Gary Ballance hailed “a very good day” and praised third-wicket partner Tom Kohler-Cadmore for his contribution in Yorkshire’s dominant first day performance against Somerset at Emerald Headingley.
Ballance posted 111 off 212 balls, his fifth Specsavers County Championship hundred of the season, as the White Rose closed on 282-3 against the league leaders.
The pair shared 199, advancing from 82-2, from late morning to late evening.
Kohler-Cadmore played second fiddle to Ballance with 77 not out and will hope to convert his first four-day hundred of the campaign in the morning.
“That was a very good day,” said Ballance.
“Getting put in this morning, we knew we had to bat well for the first session, and we did. Then we battled hard for the rest of the day and are in a good position.
“We knew that if we got stuck in for the first two sessions, we’d get our rewards later in the day. After tea, we upped the rate.
“Tom played very well. He left a lot of balls and was patient.
“We thought they bowled quite well, but we played nicely.
“We needed to be disciplined after last week (defeat at Essex), and we were.”
Somerset’s decision to opt for an uncontested toss and to bowl first looks a questionable one, but Ballance admitted: “There were definitely discussions about having a bowl first.
“With the overheads, we thought there might be a bit in it. But it turned out that batting was alright for us.”
Ballance has now gone beyond 850 for the season.
He added: “I felt good today. The first hour of my innings I battled hard. I didn’t get many runs last week and wanted to put that right. It’s just nice to kick on when you get a start and contribute to a big total.”
