Yorkshire's crushing Roses victory by 150 runs at Old Trafford on Saturday has given a flicker of hope to the County Champions that they can escape relegation.

If Yorkshire can snatch the C & G Trophy and avoid the drop it will be an incredible double in an amazing season on and off the field.

The triumph over Lancashire was Yorkshire's first win in the Championship since claiming the title at Scarborough almost a year ago. But they remain bottom of the table with the two other teams in relegation places, Somerset and Lancashire, both enjoying a game in hand.

Richard Blakey, who captained Yorkshire calmly and skillfully, believes they can still survive.

"I think this win has been coming for a bit because we have been playing better for about a month without getting any rewards.

"I was very pleased with the way we kept Lancashire under pressure and never let a big stand build up.

"This was a big team performance with four or five major individual contributions. I am sure we can stay up but we have to win three of our last four games to stand a chance."

Gary Fellows turned the match upside down with his maiden first- class century, but the hero on the final day was off-spinner Richard Dawson, who returned his season's best figures of five for 42 as Lancashire crumbled to 148 all out.

Steven Kirby began the slide with his second ball of the morning when he flattened Mark Chilton's off-stump, but the real damage was done by Dawson when he turned a ball sharply and breached Stuart Law's defences as the Australian attempted to cut.

The most enjoyable moment for Yorkshire came with the demise of their former captain, David Byas, who played over an in-swinger from Anthony McGrath and was bowled to leave Lancashire tottering on 92 for five.

Neil Fairbrother casually cut Kirby straight to Fellows at point just before lunch and with Lancashire captain Warren Hegg unable to bat because of a badly dislocated finger, Dawson swiftly ran through the tail.

"There was an amazing amount of relief for the team," said Dawson.