LIVE STREAM: There is a stream on the Northamptonshire website, www.nccc.co.uk You can access it via their Match Centre page.
George Hill said
“It’s a bit of a relief to be honest. I’ve played a couple of games in the past and didn’t really feel like I did a huge amount. So it’s nice to contribute to the team.
“Galey and Patto had a chat to me the other day (about opening).
“I wasn’t that nervous going out to bat because I thought, ‘I haven’t got a huge amount to lose’.
“I haven’t really opened before, so I thought I would go out there, give it my all and dig in.
“It’s not the easiest pitch to bat on with it being a bit up and down and starting to spin. But I still reckon 260 or 270 would have been a really good score on that.”
6.40pm – CLOSE: Northants have much the better of the opening day, bowling Yorkshire out for 158 and responding with 61-2. They trail by 97. George Hill was Yorkshire’s standout with 71 opening the batting.
6.30pm WICKET Patterson gets nightwatchman Kerrigan caught by short-leg with a snorter of a short ball. 61-2 in the 19th.
6.17pm WICKET Bess traps Gay lbw for 21 as he pushes forward. Northants 54-1 in the 16th.
5.50pm We will be resuming in the next few minutes with 12 overs still to be bowled, so six lost.
5.35pm RAIN: Northants are 40-0 after nine overs of their reply to 158. 18 overs left when they went off. May not see any more.
5.29pm Northants have made their way to 33-0 after eight overs of their reply. Vasconcelos has 17 of them. Clouds are closing in with best part of 19 overs remaining.
4.50pm WICKET Thompson lbw trying to attack Parnell, 22. 158 all out in the 65th over. There are 27 overs remaining in the day. George Hill top-scored with 71, but nobody else topped the pair of 22s from Ballance and Thompson.
4.40pm WICKET Coad bowled by Parnell, 0. 153-9.
4.28pm WICKET Yorkshire under pressure now as Patterson departs two balls later, caught at point off Keogh for nought. 142-8 after 60.
4.25pm WICKET Hill trapped lbw by a turning Keogh delivery for a superb 71. First time opening the batting, well played. But Yorkshire are 142-7 in the 60th. On first inspection, I wondered whether that might have been outside the line as he played forward.
4.14pm A couple of early evening boundaries for Thompson against Parnell, one either side of the wicket. 141-6 after 57.
Tea Report George Hill has posted his maiden first-class fifty and moved to 71 not out off 163 balls during the opening afternoon between Yorkshire and Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
The all-rounder turned opener for this game has battled hard whilst wickets have fallen around him, with the White Rose reaching tea on 132-6 from 56 overs having elected to bat.
Yorkshire advanced from 38-2 inside 18 overs at lunch, losing Gary Ballance, Harry Brook, Dom Bess and Harry Duke during the afternoon – two to the left-arm spin of Simon Kerrigan.
Hill is opening to help cover the loss of Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Will Fraine to injury.
In nine career second-team Championship games, he has never batted higher than four. Here, he has played a proper opener’s knock on a slow pitch.
He has left the ball well, been patient and put away the bad ball.
His only loose shot saw him dropped at second slip by Gareth Berg on 31.
He reached his fifty of 104 balls with seven fours and has since lofted Kerrigan for a lovely straight six.
Ballance and Brook fell trying to attack Kerrigan, the former caught backward of square-leg following a top-edged sweep and Brook caught at mid-wicket trying to go over the top.
When Bess edged a good ball from seamer Berg behind, Yorkshire were 112-5 in the 47th over.
And the best part of six overs later, they were 126-6 when Harry Duke was trapped lbw for five, stuck on the crease against the miserly seam of Tom Taylor.
Taylor has been the pick of the Northants’ bowlers so far, returning figures of 2-14 from 11 overs, including six maidens.
Tea Yorkshire lose four wickets in the session, but Hill is holding firm on 71. 132-6 from 56 overs. 39 more to bowl today. Thompson has 5.
3.39pm WICKET Duke trapped lbw stuck on crease against Taylor, 5. 126-6 in the 53rd. Would surely have played forward given his chance again.
3.27pm SIX! Superb shot from Hill, launching Kerrigan straight. He has 69 of 124-5 in the 50th over. Tea at 3.50pm.
3.16pm WICKET Bess caught behind off Berg for 10. 112-5 in the 47th. Bess was defending and was undone by a pretty good ball from the former Hampshire and Middlesex seamer.
3.07pm This has been some effort from George Hill. In nine previous second-team Championship games, he has never batted higher than four. Here, he has looked like a proper opener. 61 out of 105-4 after 45. 49 still to be bowled in the day.
2.53pm WICKET Oh no. Brook has fallen, caught at mid-wicket aiming to take Kerrigan down the ground having advanced. Didn’t get to the pitch. Falls for seven. 91-4 in the 30th.
2.43pm Super stuff from Hill. Maiden half-century comes up off 104 balls with seven fours. Patient and put the bad ball away. Dances down the pitch to hammer Kerrigan back past him for four – 88-3 after 38.
2.39pm Two Sedbergh School products at the crease for Yorkshire at the moment in George Hill and Harry Brook. Hill has 47 of 83-3 after 37 and Brook is on 5.
2.23pm WICKET Ballance is caught just backward of square-leg by Thurston after a top-edged sweep at Kerrigan. Gone for 22. Yorkshire are 65-3 in the 32nd.
2.13pm Significant slice of fortune for Hill…..he’s dropped on 31, by Berg at second slip off Parnell. Loose drive is not costly. Yorkshire 61-2 in the 29th.
1.56pm Yorkshire settling into their work. 56-2 after 25. Hill and Ballance have both hit a couple of boundaries apiece in the last few overs. Hill has 29 and Ballance 19.
1.45pm Lovely drive for four from Hill straight down the ground off Taylor. He has 25 of 44-2 in the 23rd over.
1.32pm We have lost two overs from the day’s allotted 96 following that rain break. We’re back underway, with Yorkshire 38-2 after 19.
12.59pm David Willey has two of six Sri Lanka wickets in the third ODI at Bristol. They are 96-6 in the 26th over.
Lunch Report Yorkshire lost Adam Lyth and debutant Sam Northeast cheaply as they reached lunch on day one at 38-2 inside only 18 overs against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
Following a month’s break for the Vitality Blast, the LV= Insurance County Championship is back on the agenda for a fortnight to finish the initial group stage.
This is Yorkshire’s ninth match of 10, and they sit in the second qualifying place in Group Three – 12 points ahead of Northants in third.
Steve Patterson won the toss yet again – he has only lost one toss this summer – and elected to bat under overcast skies.
Rain has limited play to only 17.5 overs, with George Hill, promoted to open alongside Lyth, playing nicely for an unbeaten 19.
The all-rounder has been in determined mood on a slow pitch against some tight bowling. Seamer Tom Taylor, for example, only conceded his first run off his 29th ball. That came almost immediately before the players left the field for rain at 12.10pm.
It is hoped play will resume at 1.30pm, following lunch, with the sun out again.
Lyth edged Ben Sanderson behind for nought in the fifth over, defending at one which moved away ever so slightly – 4-1.
Northeast, who has signed for the next two Championship games having left Hampshire, batted at three and only made three as he was also caught behind as the score fell to 21-2 in the 10th.
That was Taylor’s first over, and Northeast was squared up by a back of a length delivery.
Hill has hit two fours in his 19 off 44 balls, while Gary Ballance has made his way to 11.
12,46pm Early lunch at 12.50pm confirmed. A resumption is planned for 1.30pm.
12.36pm The sun has returned to Wantage Road, with the mopping up process almost complete. Wouldn’t be a surprise to see an early lunch called, but play will hopefully resume shortly after that if so.
12.11pm Yorkshire have moved to 38-2 in the 18th over. But we’re off for rain, unfortunately. Hopefully only a short shower. It’s been a tough morning’s batting so far. Some tight bowling on a slowish pitch has given the visitors plenty to think about. Hill has played nicely for his 19.
11.38am WICKET Northeast caught behind off Taylor in his first over for 3. Just nibbled at a back of a length ball. 21-2 in the 10th.
11.33am Lovely clipped boundary through mid-wicket for Hill off Sanderson. 21-1 in the ninth. He has 13 and Northeast 3.
11.17am WICKET Lyth has edged Sanderson behind for nought. 4-1 in the fifth. He was defending at one which seemed to just nip away slightly. Northeast in at three on debut.
11.11am Quiet start here at Wantage Road. Yorkshire 4-0 after as many overs. Hill has all four of them courtesy of a couple of twos through cover.
10.43am Yorkshire have won the toss and will bat first.
Northamptonshire: Gay, Vasconcelos c&w, Thurston, Procter, Keogh, Zaib, Taylor, Parnell, Berg, Kerrigan, Sanderson.
Yorkshire: Lyth, Hill, Ballance, Northeast, Brook, Bess, Thompson, Duke w, Patterson c, Coad, Olivier.
10.26am Around the grounds…..
Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire, Trent Bridge
Warwickshire v Durham, Edgbaston
Hampshire v Surrey, Ageas Bowl
Somerset v Leicestershire, Taunton
Lancashire v Kent, Old Trafford
Sussex v Glamorgan, Hove
Gloucestershire v Middlesex, Cheltenham (starts tomorrow)
Good morning from Wantage Road.
It is currently dry and overcast, and we look good for a start on time at 11am.
Yorkshire have named a 12-man squad for this fixture, and Sam Northeast will make his debut having signed for the next two Championship games and Friday’s T20 at Notts.
This is the penultimate game of the initial group stage in the Championship, and Yorkshire are currently in the second qualifying place in Group Three. We are four points behind Lancashire and 12 ahead Northants in third place.
A win here would all but qualify Yorkshire for the top group in late August and September.
It has been a month since we last played any Championship cricket, and it was a hard-fought win over Sussex at Emerald Headingley in a finish which was almost as breathless as the one-run win over Northants just a few weeks into the season.
This is Yorkshire’s first visit to Northampton for a Championship game since 2014 when Adam Lyth scored a second-innings century in a victory on the way to the title.
He will have a new opening partner this week. George Hill would seem the obvious candidate for that role having batted up the order in the second team this season.
There will be a live stream available. Enjoy.
