Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jonny Bairstow celebrates his century against Surrey with Adam Lyth yesterday.
Captain Jonny Bairstow is hoping a good day with the ball for Yorkshire tomorrow can open up their clash with Surrey, despite almost 60 overs being lost to rain on day two at Headingley.
Bairstow’s 120 contributed to the White Rose’s first-innings 486 all out at lunch today, with them advancing from 362-4 overnight. Opener Adam Lyth also contributed 141, with the pair completing a fifth-wicket partnership of 246.
Surrey then only had time to advance to 17-0, with only four overs of play possible after lunch.
“I don’t think it’s ruined it, no,” said Bairstow, of today’s rain. “I think it puts the pressure on them.
“If you think you’re nearly 500 behind, you know you’ve got to bat for a day and a bit in order to stay in the game, and there’s been plenty in it all game.
“It’s swung all game, there’s been bounce, and they had us 121-4.
“If we bowl well and turn up tomorrow, you never know – bowl them out for 200 or 250 – it’s game on.”
Yorkshire have put in a strong performance during the first half of this game following last week’s heavy defeat against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
And Bairstow is pleased with the response.
He said: “Last week was incredibly disappointing. I was very disappointed and let the lads know around that. That wasn’t good enough from the position we were in.
“That was a bit of a wake-up call, I think, for a few. There were a few difficult decisions that have been made, but that’s part and parcel of the game.
“And it shows what we can do as a side, coming out against a good team.
“These (Surrey) have been the benchmark in the country for a period of time now.”
Bairstow’s innings marked his first hundred as Yorkshire captain, and it also saw him pass 15,000 first-class runs in the process. But the Bradfordian is hungry for more.
He said: “It’s nice to obviously score 15,000 (first-class runs), but you want the next one, 16,000, and then so on and so forth.”
And on his fifth-wicket partner, he added: “Lythy’s still one of the best players in the country, and he keeps on doing it year in and year out. He’s the heartbeat of our dressing room.
“Week in, week out, he goes about it the same way and produces.”
