7.04pm – CLOSE Leicestershire finish on 200-5 from 60 overs in reply to 517. Handscomb 62 not out. Malan earlier completed a fine 132, while Milnes had an excellent day with 75 and three wickets. All set up for a good day tomorrow.
6.39pm – WICKET! Milnes gets Mulder caught behind for one. What a debut this is proving to be. It’s 187-5 in the 55th.
6.31pm – WICKET! Milnes breaks through, getting Dutch international Ackermann caught and bowled for 67. Leicestershire now 185-4 in the 53rd. Mulder joins Handscomb (58). Seven overs remain after this. A couple more would be ideal.
6.21pm – Now a 99-ball fifty for Australian Handscomb, an identical pace to his fourth-wicket partner Ackermann. Leicestershire 176-3.
6.09pm – Dom Bess is into his second over. Leicestershire are 168-3 in the 48th – 12 more overs to bowl after this. Ackermann 61 and Handscomb 47.
5.40pm – Ah, Hill has spilt a chance at first slip off Thompson with Handscomb on 41. Leicestershire are 153-3 in the 41st.
5.36pm – Ackermann has just reached a 99-ball fifty, helping Leicestershire to 147-3. Handscomb has 37. Encouraging passage of play if you are a Foxes fan tuning in.
5.29pm – Leicestershire continue to hold firm and have advanced to 133-3. Ackermann 42 and Handscomb 31.
This afternoon has been quite noisy at the bottom of the Clean Slate pavilion as there seems to be a group of Huddersfield football fans in, who were understandably enjoying their afternoon as the Terriers claimed a much needed 3-2 win over Watford as they battle against relegation in the Championship.
4.31pm – Leicestershire are 102-3 in the 23rd over – early stages of the evening. Ackermann and Handscomb are 21 apiece as they try to combat the threat of Milnes and Hill. Milnes has just had a huge shout for lbw turned down.
4pm – Tea Report Yorkshire have taken three Leicestershire wickets as the visitors respond to a first-innings 517 on day two at Headingley.
The hosts are eyeing an opening round LV= Insurance County Championship win over a Foxes side who have reached tea at 98-3, losing wickets to Matt Milnes, Ben Coad and Jordan Thompson.
It has been an action-packed start to the Leicestershire innings, with them not taking a backwards step in 20 overs. Shots have been played, and international duo Colin Ackermann and Peter Handscomb, the latter a former Yorkshire overseas player, have hit 20 and 18 not out respectively.
Milnes had Sol Budinger caught at mid-off following a miscue, Coad had Lewis Hill caught at second slip and Thompson claimed a superb one-handed return catch at the end of his first over when Rishi Patel got an inside-edge onto his pad and the ball looped up. That left the visitors at 64-3 after 15 overs.
Earlier, Dom Bess made his way to 49 as the Foxes wrapped up the Yorkshire innings under a sunny Headingley sky.
3.40pm – For those following the IPL, Harry Brook has just come to the crease for Sunrisers Hyderabad. I haven’t seen much of the game situation against Lucknow Super Giants, but just glanced up at the TV in the press box.
3.36pm – All change in the Yorkshire attack as Revis and now Thompson enter the attack……..
WICKET! And as I type, Thompson has struck with his sixth ball, getting Rishi Patel caught and bowled for 28. It’s 64-3 after 15 overs. Inside edge onto pad and a one-handed catch. Definitely worth looking at that replay. Excellent catch.
3.17pm – WICKET! Hill has been caught at second slip by Lyth off Coad for seven. It’s 51-2 early in the 11th over.
3.13pm – Leicestershire are 51-1 in the 10th over. They have not gone into their shell. In many ways, they are a team geared up to play the attacking brand of red ball cricket England want to see the counties adopt. They have struggled in the Championship in recent years – they were winless all last year – and are a county who’ve had more success against the white ball of late. They have little to lose in terms of Championship cricket, so why not have a crack and see where it takes them.
They’ll be encouraged by this start. Patel 23 and Hill seven.
2.52pm – WICKET! Early strike for Matt Milnes, his first wicket in a Yorkshire shirt. Sol Budinger miscues high to Revis at mid-off, 21. 28-1 in the fourth over.
2.21pm – WICKET! Bess bowled for 49 by Ahmed as Yorkshire finish on 517 all out. Ahmed 3-89.
2.18pm – As mentioned earlier, our new president Jane Powell is here.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
2.10pm – Damage for Leicestershire and their seamer Chris Wright, who has been launched into the Western Terrace twice in three balls by Dom Bess. Two sixes bring up a high five-hundred. It’s 503-9, and Bess has 36.
2.01pm – WICKET! Thompson caught at mid-off trying to take Wright over the top, 26. Yorkshire 485-9.
1.57pm – Racing start to the afternoon as Bess takes three boundaries off Finan to move to 18. It’s 485-8.
1.18pm – Lunch Report Dawid Malan completed a stunning 132 and excellent nightwatchman Matt Milnes added 75 as Yorkshire accelerated towards a first-innings score of 500 plus during the second morning against Leicestershire at Headingley
Malan moved from 91 overnight, bringing up his fourth first-class hundred in six Yorkshire appearances at Headingley off 135 balls.
He shared 94 for the fourth wicket with Milnes, advancing from 269-3 late on day one. The county have reached lunch at 473-8 from 95 overs, scoring 188 runs in 35 this morning.
Milnes was by no means batting in his shell as Yorkshire progressed at pace, but he fell four runs short of a career best score.
Yorkshire have lost five wickets this morning, including Malan, Milnes and debutant Shai Hope for 13, with England leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed striking twice.
He had Malan caught at long-off.
Jordan Thompson hit three big sixes in a quick-fire 26 not out late in the session, the first ensuring Yorkshire reached 450 for the maximum of five batting bonus points.
1.12pm – Jordan Thompson has hit three sixes and a four in 26 off 23 balls, with Yorkshire now 473-8. He will be joined in Yorkshire’s team next week for Bristol by Saud Shakeel, the Pakistan Test batter. The club have just announced his overseas signing on an initial four-game deal. There is scope for an extension to his stay at Headingley.
12.56pm – WICKET! Revis caught by Budinger running back from short mid-wicket off Wright following a top-edged pull, 27. We are 445-8 in the 91st over. Bess 4. Jordan Thompson in now.
Hang on, Thompson’s off and running quickly. He’s just crushed a six off Wright over mid-wicket. 451-8. Five batting points in the bag. Excellent.
12.39pm – WICKET! Milnes lbw for a fine 75 by Finan. It’s 439-7. Dom Bess in to join Revis, who has 25. We’re on the verge of a fifth batting point.
12.24pm – Matt Milnes is closing in on a career best score. He currently has 70 and needs nine more to break his current record. Guess who his 78 was against? Yep, Yorkshire at Canterbury in April 2021 when he also batted as a nightwatchman in that innings. Yorkshire won the game. Hopefully this is a repeat.
12.10pm – WICKET! Hill stumped off Ahmed for three, and it’s 393-6 in the 79th over. Matthew Revis comes in to join Milnes.
12.02pm – WICKET! Hope is caught at short third off Ackermann’s off-spin for 13. It’s 387-5 now. George Hill comes in to join Milnes, who has 53.
11.57am – Milnes completes a debut fifty off 70 balls with 8x4s. Yorkshire fans who were down at Canterbury a couple of years ago would have known he can bat, and this nightwatchman’s knock has confirmed it. By no means a dig-in innings, either. 387-4 now.
11.47am – WICKET! Malan caught at long-off for a superb 132 against the bowling of Ahmed. It’s now 363-4. In comes debutant Shai Hope to join Milnes, who has 42.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
11.39am – Three boundaries on the trot from Milnes off Ahmed in the leg-spinner’s first over of the day – one pulled, one driven over the top and the other scooped. He moves to 37 out of 350-3. Batting point number three in the bag. Fifteen off the over, the 69th of the innings. Malan has 124.
11.14am – Dawid Malan reaches a fabulous century off 135 balls with 15x4s. That extends a remarkable record he has in first-class matches for Yorkshire at Headingley since moving from Middlesex at the start of 2020. He has posted scores of 219, 199, 152 and 103 not out in six appearances. He is averaging 105 across that period with power to improve that over the next few hours. Yorkshire now 308-3 after 64 overs.
11.11am – Dawid Malan is on 98 out of 301-3 in the 63rd over.
11.02am – We’ve had word from the printers that the club’s 2023 yearbook will be with us inside the next fortnight. Here’s a look at the front cover.
11am – Play is about to get underway. Chris Wright is bowling to Dawid Malan, who has 91 not out. 285-3. And he’s away with a single first ball.
10.29am – With 104 overs scheduled in the day, we will have lunch at 1.10pm today.
10.27am – New Yorkshire president and former England women’s captain Jane Powell is here today and is currently down on the outfield having her photograph taken and talking to Darren Gough. The only public snap doing the rounds of Jane is one of her at Emirates Old Trafford accepting a commemorative cap. That need rectifying, doesn’t it!
9.12am – Let’s have a look around the grounds at yesterday’s action.
DIV TWO
Derbyshire 300-8 v Worcestershire, The Incora County Ground, Derby
Glamorgan 4-0 v Gloucestershire 165, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Sussex v Durham 352-7, The 1st Central County Ground, Hove
DIV ONE
Hampshire 119-3 v Nottinghamshire 185, The Ageas Bowl
Kent v Northamptonshire 89-7, The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence
Lancashire v Surrey 340-7, Emirates Old Trafford
Middlesex v Essex 162-3, Lord’s
Somerset v Warwickshire (No Play Thursday), The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
9am – Good morning from Headingley, where the sun is shining ahead of day two against Leicestershire. Day One went swimmingly. At one point, we thought we might be swimming as the rain battered down for 10 minutes, making way for lighter stuff. But a three-hour delay could not prevent the lads from advancing to 285-3 from 60 overs, with Fin Bean making his way to a maiden first-team century – 118. Dawid Malan will resume this morning on 91 not out, a typically classy knock.
The plan will be to push on from here to somewhere in the region of 500 in an ideal world, bat once and bowl for victory over the next two and a half days.
The players have just started their warm-ups. It really is a glorious morning. Hopefully the weather holds and we get the 104 allocated overs in.
The live stream and scorecard is available via the Match Centre tab at the top of the page.
If you want to remind yourself of what happened yesterday, you can do so via our report and reaction piece. They are linked below.
