Picture by John Heald. George Hill scoops Olly Stone for six to move to 49 today.
Many column inches have been dominated by George Hill’s excellence over the last few weeks with both ball and bat. Today, day two at Trent Bridge, was another chapter in the all-rounder’s story of development.
Hill scored a superb counter-attacking 58 off 57 balls to help recover Yorkshire from 124-8 to 179 all out in their first-innings reply to Nottinghamshire’s 251 all out in the Rothesay County Championship season-finale.
To put it simply, the 25-year-old all-rounder kept Yorkshire in the game, a view strengthened after tea when Notts’ were reduced to 9-2.
Home quick Olly Stone impressed with 5-51 from 17 overs to help gain a first-innings lead of 72 before leaving the field immediately after taking his fifth wicket and being substituted out of the game with a hamstring injury. Tom Giles took his place.
The hosts, who can no longer win the Championship title which looks almost certain to be heading to Edgbaston and Warwickshire – who are well ahead of their game against Leicestershire, ended the day on top in bowler-friendly conditions. They closed on 55-3 from 21 overs, leading by 127.
Hill claimed the third wicket, his 48th of the Championship summer.
Picture by John Heald. Jonny Bairstow takes a superb one-handed catch to help Ben Coad remove Ben Slater at the start of the Notts’ second innings.
Yorkshire wrapped up the Nottinghamshire first innings in the day’s fourth over when Hill had Stone caught at second slip by Will Luxton.
However, Stone then got Luxton caught behind squared up late in the ninth over of a Yorkshire response which stumbled early to 33-3 in the 15th.
Birthday boy Adam Lyth, 39 today, was also squared up by Stone and edged behind on 16 before Sam Whiteman pushed forwards and edged Brett Hutton to a tumbling Jack Haynes at second slip.
James Wharton and Matthew Revis shared 57 either side of lunch to settle the ship, the former taking two of three boundaries in an over off the Pakistani pacer Mohammad Ali and the latter beautifully on-driving Stone for four just after lunch.
Unfortunately, in Stone’s next over, the 29th of the innings, Wharton edged Stone to second slip as he fell for 28 to leave the score at 90-4 in the 29th over.
Jonny Bairstow was bowled through the gate by Stone not long after before Revis was run out by a direct hit at the non-striker’s end by Haseeb Hameed from wide mid-off as the batter tried to pinch a single.
Picture by John Heald. Matthew Revis was run out, adjudged short of his ground by umpire Nigel Llong.
That left Yorkshire at 105-6 in the 35th over, though replays suggested he shouldn’t have been given.
There was no doubt about the next two wickets as Dom Bess and Ben Coad edged Brett Hutton and Mohammad Ali into the slips – 124-8 in the 40th.
Hill then brilliantly limited the damage with a 46-ball fifty which included him twice drilling Hutton’s seam down the ground for boundaries and scooping Stone for six to move to 49.
Almost immediately after reaching fifty, he saw Ben Cliff edge Stone to first slip with 171 on the board.
Hill marshalled the tail expertly before falling stumped off Liam Patterson-White’s spin to wrap up the innings and signal tea.
As the players walked off, it was also revealed the Stone, who had reached 50 wickets for the season for the first time in his career, had been subbed out due to injury.
Picture by John Heald. Jack White is congratulated having removed Haseeb Hameed just after tea.
Yorkshire then struck in the third over of the Notts’ second innings, with Coad getting Ben Slater brilliantly caught behind one-handed going low to his left by Bairstow.
And when the other opener Haseeb Hameed edged Jack White behind in the next over, Notts’ were 9-2.
Joe Clarke was handed a life when dropped by Bess at leg-slip off Coad on one. But Hill again limited the damage by removing him for eight, caught behind by Bairstow – 24-3.
Jack Haynes and Ben Martindale then steadied the ship for the hosts in tricky conditions, life in the pitch and the light getting gloomier. They shared an unbroken 31 in calm fashion.
But there was no play beyond 5.25pm due to bad light, with play abandoned half-an-hour later.
