Yorkshire lay down marker as they strike first blow over Notts

Nottinghamshire lead Yorkshire by nine points at the top of the County Championship, by three points at the head of the Twenty20 North Division, while both teams are riding high in their respective groups in the Clydesdale Bank 40 League.

So for Yorkshire to win this first meeting of the season by seven wickets was potentially a result of no little significance.

Not only did it close the gap between the clubs in Twenty20, it laid down a marker for the rest of the campaign against one of the country's most consistently impressive sides.

This victory – Yorkshire's third in succession – was a clear indication of the progress being made under captain Andrew Gale and director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon.

A generally impressive bowling and fielding performance restricted Nottinghamshire to 158-7 after the visitors won the toss on a beautiful evening.

Steve Patterson led the way with 2-32, while Richard Pyrah conceded only 17 runs from four overs and also took one of the catches of the season when he claimed Alex Hales one-handed on the long-off boundary off Adil Rashid.

In reply, Adam Lyth top-scored for the second game running with 43 from 33 balls with three fours and a six.

Anthony McGrath (38no), Gerard Brophy (31no) and Herschelle Gibbs (29) also made significant contributions in front of 3,853 spectators.

Unchanged from their thumping 104-run win against Worcestershire on Tuesday, Yorkshire struck an early blow when Patterson removed the dangerous Ali Brown with the first ball of his opening over – the second of the innings.

Brown appeared to be trying to smash one of the windows in the new Carnegie Pavilion but succeeded only in skying to mid-off, where McGrath took a well-judged catch.

Nottinghamshire slipped to

32-2 in the fourth over when Patterson also had Matt Wood caught straight – this time by Gale.

Patterson's brace helped compensate for a flurry of runs at the other end as Tino Best's first two overs disappeared for 21, Hales pulling him for six towards the East Stand before straight driving him for a one-bounce four.

The only blemishes on Yorkshire's fielding effort came when Samit Patel, on eight, was dropped by Gale at cover from a fiercely struck drive off Pyrah before Lyth grassed a routine chance at long-on off Azeem Rafiq when Hales was 38.

Patel went on to 41 before being caught by McGrath at short third-man off Pyrah, while Hales progressed to 62 before Pyrah's spectacular catch.

Lyth atoned by taking a fine catch at deep mid-off to send back David Hussey off McGrath, who played his part with 1-26 from four overs on a day when five overs of spin from Rashid and Rafiq went for 53.

Yorkshire did well to restrict Nottinghamshire to just 36 runs off the last five overs.

Best came back spiritedly to concede only five runs off his final over, the visitors ending with a total that felt perhaps 15 to 20 runs short.

Yorkshire's innings started like a runaway train as Gale and Lyth creamed 19 off the first over from Darren Pattinson, the Grimsby-born Australian who made his solitary Test appearance on this ground against South Africa two years ago.

Dirk Nannes, an Australian with a Dutch passport, was miserly at the other end and produced a peach to bowl Gale for 11.

Gibbs was caught at cover and Lyth held at deep mid-wicket, but McGrath and Brophy eased Yorkshire home with 10 balls to spare.

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