Yorkshire endured difficulties with the bat during an all-action, 12-wicket first day of their Vitality County Championship clash with Middlesex at Lord’s today.
Having been inserted on an overcast morning, Yorkshire were bowled out for 159, captain Shan Masood top-scoring with 33. Unfortunately, he was the only player to reach 30, with Fin Bean making 29 and Ben Coad adding 24 down the order.
Seamer Ryan Higgins claimed 4-31 from six overs during a day which was disrupted by rain and bad light, the hosts ending very handily placed on 84-2 from 18 overs.
Rain took the players off the field from 11.30am to 2pm, and there was a further delay between 5.30pm and 6.10pm. There was no play possible beyond 6.50pm due to bad light.
Thirty eight overs were lost because of the weather.
In helpful conditions, Middlesex attacked with the Dukes ball, which is in use for the first time this season. They pitched the ball up and were happy to go for runs in a bid to pick up wickets.
That was indicated by captain Toby Roland-Jones, the ex-England Test seamer, conceding 49 runs in 10.4 overs and Higgins going at more than five runs per over during his spell.
Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images. Middlesex take the field this morning.
Roland-Jones finished with three wickets as swing and seam, but more so the latter, were evident throughout the day.
Four Yorkshire players fell lbw and as many were caught in the slips and gully.
Yorkshire were reasonably placed at 41-1 after seven overs when the rain came and 64-1 in the early stages of the afternoon.
Adam Lyth was the first wicket to fall when lbw pushing forwards at Roland-Jones before Bean was bowled off the inside-edge by Ethan Bamber – 64-2 in the 12th.
Captain Masood had cover driven two boundaries and clipped two more off his legs, added to a cut six over point off Tom Helm. However, he was trapped lbw stuck on the crease by Bamber.
And by this time Yorkshire were in some trouble at 87-5 in the 20th over.
They had lost Joe Root and Harry Brook for five and three respectively.
Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images. Joe Root is applauded back to the pavilion this afternoon.
Root was caught in the gully driving at Helm and Brook at second slip driving at Bamber.
There was further trouble ahead as, before the visitors reached 100, Jonny Tattersall and Jordan Thompson both fell lbw in the same Higgins over – 98-7 in the 27th.
Thompson had come into Yorkshire’s side as one of two changes from the draw against Gloucestershire at Bristol last week. Himself and Mickey Edwards replaced Matt Milnes and Matthew Fisher.
Thompson would later take the new ball alongside Coad.
It was actually Thompson and Edwards who were Yorkshire’s wicket-takers later in the day.
Anyway, talking of Coad, he played a significant part in getting Yorkshire up beyond 150 with three boundaries in a quick-fire 24 off 18 balls.
He shared 33 for the eighth wicket with George Hill (16).
Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images. Yorkshire captain Shan Masood this morning.
The latter was next to go when bowled pulling at Higgins – 131-8 – before Coad was caught at second slip off a leading edge trying to play the same bowler to leg. That left Yorkshire at 142-9 in the 35th over.
Some more rain hastened an early tea moments later, at 4.10pm, but play resumed quickly and Dan Moriarty was caught at second slip off Roland-Jones to wrap up the innings inside 38 overs.
By this stage, the floodlights were on.
But Thompson gave Yorkshire an early boost with the ball when he bowled Nathan Fernandes – 18-1 in the fourth over – before Edwards had Max Holden caught behind with what proved the last ball before the evening rain break.
Thankfully, conditions improved to allow another nine overs of play before bad light ended the day at 6.50pm. However, it was the hosts who had the better of things to strengthen their position.
Opener Mark Stoneman, a former Yorkshire loanee, and ex-Derbyshire captain Leus du Plooy more than doubled their side’s total.
They did so positively and benefitted from the odd slice of luck as a few inside-edges whistled by the stumps down to fine-leg. Stoneman finished on 38 and du Plooy 23.
Picture by Alex Davidson/Getty Images. Jordan Thompson celebrates dismissing Nathan Fernandes.
