LIVE STREAM Here is a link to the stream on the Northants website https://nccc.co.uk/live/
Dom Bess said
“It was very good, and I was very happy with how it came out, especially with the last three weeks being with a white ball.
“I’m just as pleased with how we’ve got ourselves back into the game, limiting them to a lead of 12.
“We’ve lost a few poles today, so it’s about making sure we keep chipping away at our lead and, when we get the ball back in our hands, putting them under as much pressure as we can.
“I think it is (as difficult to bat as it looks). They’ve had three T20s on it and 180 overs in this game already. There are certainly balls in there.
“But if you really do apply yourselves, you can score runs.
“Anything up around 200 will be a really tricky chase.”
6.48pm – Close Yorkshire reach 159-6 from 61 overs, leading by 147 with Brook on 76 and Thompson 6. Bess with 7-43 from 24.4 overs the day’s star alongside Brook. Excellent day for the White Rose.
6.29pm Brook’s 67 not out represents a season’s best score in the Championship, with this his sixth fifty. He is just a handful of runs away from reaching 1,000 runs for the summer in both comps. 149-6, a lead of 137 with Thompson for company.
6.14pm WICKET Duke has been bowled by Kerrigan for 13. 140-6 in the 52nd, a lead of 128.
6.10pm Brook top-edges a pull against Sanderson to deep square-leg and thinks he’s a goner, only for the ball to sail over Gay’s head having coming in a step or two too far. Four more. 138-5. The lead is 126, and Brook has 61.
5.50pm Brook reaches his fifty off 83 balls, 118-5 and a lead of 106. Excellent.
5.31pm WICKET Bess trapped lbw by Parnell, 10. Yorkshire 105-5, leading by 93.
5.04pm The floodlights are on now, and you just sense umpires are getting a bit twitchy about the light. Couple of glances between each other at the end of overs. 77-4, a Yorkshire lead of 65.
4.48pm WICKET Ballance lbw to Kerrigan for 26. 64-4 in the 30th over. 52 lead for Yorkshire.
4.23pm We’re back underway after tea. Yorkshire 56-3 in the 24th over, leading by 44. Thankfully, Ballance and Brook have settled things after the loss of 3-2 earlier to slip to 24-3.
Tea Report.Dom Bess secured career best figures of 7-43 to limit Northamptonshire’s first-innings lead to only 12 during the second afternoon at Wantage Road – and Yorkshire have since reached tea on 55-3 in their second innings.
Northamptonshire, replying to Yorkshire’s first-innings 158, advanced from 140-6 at lunch to 170 all out.
The White Rose then lost three cheap top order wickets on the way to a tea-time lead of 43.
England off-spinner Bess claimed the final three Northants wickets to fall, with Luke Procter absent due to personal reasons.
He trapped Saif Zaib and Wayne Parnell lbw and had Ben Sanderson caught at slip by Adam Lyth, usurping his previous career best of 7-117 for Somerset against Hampshire at Taunton in 2017.
At that stage, with 61 overs still to be bowled in the day, Yorkshire had wrestled back the initiative.
However, this topsy turvy fixture was about to take another turn, with home left-armer Simon Kerrigan continuing the success of the spinners on a used pitch.
Kerrigan struck with his first ball and then again at the start of his second over as Yorkshire fell to 24-2 in the 10th. He bowled George Hill for 13 and had Sam Northeast stumped for one, both players push forwards.
And with the first ball of the 11th, Lyth was caught behind off Ben Sanderson’s seam – 24-3.
Gary Ballance (18) and Harry Brook (11) have since avoided any further damage and will resume after tea.
4.01pm – Tea Yorkshire are 55-3 after 22 overs of their second innings, leading by 43. Ballance 18, Brook 11. Game on a knife edge.
3.50pm 10 minutes to go before tea, and Yorkshire are 45-3, leading by 33. Ballance 17 and Brook 4.
3.21pm WICKET Yorkshire back in trouble as Lyth edges Sanderson behind for 5. 24-3 in the 11th over, leading by 12.
3.17pm WICKET Northeast stumped off Kerrigan for 1. Yorkshire are 24-2, leading by 12.
3.06pm WICKET Hill bowled by Kerrigan’s first ball, 13. 22-1 in the eighth. Yorkshire are 10 ahead.
3.05pm Away from Wantage Road, Jimmy Anderson has just taken his 1,000th first-class wicket. He is playing for Lancashire this week, and Kent are 24-6 after a rain delayed start. He may be a Lancastrian, but what a bowler!
3.04pm Yorkshire have reached 22-0 after seven overs of their second innings, leading by 10.
2.30pm WICKET Sanderson caught at slip by Lyth off Bess, who finishes with 7-43 – a career best. 170-9, and Northants are all out with Procter absent. They lead by 12.
2.13pm Parnell lbw Bess, 0. Bess has 6-for. 150-8. Northants trail by eight.
2.01pm WICKET Five for Bess. Zaib lbw for 11. 146-7. Brilliant day so far.
1.55pm Early stages of the afternoon with Bess and Patterson in operation. Northants 143-6, trailing by 15.
Lunch Report Dom Bess has taken three of four morning wickets to lead a Yorkshire fightback on day two against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
The England off-spinner, helping to defend a first-innings 158, removed Gareth Berg, Charlie Thurston and Ricardo Vasconcelos as Northants fell from 88-2 to 110-6.
Duanne Olivier also had Rob Keogh caught at second slip.
Northants have since steadied somewhat to reach lunch at 140-6 from 53 overs, trailing by 18 runs. Bess has figures of 4-35 from 20 overs in all.
The White Rose are very much back in the game after their disappointing batting display on day one.
Northants are also a batsman light with Luke Procter missing today’s play for personal reasons.
The hosts started the day on 61-2, and captain and opener Vasconcelos moved from 32 to 50.
But Bess made the morning breakthrough when nightwatchman Berg miscued him to mid-off – 88-3 after 30 overs.
He then had Thurston caught behind by Harry Duke in his next over. And when the same combination ousted Vasconcelos in the 36th over, the catch taken at the second attempt, Bess had struck three times in four overs.
Olivier then removed Keogh in the 37th, meaning the hosts had lost 4-22 to erode their position of strength.
Tom Taylor and Saif Zaib have shared 30 for the seventh wicket and will begin in the afternoon on 21 and seven respectively.
1.12pm – Lunch Productive morning for Yorkshire, who claim four wickets as Northants reach 140-6 from 53 overs. Bess with three of the four, Olivier the other. Taylor 21, Zaib 7. The hosts trail by 18.
1.06pm Men’s PCA player of the month award for June has gone to Harry Brook following his stunning recent form in the Blast. Meanwhile, here at Wantage Road, Northants are 139-6 in the last few minutes of the morning.
12.41pm Northants have moved to 121-6 in the 45th over. Zaib 2 and Taylor 7. They are 37 runs behind. There was a huge caught behind shout an over or so ago from Olivier against Zaib. Yorkshire were convinced. Tom Lungley, the umpire, was unmoved.
12.07pm WICKET What a morning this has been for Yorkshire. Olivier gets Keogh caught at second slip by Lyth as he guides a short ball to Lyth’s right. Northants are 110-6 and still trailing by 48.
12.03pm WICKET Yes. Vasconcelos gone! Huge wicket, Bess picks up his fourth as Duke holds on behind the stumps to an attempted cut. 106-5. Northants are likely to be six down with Procter missing.
11.45am WICKET Thurston caught behind off Bess for four. Northants are 93-4.
11.35am WICKET Berg skies Bess to Patterson at mid-off for eight, coming moments after Vasconcelos had reached his fifty. Northants 88-3 after 30 overs in reply to 158.
11.29am Northants have gone through the opening half hour unscathed. 85-2 in the 29th over, trailing by 72. Vasconcelos 48 and Berg 7.
11.12am Northants have just announced that their batsman Luke Procter will miss today’s play due to personal reasons. He will be able to resume his involvement in the game upon his return. They have moved to 78-2 in the first few overs of the day, trailing by 80.
Good morning from Wantage Road.
It is a glorious morning in Northampton. The sun is out, and we are all set for what you would suspect will be a full day’s cricket.
We will make up the eight overs lost yesterday, so there will be 104 bowled today from 11am.
Yorkshire are clearly on the back foot after a disappointing opening day. Bowled out for 158, Northants responded with 61-2.
You feel today is absolutely crucial to our chances of a revival in this game. Steve Patterson and co can’t realistically afford for the hosts to get more than a lead of 80-100.
This is a used pitch – for three Vitality Blast games – and it is quite slow. George Hill said last night there were signs of uneven bounce and spin.
Given the picture in Group Three, Northants need a result to leapfrog Yorkshire, hence the pitch conditions.
The two wickets for Patterson and Dom Bess late last night gave Yorkshire something to work with this morning. If that can be turned into something like 120-5 or 6, then it really is game on.
There will be a stream available once more. Enjoy the day.
