Live: New era for Yorkshire’s women begins as men aim to press ahead in Durham

That’s it for the day. We will return tomorrow searching for wickets.

The umpires are still out in the middle waiting for the light to improve. Unfortunately, it hasn’t as yet.

We’re off for bad light. Durham 264-1 in the 64th over, trailing by 43. Lees 148 and Gay 105.

We have just under 32 overs remaining in the day, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if that was that for the day. The lights are on, and it’s difficult to see how the light improves significantly.

Emilio Gay has followed Alex Lees to a century, getting there off 163 balls.

Durham are 263-1 in the 63rd over.

Quite ironic that on the day the World Snooker Championship starts in Sheffield, a batter should find himself on 147.

That’s where Alex Lees sits, with Durham on 253-1, trailing by 54.

Play is about to resume here at the Banks Homes Riverside.

The light has improved. Durham 224-1 with 42 overs remaining in the day, in theory.

We have lost two overs due to the light.

You have to say that an early tea provides Yorkshire with some respite.

Alex Lees 139 and Emilio Gay 74 have shared 202 unbroken for the second wicket.

Sterre Kalis is stumped off Flora Bertwistle’s spin for 51, and Yorkshire have fallen to an opening day defeat against an on-point Worcestershire side.

From a home point of view, 16-year-old Academy seamer Amelia Love was the star performer with 4-39 on debut. They face Sussex at Hove next Saturday.

Elicia Pollard run out, 2, and Claudie Cooper bowled by Phoebe Brett, 1

Worcestershire have this game by the throat now thanks to two quick wickets, with Yorkshire on the ropes chasing 229.

Amelia Love in now to join Sterre Kalis on 49.

The floodlights are on at Durham, meanwhile, where Yorkshire’s men are also under pressure. Durham are 198-1 in reply to our 307.

Durham are 189-1, with Alex Lees 119 and Emilio Gay 61.

At Headingley, Ria Fackrell has been bowled by Flora Bertwistle for 3, and Yorkshire are 92-7.

You’d think it’s all down to Sterre Kalis now, who has 34. She has been joined by Elicia Pollard, who is one not out as Yorkshire chase 229.

Beth Langston bowled Flora Bertwistle, 0.

Worcestershire continue to strengthen their grip. Ria Fackrell in to join Kalis.

Maddie Ward lbw Flora Bertwistle, 0.

Yorkshire under the cosh now. They have serious work to do to turn this one around after a wicket for left-arm spinner Bertwistle.

Beth Langston in now alongside Sterre Kalis, who has 18.

We once cheered an Alex Lees century, now such milestones are jeered by Yorkshire supporters.

He has reached his ton off 126 balls with 18x4s and has played very nicely.

That’s his second century against Yorkshire in Championship cricket since leaving for Durham on loan in 2018.

Durham are 162-1 in reply to 307.

And at Headingley, Yorkshire’s women are 63-4 in the 13th over chasing 229.

Ami Campbell has hoisted Jess Beach’s seam out to long-on, falling for 13. Maddie Ward in now alongside Sterre Kalis, who has 16.

And as I finish this post, back at Durham, Emilio Gay has reached his fifty off 106 balls. Durham now 166-1.

Durham have moved to 150-1 after 40 overs here at the Banks Homes Riverside, with Alex Lees 94 and Emilio Gay 48.

Yorkshire’s women are 62-3 after 12 overs chasing 229 against Worcestershire at Headingley. Sterre Kalis 16 and Ami Campbell 13.

The sun is shining at both venues.

Alex Lees has moved to 90 amidst a strong start to the afternoon for Durham.

They are 140-1 in reply to 307 all out. Emilio Gay has 40. They have shared 118 unbroken.

Picture by Stu Forster/Getty Images.

Rebecca Duckworth caught Flora Bertwistle bowled Phoebe Brett, 4.

Oh no, Duckworth has cut the left-arm spinner to slip.

Yorkshire, chasing 229, need to steady. Ami Campbell is in now alongside Sterre Kalis. Both yet to score.

Erin Thomas bowled Phoebe Brett, 4.

Yorkshire under early pressure as the Pears remove our other opener.

Sterre Kalis and Rebecca Duckworth together now – big partnership between two experienced heads as we chase 229.

Lauren Winfield-Hill caught Ruby Davis bowled Emily Churms, 8.

The skipper slices the new-ball seam of Churms out to backward point.

Rebecca Duckworth in now alongside Erin Thomas as we chase 229.

Ah, Yorkshire almost had Alex Lees run out. Emilio Gay pushes Jack White out into the covers, where Fin Bean picks up and throws at the striker’s stumps. Lees, on 67, is well short, but Bairstow can’t gather the throw and in doing so clatters the stumps.

Durham are 109-1 now in the 29th over.

Durham are 102-1 in the 27th over. We have only just got underway after lunch, with the hosts replying to 307.

Yorkshire could do with a quick wicket, and Jack White is on the hunt for it. He has just had an lbw appeal turned down against Alex Lees on 63. His former Northamptonshire team-mate is unbeaten on 31.

Flora Bertwistle bowled Beth Langston, 2.

Langston wraps things up with 11 balls unused.

She finishes with 3-28 from 9.1 overs, but Amelia Love will take the bulk of the acclaim having returned 4-39 from 10 overs on debut.

The 16-year-old seamer was excellent.

Yorkshire far from had this all their own way, with Ruby Davis and Bryony Gillgrass contributing 44 and 48 respectively.

Jess Beach bowled Beth Langston, 0. 

Yorkshire are ending this innings very well. Two for Langston.

Durham’s morning so far. They wrapped up Yorkshire’s first innings for 307, claiming the final wickets quickly, and have responded strongly with the bat.

George Hill claimed the only home wicket to fall before lunch, with Alex Lees 53 and Emilio Gay 30.

Phoebe Brett caught Ria Fackrell bowled Beth Langston, 7.

Brett skies Langston to cover, and it’s a deserved wicket for Yorkshire’s new-ball seamer having been miserly early on without reward.

Yorkshire will hope to wrap up this innings quickly now.

Emily Churms caught Sterre Kalis bowled Amelia Love, 3.

Churms slices to point.

Love is in her final over and could end with a debut five-for. She has four. Fabulous.

Picture by Allen McKenzie/SWPix.com.

Bryony Gillgrass caught Sterre Kalis bowled Amelia Love, 48.

Gillgrass steers the seam of Love to a tumbling Kalis at point. Smart catch, excellent bowling by Love, who has three-for on debut. Excellent.

Yorkshire’s men could really do with a wicket of their own as Durham press on here at the Banks Homes Riverside. They are 90-1, with Alex Lees 52 and Emilio Gay 30.

Worcestershire have 12 overs remaining in their innings. Bryony Gillgrass has 44 not out and has played really nicely.

Durham will be pretty chuffed with their start – 69-1 – and captain Alex Lees has 50 from 67 balls.

It’s great to see Matthew Revis back with the ball in his hand having recovered from a back stress fracture which he suffered late last summer. He’s bowling from the Lumley End. Durham 56-1 in the 17th over as they reply to 307.

Picture by Allen McKenzie/SWPix.com.

Poppy Davies lbw Amelia Love, 3.

Love strikes again to secure her second wicket. Yorkshire hitting back to limit the damage done by that fourth-wicket stand between Ruby Davis and Bryony Gillgrass.

Durham 50-1 as we approach lunch on day two of the Championship clash. Alex Lees has 39 of them.

Ruby Davis caught Ami Campbell bowled Amelia Love, 44.

Davis chips a full toss to mid-wicket, giving Yorkshire a much-needed breakthrough. Academy seamer Love has her first senior wicket.

Lunch will be 10 minutes later here at the Banks Homes Riverside given we have an extra eight overs on the day’s allocation today (104 in total).

Durham are 38-1 after 12 overs. Alex Lees has 27 of them as his side reply to a first-innings 307.

Yorkshire’s women are under some pressure at Headingley. Worcestershire are 158-3 after 30 overs. Ruby Davis 43 and Bryony Gillgrass 32. They have shared 76 unbroken in dynamic fashion.

George Hill has the only Durham wicket to fall so far.

Picture by Allen McKenzie/SWPix.

Following the loss of a couple of quick wickets, Worcestershire have steadied and are 125-3 in the 25th over. Ruby Davis has 24 and Bryony Gillgrass 19. They have shared 43 unbroken.

Here at Durham, the home side are 29-1 in the eighth over of their reply to 307.

Ben McKinney caught Adam Lyth bowled George Hill, 6.

McKinney, touted as England’s summer Test opener, is caught at second slip, and Yorkshire have the breakthrough.

Emilio Gay is in now for Durham alongside Lees, who has 16. Durham are replying 307.

Clare Boycott lbw Maddie Ward, 38.

Worcestershire’s opener is removed by Ward’s spin. Yorkshire starting to really assert their authority.

Jack White and George Hill have taken the new ball for Yorkshire.

Chloe Hill caught Ami Campbell bowled Claudie Cooper, 1.

Worcestershire’s captain Hill shimmies down the pitch, tries to attack and can only edge a looping catch to first slip. Two for Cooper. Ruby Davis in now alongside Clare Boycott, who has 29.

Claudie Cooper, who has made the breakthrough for Yorkshire’s Women.

Picture by Allen McKenzie/SWPix.

Dom Bess caught Graham Clark bowled Ben Raine, 66.

Yorkshire’s first innings comes to a close at the Riverside as Bess pulls out to deep square-leg.

A fine knock from our in-form all-rounder comes to a close, and Raine finishes with 4-64, matching Brendan Doggett, who claimed 4-69.

James Wharton contributed 69 and 64 respectively for Yorkshire.

Gwen Davies lbw Claudie Cooper, 21.

Yorkshire’s new off-spinner has a wicket in her first over, the county’s first of the summer. Worcestershire captain Chloe Hill in now.

The Pears women are 45-0 after 10 overs at Headingley. After a slow start, they have started to tick the scoreboard over through openers Gwen Davies 16 and Clare Boycott 14.

There have been a number of close calls – plays and misses, a near run out, etc. One thing Yorkshire will need to tighten up on, though, is the fact they’ve bowled 11 wides and two no balls.

Dom Bess scoops Ben Raine for four to take us to 302-9 following a Jack White single. Bess has 62.

Ben Sears bowled Ben Raine, 1.

Sears falls to the eighth ball of the day, and Yorkshire have a bit of a sweat on regarding a second batting point. Three runs needed. Jack White in alongside Dom Bess, who has 58.

Day Two is upon us in the North East. Yorkshire’s men are bidding to advance from 295-8. Dom Bess 57 and Ben Sears yet to get off the mark.

Paul Coughlin is off the field for Durham with an abdominal injury. Matthew Potts has the new ball.

At Headingley, Worcestershire are 17-0 in the eighth over against Yorkshire’s women.

Worcestershire are 12-0 after five overs, including just the one boundary which was flashed high and wide over the slips from Clare Boycott.

Bright and breezy at Headingley. Good pace in the pitch, as you would expect.

Worcestershire are 3-0 in the third over but have yet to score a run off the bat. Gwen Davies and Clare Boycott are opening for Worcestershire, with Beth Langston and fellow seamer Elicia Pollard taking the new ball for Yorkshire.

As we approach the start of play, the sun is trying to poke through here at the Banks Homes Riverside.

We had the floodlights on for the majority of the day yesterday. I suspect that won’t be the case for as much of today.

Lauren Winfield-Hill has won her first toss of the summer at the first attempt and has elected to bowl first.

Yorkshire’s team: Lauren Winfield-Hill c&w, Erin Thomas, Rebecca Duckworth, Sterre Kalis, Ami Campbell, Maddie Ward, Beth Langston, Ria Fackrell, Elicia Pollard, Claudie Cooper, Amelia Love.

The recreational game begins across Yorkshire today. Good luck to all of those in action.

And enjoy your teas!

Given we lost 15 overs at the end of yesterday’s opening day, there will be 104 overs scheduled for the day today, as long as the light holds later on.

Before we get going over the next hour or so, let’s have a look around the grounds.

Rothesay County Championship, Division One 

Essex 179 v Worcestershire 98-4, Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford

Hampshire v Somerset 94-6, Utilita Bowl, Southampton

Sussex 227-2 v Surrey, The 1st Central County Ground, Hove

Warwickshire 34-2 v Nottinghamshire, Edgbaston 

Division Two 

Derbyshire 216-4 v Northamptonshire, County Ground, Derby

Kent v Gloucestershire 365-7, The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury

Lancashire 61-3 v Leicestershire, Emirates Old Trafford 

Middlesex 63-0 v Glamorgan 199, Lord’s

Metro Bank One-Day Cup 2, Women

Glamorgan v Sussex, Sophia Gardens

Gloucestershire v Derbyshire, Seat Unique Stadium

Good morning from the Banks Homes Riverside, where it’s another dry but overcast and chilly morning ahead of day two of the Rothesay County Championship clash with Durham.

Yorkshire will resume on 295-8 in their first innings, with Dom Bess on 57 and Ben Sears yet to get off the mark.

Yorkshire will be hoping to push up to 350 in an ideal world and get bowling in what are likely to be helpful conditions. If it’s anything like yesterday, assistance through the air will be obvious.

Back down the A1 at Headingley, Yorkshire’s women are in 50-over action against Worcestershire in the Metro Bank One-Day 2 competition, starting at 10.30am.

A new era begins. The first Yorkshire women’s professional side will walk out at Headingley, under the leadership of Lauren Winfield-Hill.

We will keep you updated from both venues throughout the day.