Adam Lyth will celebrate his 34th first-class century with a quiet tipple tonight, hoping to see his bowling colleagues topple Gloucestershire on day four at Bristol tomorrow for a first Vitality County Championship win of the new summer.
Opener Lyth contributed a superb 113 to Yorkshire’s second innings 434-6 declared, helping them set the home side an unlikely 498 victory target after tea.
Lyth – now with back-to-back hundreds at the start of this season, was one of five Yorkshire batters to reach 50 in the day; Fin Bean, Joe Root, Harry Brook and George Hill the others.
The 36-year-old then saw Gloucestershire close on 97-4 from 26 overs, with the wickets going to Ben Coad, Matt Milnes, Dan Moriarty and Matthew Fisher.
Talk about a team performance, hey!
“It’s been a fantastic three days, but today we’ve got our noses in front and put our foot down,” said Lyth. “We’re in a fantastic position, and hopefully this weather around doesn’t interrupt us.
“We can’t control that, and we’re in a great position to win a game of cricket tomorrow.”
Lyth’s century came hot on the heels of 101 in the only innings of last week’s season opening round draw against Leicestershire at Headingley.
He continued: “I’m hitting the ball really, really well. I’d imagine it will be a bit different with the Dukes ball (next week), but I’ll take nothing for granted and keep going as I am. Hopefully there’s many more to come.
“I’m playing well at the minute, like everybody is. I’m a bit gutted for Beany because he deserved a hundred. But it was a fantastic partnership at the top of the order, which got us going nicely.
“And Shan is playing magnificent. He played beautifully first innings.
“Everyone’s in good form and lads are bowling well, which is fantastic.
“I’ll have a glass of wine and a Guinness tonight and hope we get this game finished tomorrow!”
Yorkshire played positively without being reckless with the bat today as they advanced from 57-0 overnight.
“We knew how important that first hour was this morning. Myself and Beany negotiated that really well, and we kept on going,” Lyth reflected.
“We were scoring at a good rate throughout the innings, and when you’ve got the likes of Shan who strikes at a very good pace and Rooty and Brooky coming in a bit lower, we always knew there was going to be plenty of time for us to bowl tonight.
“We had 26 overs to make some inroads, and again the bowlers have been fantastic on a pretty placid pitch with a Kookaburra ball that’s not doing much.
“Every single bowler has been fantastic this game, and the pitch is starting to take some turn, which will be brilliant for Moz and Rooty. You never know, myself, I could turn my arm over tomorrow at some point.
“Coady with the new ball is a special, special talent, and he’s been fantastic.
“Fish with swing and a bit of pace, and he can hit the middle of the pitch if needed.
“Milnesy, I thought he bowled the best length out of anyone in the first innings.
“We’ve then got three spinners to choose from.
“Rooty’s a better bowler than me, and they’ve got a lot of left-handers. He’ll get the ball tomorrow and will no doubt be bowling a lot of overs.”
Asked whether or not Yorkshire could have declared even earlier than they did given there is a threat of rain in the South West early on tomorrow, Lyth added: “It was dependent on how many overs we wanted tonight, and we thought 26 was enough to make some inroads.
“We could have declared earlier, but I guess more tired legs for their batters to negotiate.
“It’s worked out, and getting four tonight is perfect.”
