Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess en-route to his excellent morning half-century.
Dom Bess scored a superb season’s best 80 not out to help Yorkshire advance to a commanding 390 all out before he and Kuldeep Yadav equally shared six wickets to put the county on course for victory over Essex after two days at Headingley.
All-rounder Bess progressed from six overnight as the White Rose advanced from 241-6 against an Essex attack for whom leg-spinning all-rounder Matt Critchley struck five times in this Rothesay County Championship fixture.
Essex started their reply midway through the afternoon and slipped to 32-4 thanks to three wickets for Indian left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep.
Bess then backed up his work with his off-spin.
Yorkshire’s twin spin threat were to the fore today, firstly with the bat as they advanced their county from 281-7 this morning with an eighth-wicket 83 partnership. Bess was impressively supported by Kuldeep with a similarly determined 36.
Kuldeep’s trio of wickets were then added to by Bess, who struck twice with off-spin to really put the skids under Essex, who slipped further to 75-6 and closed on 137-7, still 104 short of avoiding the follow-on.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Three wickets for Kuldeep Yadav to add to his valuable 36.
Yorkshire’s progress with the bat was steady but never startling, them taking the ‘grind ‘em down’ approach. And it worked.
Essex were hurt by the loss of Jamie Porter injured, the seamer pulling up late in his 21st over and leaving the field. He was later substituted out of the game, with England Test seamer Sam Cook coming in.
Strangely, Cook officially replaced seamer Mitchell Killeen, who was then subbed back in for Porter amidst two different rules. One is designed to allow England players to get some cricket when not selected for the national side, the other is the injury sub rule.
Bess has been in handy form with the bat this summer, even if this was his first half-century since the early stages of last summer. He has contributed a series of valuable scores, eight in the thirties and forties prior to this.
Here, he reached his fifty in 100 balls.
George Hill was caught and bowled by the seam of Shane Snater for 40 this morning before Bess and Kuldeep got into their work.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Jonny Bairstow in action behind the stumps.
Critchley then claimed the last three wickets of the innings. He had Kuldeep caught and bowled, Ben Cliff caught at mid-on and Jack White lbw.
Neither Kuldeep nor Bess bowled an over at The Kia Oval last week, but they were into the attack inside 12 overs of the Essex first innings here.
And Kuldeep struck twice in his first 11 balls as the visitors slipped to 15-2 at tea.
He trapped Paul Walter lbw with one that went straight on before bowling Tom Westley with one slanted across the right-hander.
Further success came after tea and following some brief aggression from Charlie Allison, who lofted Kuldeep for six into the Howard Stand. However, he was trapped lbw pushing forwards as the score slipped to 31-3.
That became 32-4 in the next over, the 18th, when Hill trapped Critchley lbw.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Five wickets for Essex’s Matt Critchley.
Ex-South Africa captain Dean Elgar and Luc Benkenstein – son of Dale – then shared 34, though it was nowhere near enough for an Essex side looking increasingly frazzled in the evening sunshine.
The pair were both trapped lbw, Elgar for 34, as Yorkshire continued to turn the screw.
Wicketkeeper-batter George Bell then played nicely through to close for the visitors, registering 42 not out, though they are going to need something very special to get out of the hole they find themselves in.
