YORKSHIRE’S cricketers were outplayed by Middlesex on the final day of their Specsavers County Championship match at Scarborough – and their defeat by an innings and four runs was an entirely faithful reflection of an extraordinary day’s sport.

Remarkably, though, yesterday’s hammering was Yorkshire’s first innings defeat in 120 years of Championship cricket at North Marine Road.

Then again, few teams play with quite the brilliance shown by James Franklin’s men who demolished Gale’s bowlers before destroying his batting line-up

In an astonishing morning, Middlesex added 107 runs to their overnight total in just 9.4 overs of blistering hitting by Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh.

That took their total to 577, their highest total against Yorkshire, giving them a lead of 170, and the visiting bowlers then dismissed Yorkshire for 167 in the first over of the last hour.

At one stage of the first session 62 runs were scored off 21 balls, with five successive sixes being hit off Azeem Rafiq and Jack Brooks, who were the chief sufferers from an astounding onslaught.

Yorkshire’s bowlers and fielders were left to regret their dropping of Roland-Jones in the third over of the day when he had made only 18 and the score was 479, Steve Patterson putting down the chance at long leg off Brooks.

Adam Lyth ended the innings by taking two wickets with successive deliveries but Roland-Jones was left undefeated on 79, having hit six sixes and half a dozen fours in his 51-ball innings.

Brooks remained the most successful bowler with figures of 5-137.

Having conceded a first innings lead of 171, Yorkshire then lost the big wickets of Lyth and Kane Williamson, both batsmen being dismissed by the exultant Roland-Jones.

Yorkshire gradual decline continued in the afternoon as the home side lost the wickets of both Alex Lees and Gary Ballance in seven balls, Ollie Rayner and a hostile Steven Finn being the successful bowlers

Skipper Gale followed for seven half an hour later when he edged Rayner to Simpson and Yorkshire were 89 for five. By now there was little stopping the ruthless advance of the visiting bowlers.

True, Tim Bresnan and Will Rhodes resisted Middlesex’s bowlers for the next hour but the Middlesex seamers scotched any notion that something could be salvaged. Murtagh took three wickets, including that of Bresnan for 39.

"Obviously we are disappointed to lose,” said Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie. “We played a decent game for the first three days but there was a massive momentum shift this morning.

"On reflection, we are all agreed that we didn't adapt quickly enough to the situation and they got away from us.

"There were no devils in the pitch and we just didn't score enough runs. Middlesex outplayed us and we have no excuses. They deserved to win”