy in Ben Sanderson’s second over, and James Vince, who had seen three wickets fall, joined the casualty list as he was caught by Root in Sanderson’s next over. Four wickets down for 88. There was a recovery of sorts as Matthew Kleinveldt and Michael Bates hung on for nine overs - but the curtain had risen on the bowling performance of day.

Rafiq trapped Bates leg-before in his third over, bowled Chris Tremlett in his seventh, bowled Kleinveldt after four more balls, and two balls later won a leg-before decision against Chris Wood. Azeem's fifth wicket in the last of his 10 overs when Root’s safe hands pouched Hamza Riazuddin. His 5-33 was the best analysis of the Trophy season, and Rafiq joins Lee and Gurman Randhawa in Yorkshire's list of five-fors this season. Danny Briggs was run out to wrap up the Hampshire innings at 180 in the 45th over.

Yorkshire adopted the opposite stance as they set out on the victory trail. Their progress during the first powerplay was pedestrian as openers Root and Gary Ballance managed only 21 runs, almost all of them in singles. The great danger is that wickets may be lost in such circumstances - and Root lost his in the first over of the second powerplay, leg-before to Riazuddin for 11.

Lyth - who had played with much abandon in previous games, now dug in for the rock-solid innings which was to form Yorkshire's backbone. Adam accumulated the only 50 of the match, Ballance being caught for 19, and Chris Taylor and Lee Hodgson each contributing 23. Simon Guy, in perhaps his last innings for Yorkshire Seconds at Headingley Carnegie, typically rattled up 28 at better than a run a ball.

Lyth fell to the most spectacular catch of the day - brilliabtly effected by Riazuddin over his shoulder in the covers. The winning line was in sight...and it took only three more overs to pass the post. Lancashire had demolished Sussex in the other semi-final...so it will be yet another battle of the Rosebuds in the final on Monday, September 21. Venue yet to be decided.

DON'T FORGET: Yorkshire Academy play League champions York in the Yorkshire League Cup Final at Headingley Carnegie on Sunday. 50 overs per side. Wickets pitched 12 noon.

This should be a superb occasion, and spectators will have the chance to see the League record run-scorer Daniel Wilson in action before his return to Australia.

Hampshire 2nd XI Innings (maximum 50 overs): JM Vince c Root b Sanderson 35 (6 fours), BAC Howell c Root b Hannon-Dalby 13 (2 fours), CC Benham b Lee 15 (3 fours), LA Dawson c Guy b Sanderson 15 (1 four), MC Kleinveldt b Azeem Rafiq 40 (1 four), MD Bates (wicket-keeper) lbw b Azeem Rafiq 7 (1 four), CT Tremlett b Azeem Rafiq  13 (1 four), H Riazuddin c Root b Azeem Rafiq 9, CP Wood lbw b Azeem Rafiq 0, DJ Balcombe not out 13,  
DR Briggs run out 4. Extras (lb 5, w 11) 16
Total (44.3 overs) 180
FoW: 1-26 (Howell), 2-53 (Benham), 3-81 (Dawson), 4-88 (Vince), 5-110 (Bates), 6-144 (Tremlett), 7-149 (Kleinveldt), 8-149 (Wood), 9-162 (Riazuddin), 10-180 (Briggs)

Bowling: Lee 6-1-36-1, Hannon-Dalby 9-0-46-1, Patterson 7.3-0-21-0, Sanderson 10-1-30-2, Azeem Rafiq 10-1-33-5, Root 2-0-9-0

Yorkshire 2nd XI Innings (maximum 50 overs): JE Root lbw b Riazuddin 11, GS Ballance c Bates b Briggs 19 (3 fours), A Lyth c Riazuddin b Howell 52 (2 fours and 1 six), CR Taylor b Briggs 23 (1 four), LJ Hodgson lbw b Dawson 23 (4 fours), SM Guy (wicket-keeper) c Bates b Howell 28 (2 fours and 1 six), Azeem Rafiq (captain) not out 2, JE Lee not out 1. Extras (b 5, lb 2, w 10, nb 5) 22
Total (6 wkts, 44 overs) 181
DNB: SA Patterson, BW Sanderson and OJ Hannon-Dalby
FoW: 1-23 (Root), 2-47 (Ballance), 3-92 (Taylor), 4-129 (Hodgson), 5-168 (Lyth), 6-178 (Guy)

Bowling: Tremlett 8-0-25-0, Riazuddin 9-0-30-1, Balcombe 2-0-10-0, Wood 3-0-15-0, Briggs 10-2-36-2, Kleinveldt 3-0-21-0, Dawson 7-0-29-1, Howell 2-0-8-2

Result: Yorkshire won by 6 wickets

Umpires: K Coburn and B Dudleston. Scorers: M Snook and KR Baker

Words and Statistics: MICHAEL SNOOK

Simon Guy well caught behind for 28 by Bates off the bowling of Howell. Yorkshire making it as hard as possible to get over the line here. We always do it the hard way! 

Six from Simon Guy takes Yorkshire within a boundary of the final. 

Lyth OUT for 52. He hits over the top to reach his fifty and then tries to repeat the shot and is well caught by Riazuddin at mid-off, running back and catching it over his shoulder.  

Lee Hodgson hits a four over midwicket and then tries to repeat the shot and is lbw to Dawson for 23. The score is 129-4. 

The spinners have done the majority of bowling but Chris Wood returns with his left arm pace and immediately strikes Adam Lyth in the mid-wicket region which leaves him catching his breath for a few moments! A sip of water and he's back standing.

Chris Taylor loses his wicket - it's Briggs again. The score is 92-3. 

After 20 overs Yorkshire are 65-2. Hampshire were 96-4.

Joe Root was lbw to Riazuddin for 11 when the score was 23. Gary Ballance then went for 19 when the score was 47. He came forward to cover the spin from slow left armer Briggs and lobbed up a bat and pad catch to backward square leg. Ballance was starting to look dangerous despite surviving a very close run out call when on 7.

Briggs has started well - there is turn in the pitch and he is causing Lyth and Taylor a few problems. It's spin from both ends now as Kleinveldt is introduced from the Kirkstall Lane End.

HAMPSHIRE'S INNINGS 

Hampshire won the toss at Headingley Carnegie this morning and made were bowled out for 180.

Yorkshire captain Azeem Rafiq finished with figures of 5-33 from his 10 overs and Ben Sanderson took 2-30 after bowling his 10 overs through to limit the Hamphsire 2nd XI to an achievable target, although it will not be easy on a track that is providing some help to the bowling side .

Hampshire at 81-3 were moving along reasonably smoothly, but Azeem Rafiq and Ben Sanderson took wickets to halt progress.  Oliver Hannon-Dalby struck the first blow for the Yorkshire 2nds when he had Howell caught by Joe Root at mid-wicket for 13 with just 26 on the board. Benham was then bowled by James Lee to make the score 53-2. When Sanderson had Liam Dawson caught behind for 15 Hampshire found it difficult to maintain any scoring momentum.

The Yorkshire pair of Patterson and Sanderson did a tidy job for captain Azeem Rafiq in calming the run-rate. It fell from nearly 6 to just over 4 an over during their spell together.

Ben Sanderson took the important wicket of James Vince who pulled him straight to Joe Root at mid-wicket. The score was 88-4 after 17.3 overs. Sanderson had figures of 2-9 after 2.3 overs. Vince played impressively and will be kicking himself after throwing his wicket away - it wasn't the best ball that Sando has bowled but he'll take it!

Azeem Rafiq dismissed Michael Bates lbw as the Hampshire batsman played back and was beaten by significant turn. The score was then 110-6 and that soon became 162-9 as Rafiq turned the screw.

It was left to Joe Root to run out last man Briggs and Yorkshire will be chasing 181 for a place in the Second Eleven Trophy Final. Sussex are playing Lancashire in the other Semi-Final