Yorkshire’s Jack Brooks hit 30 down the order and claimed three wickets with the new ball as the hosts edged day one of their Specsavers County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Emerald Headingley.
He then declared: “We’re happy. I think we’re in a pretty good position.”
Yorkshire battled back from 93-5 before lunch to post 256. Brooks then helped reduce visitors to 6-3 before they closed on 53-4.
“If we nip a couple out early and the tail’s exposed, hopefully we can get a lead,” he went on. “It depends how we bowl in the morning.
“If you get stuck in and make 300 or bat most of the day, you’re reasonably happy on a pitch like that.
“It’s not quite as quick as the bowlers would like, but they bowled well to be fair to the Notts lads.
“We’ve crawled up to a score we know we can defend if we bowl well.”
Day 1 highlights
Brooks is an ever-improving batsman, highlighted by a Roses Championship century last May and a friendly one in South Africa last month.
Here, he backed up Andrew Hodd’s 62 and Adam Lyth’s early 45.
“I’m underrated at 10. I should be batting nine, shouldn’t I!” he smiled.
“It’s nice to bat with Hoddy. He’s always positive, and we have a bit of fun together. Then, that last wicket partnership (with Ben Coad), we tried to have a dip to get another point and it came off. It doesn’t always come off.
“I enjoy my batting. I work hard on it, and it’s nice when you can contribute to the team.”
Brooks then whipped out Steve Mullaney for a second-ball duck with the new ball, Chris Nash and Samit Patel before close.
He added: “It’s nice to start with a wicket second ball. It gets rid of those cobwebs or question marks. My job’s to take wickets with the new ball. When I do, I’m very happy.”
