Ben Coad hailed Yorkshire’s second day performance with ball and bat as the county got themselves back into contention against Essex at Headingley.
A difficult day one saw Yorkshire bowled out for 134 in their first innings, but today was a much brighter affair for the county.
They limited Essex’s reply to 225, including four wickets for Jordan Thompson, three for George Hill and two for Coad himself, including his 200th first-class wicket. ??
Steve Patterson also got Sir Alastair Cook lbw, the seventh time he has removed him in the last seven LV= Insurance County Championship matches the pair have played in.
Home opener Fin Bean then reached close on 41 not out, while Hill contributed 33 to 87-2 in the second innings, a deficit of only four.
This 12th of 14 games in Division One is anybody’s at the halfway stage.
“We had a big conversation about how yesterday went for us, and it’s gone,” said Coad. “We just had to do the job today, and I think we did that well.
“I think we bowled really well. The pitch has got a bit slower and isn’t doing as much, especially in the sun. With the bat, we put a great shift in.
“It was just a shame to lose Hilly in the last over of the day.
“It was frustrating, but he did a great job to help get us in the position we’re in.
“At the start, we’d have taken two down. We’re nearly level. If we can come back tomorrow and start well, there’s no reason why we can’t drive the game.”
Coad, 28, claimed his 200th first-class wicket in his 51st game when he trapped Feroze Khushi lbw after lunch today.
Unfortunately, at Emirates Old Trafford last week, he narrowly missed out on taking that 200th wicket and becoming the first English bowler since Derbyshire’s Alan Ward in 1971 to do the double hundred at an average under 20.
Ironically, on day one here yesterday, Essex’s Sam Cook became the first since Ward.
“He’s an outstanding bowler, and it’s a great achievement,” said Coad, in praise of Cook.
“It’s something I would love to have done, but if I can get it back under 20 at some point I’ll be very happy.
“It would have been a great thing to tick off, but I’ll just have to make it 300 under 20, won’t I!
“Two hundred wickets is great, but it’s not something I think too much about because I feel there’s a lot more to come.
“It’s a nice milestone to get to, and hopefully I’ll keep moving on.”
