Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale
“The first half hour was very good, but from then on in it was poor – very poor.
“Fair play to Stevo, he played well. We just bowled both sides at him and couldn’t create any pressure.
“We know what works at Headingley, top of off-stump for long periods of time. We just couldn’t do that.
“The energy in the field was also poor, dropped catches in mid-afternoon. We’re lucky they haven’t got 700 on the board at the end of play there.
“That was well, well below par from the standards we set ourselves.
“We’ve got to come back in the morning, bowl them out and bat well. It’s as simple as that.
“Duanne bowled nicely early on. To have them 39 for five after they elected to bat, you’re thinking, ‘Can we bowl them out for under 150 and kill the game early on?’ That was what we didn’t manage to do last week (at Somerset).
“From 11am onwards, we haven’t managed to build any pressure. When you’re slightly off against a player like that, he will crucify you.
“We have to bat well. It will do a bit with the new ball, but it’s not a quick pitch. It’s slow and didn’t do that much. We have to get stuck in and show some grit and determination. If lads get an opportunity to get in, they’ve got to go big.”
6.15pm Close. Kent reach 482-8 from 96 overs. Darren Stevens the standout with 237, plus a century for Sam Billings and five wickets for Duanne Olivier.
Podmore gone!
9M_Fisher</a> bowls him, 0. 455-8 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneRose?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneRose</a></p>— Yorkshire CCC (YorkshireCCC) September 16, 2019
5.37pm Billings gone! Caught at deep gully by Lyth off Olivier, who has five-for. Billings falls for 138. 454-7. Nine overs remain in the day.
5.08pm Kent could end up with 500 in the day here. They are 435-6 with 15 overs remaining. Billings has 127 and Rayner 26.
4.44pm Stevens gone! Caught at deep mid-wicket by Revis off Patel for 237 off 25 balls. He gets congratulations from all Yorkshire players and one heck of a reception from the crowd. 385-6, ending a stand of 346 with Billings.
4.33pm Around the grounds courtesy of the ECB Reporters Network……
Division One
Essex v Surrey (Chelmsford)
Play didn’t start until after lunch because of bad light and Surrey, who won the toss, are 74 for 2. Jamie Porter picked up Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick in successive overs with the new ball.
Hampshire v Somerset (Ageas Bowl)
Three bowling points for the leaders after they dismissed Hampshire for 196. The hosts elected to bat then slumped to 87 for 8 before Liam Dawson made 103 – his first Championship hundred for three years – and Keith Barker 40 as the last three wickets put on 109. Craig Overton picked up two wickets on his return following Test duty.
Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire (Trent Bridge)
Steve Mullaney and Joe Clarke combined to post relegated Nottinghamshire’s highest partnership of the season. The pair added 205 before Mullaney departed for 179, with the hosts reaching tea on 301 for 4, with Clarke unbeaten on 98. Mullaney had reached a career-best score from 173 deliveries, hitting 26 fours and five sixes.
Yorkshire v Kent (Emerald Headingley)
Darren Stevens hit a remarkable 191 not out off 188 balls to steer Kent into a position of strength after they had been 39 for 5. The 43-years-old all-rounder posted his first hundred since May 2017 whilst sharing an unbroken 277 stand with captain Sam Billings (87 not out) – the highest stand in Division One this season. The sixth-wicket pair batted through the afternoon session.
Division Two
Derbyshire v Sussex (Derby)
Promotion chasing Sussex are firmly in control of their must-win match against Derbyshire after an outstanding bowling display. In overcast conditions, they dismissed the home side for 138 at tea with David Weise taking 4 for 18 and Reece Topley 2 for 23 on his first Championship appearance since May 2017.
Glamorgan v Leicestershire (SWALEC Stadium)
Glamorgan, who need to win to keep their promotion hopes alive made steady progress to reach 189 for2 after 64 overs with David Lloyd unbeaten on 63.
Lancashire v Middlesex (Old Trafford)
Lancashire need a maximum of five points from this game to clinch the Second Division title but the home side had collected just one and had struggled to 215 for 7 against a Middlesex team that has stuck to its disciplines and performed well despite resting three front-line seamers. Liam Livingstone top scored with 84 for Lancashire.
Northamptonshire v Durham (Northampton)
Chris Rushworth inspired a Durham fightback as Northamptonshire took tea 133 for 5 after bad light and rain stopped play in a match crucial to both sides in the promotion race. Before the stoppage Northants lost 4 for 20 with Rushworth picking up three wickets.
Worcestershire v Gloucestershire (Worcester)
Riki Wessels led a strong Worcestershire recovery with a free flowing 72 to help the home side recover from 71-5 shortly to 221 all out against promotion contenders Gloucestershire.
4.27pm Stevens reaches a career best 211 not out. 356-5 in the 72nd.
4.18pm You can’t help but be impressed by this knock from Darren Stevens. 200 off 202 balls with 24×4s and 7×4s. Kent 340-5.
4.04pm We’re up and running after tea, and Kent are 331-5 in the 66th. Sam Billings has just reached 100 off 157 balls with 12×4s and 1×6s.
Tea Darren Stevens has hit a remarkable 191 not out off 188 balls to steer Kent into a position of significant strength on day one against Yorkshire at Emerald Headingley after they had been 39-5.
All-rounder Stevens, 43-years-old, has posted his first hundred since May 2017 whilst sharing an unbroken 277 stand with captain Sam Billings (87 not out) – the highest stand in Specsavers Division One this season.
The sixth-wicket pair have batted through the afternoon unbroken, with Stevens the aggressor, taking Kent to 316-5 from 64 overs and leaving Yorkshire under significant pressure.
It has been one of the more remarkable turnarounds you will see, with Kent now score at five runs per over.
After reaching three figures off 159 balls, Stevens has batted with significant freedom on what looks to be an excellent batting surface.
Since the first 45 minutes of play, Yorkshire have erred in the face of some clean hitting. Stevens has hit seven sixes in all alongside 24 fours.
Dropped on 149 and 156, Stevens has also shared in the highest sixth-wicket stand ever on this ground.
3.28pm Stevens and Billings have now shared 257 and counting, the highest ever sixth-wicket partnership on this ground. Kent are 296-5.
3.15pm Stevens playing his shots now. Dropped on 156 by Bresnan running back to mid-off from cover off Patel. He now has 164, including six sixes. 278-5.
Oh no, Olivier puts Stevens down at mid-on on 149 off Fisher. 263-5 in the 57th. Now he reaches 150 off 157 balls with 21×4s and 4×6s. 264-5
— Graham Hardcastle (@tykestravels) September 16, 2019
2.36pm Stevens brings up a superb century off 129 balls with 12 fours and three sixes. Kent have moved to 206-5 in the 50th over. Yorkshire will be frustrated at not maintaining their early pressure, but this has been some knock. His first century since May 2017.
2.11pm I didn’t think I’d be saying this at 11.15am, but Yorkshire need a wicket. Billings and Stevens have taken their side to 175-5 after 43 overs having been 39-5.
Billings 50 off 81 balls.
KentCricket</a> are 157-5 in the 37th <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OneRose?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OneRose</a></p>— Yorkshire CCC (YorkshireCCC) September 16, 2019
1.35pm Billings and Stevens have remained steadfast in the early stages of the afternoon. They have brought up their 100 partnership – 139-5.
Lunch Duanne Olivier struck four times during a fabulous seven-over new ball burst, but Kent have recovered from 39-5 during the opening morning at Emerald Headingley.
Kent were in tatters after winning the toss as these two sides battle it out to finish third in the Specsavers County Championship Division One table.
They have since reached lunch at 112-5 from 28 overs.
Darren Stevens and Sam Billings have shared an unbroken 73 after speedster Olivier enjoyed his early success with 4-30 from seven overs.
Olivier struck three times in nine balls in the third and fifth overs, including bowling his former international captain, the South African Francois du Plessis, through the gate for a four-ball duck.
He had Zak Crawley lbw and Ollie Robinson caught behind in the third over, both attempting to leave alone, before the departure of du Plessis left the score at 8-3 in the fifth.
Daniel Bell-Drummond lost his off stump to one which kept low from Olivier’s new ball partner Matthew Fisher – 22-4 in the eighth.
Olivier then trapped Heino Kuhn lbw playing forwards in the eleventh over (39-5).
Since then, captain Billings (33 not out) and veteran Stevens have frustrated the hosts.
Stevens had played particularly positively, and he reached his fifty off 59 balls with a straight six off New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel in the final over of the morning. He will resume after lunch on 51.
12pm Billings and Stevens are steadying the Kent ship. Plenty of work still to do for them, but they have added 38 in 77-5 after 20. Billings 29 and Stevens 20. In terms of help for the seamers, there seems to have been a bit of everything on offer, including uneven bounce, with the dismissal of Bell-Drummond the obvious example.
11.29am Kent 54-5 in the 14th over. Olivier has figures of 4-30 from seven overs. He has been superb, and it may well be that he’s replaced next over from the Kirkstall Lane End.
11.18am Another one bites the dust, and Olivier has four-for. Kuhn lbw playing forwards. Kent are 39-5.
11.05am Bell-Drummond gone! He’s lost his off-stump to Fisher. Kept low. Kent are 22-4. It’s all happening.
10.51am Du Plessis gone! He’s been bowled through the gate by Olivier for a four-ball duck. Kent 8-3 in the fifth.
10.44am WHAT A START! Robinson has been caught behind trying to leave Olivier alone. Two wickets in the over and Kent are 8-2.
10.40am Crawley gone! He’s been trapped lbw trying to lbw Olivier alone. Kent are 4-1 in the third over.
10.31am We’re up and running. Olivier has the new ball. Crawley and Bell-Drummond are the Kent openers.
10.09am Kent have won the toss and will be batting first.
Team news……
Yorkshire: Lyth, Revis, Ballance, Kohler-Cadmore, Brook, Tattersall w, Bresnan, Fisher, Patterson c, Olivier, Patel.
Kent: Crawley, Bell-Drummond, Du Plessis, Billings c, Kuhn, Robinson w, Stevens, Rayner, Podmore, Milnes, Claydon.
Good morning from Emerald Headingley, where it is a bright start to day one of our penultimate fixture of the season and our final home game of 2019.
This clash with Kent is a battle for third place in the table, with Hampshire also in the mix. The gap between Yorkshire in third and Kent in fifth is 12 points, and Hampshire are sandwiched in between in fourth.
Seventeen-year-old batsman Matthew Revis is set for his debut in place of injured Will Fraine. We will have to wait and see whether Revis slots in at the top of the order having not been a consistent presence as an opener in Academy and second-team cricket.
He has done it successfully of late, but he has also batted at three and further down the order for his various teams, including an England Development XI. He is Keighley-born, has played club cricket at Farsley and is, like Harry Brook, Sedbergh educated.
Yorkshire are looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat against Somerset at Taunton, while Kent beat Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge last week to continue their encouraging first season back in Division One.
There are two overseas debutants in this clash – New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel for Yorkshire and South Africa captain Francois du Plessis for Kent.
We get going at 10.30am. Enjoy the day.
