UNSUNG hero Gary Yates hailed "one of our best-ever fielding performances" after Lancashire defended a small total of 187 to keep their Sunday League title bid on track.

Gloucestershire were cruising at 47-0 when Yates, such a crucial member of Lancashire's one-day team, turned the game on its head with the wickets of Bobby Dawson and Monte Lynch in consecutive overs.

But he preferred to give credit to Lancahsire's fielding performance.

"I haven't seen us perform much better than that," said the off-spinner.

"We took some great catches and saved a lot of runs by throwing ourselves about. Fielding and running between the wickets are especially important in a low-scoring match and I think that, Mike Watkinson's innings and our tight bowling in the middle of their innings was the difference between the sides."

Watkinson slammed 79 from 79 balls with two fours and two sixes to lead Lancashire out of desperate trouble at 3-2 after Mike Atherton and Nick Speak had gone in the first two overs. The Red Rose skipper has now scored exactly 200 runs in two innings as opener on a Sunday following his career best 121 at Nottingham.

Nobody else in the match scored 35 although Warren Hegg and Graham Lloyd chipped in with handy contributions to give Lancashire something to defend.

Then the fielders took over, with brilliant catches by Speak on the mid wickets boundary to dismiss Tim Hancock, John Crawley diving full length to snap up Tony Wright at mid-wicket and Lloyd ice cool at deep cover to remove the threat of Andy Symonds, who had hit 34 from 28 balls.

In a near-faultess team display of ground-fielding Atherton stood out for a series of diving stops as Lancashire tightened the pressure and ended up winning by seven runs.

The victory takes them to third in the table with three wins out of four, behind unbeaten pair Northants and Middlesex - incidentally their last two opponents of the season in September.

But Lancashire needed a miracle to climb out of the lower reaches of the Championship table today as their game against Gloucestershire seemed to be heading inevitably towards another draw. Lancashire resumed their first innings on 282-7, just 12 runs ahead, after rain ruined the third day on Saturday.

And the weather intervened again today, Steve Elworthy and Gary Keedy not out with the score on 335 for nine.

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