Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Ben Cliff successfully appeals for the wicket of James Rew, his first of five scalps today.
Ben Cliff wrote his name into the record books with a fabulous career best eight for 76 completed on day two against Somerset at Headingley. But it still didn’t get Yorkshire ahead of the curve in this Rothesay County Championship fixture, which has reached its halfway mark.
League leaders Somerset had a productive, albeit weather-affected second day – firstly with the bat and then with the ball.
Cliff starred as Somerset slipped to 86 for eight early on before Craig Overton and Migael Pretorius both hit half-centuries and shared a ninth-wicket 90 to recover their side to 201 all out in reply to a first-innings 212.
Yorkshire then reached close second time around at on 128-6, a lead of 139, with Overton taking two of those wickets. George Hill was excellent for 50 not out to keep home hopes alive in bowler-friendly conditions.
Overton of course was Somerset’s hero in July when he crashed a remarkable 79 not out off 30 balls to help them recover from 82-8 chasing 162 in the Vitality Blast quarter-final, which the visitors won.
Cliff recorded the best figures by a Yorkshire bowler since Craig White – 8-55 – against Gloucestershire at Gloucester in 1998 to take eight wickets in a first-class innings.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Somerset’s Craig Overton hits out against Yorkshire this morning.
The last Yorkshire bowler to achieve that feat on this ground was Graham Stevenson against Northamptonshire in 1980.
Somerset’s current bowling coach Steve Kirby also took eight for 80 for Yorkshire against Somerset at Taunton in 2003.
Cliff took five wickets in all this morning, including two in two balls to get Yorkshire moving in the right direction.
He had James Rew caught behind and Lewis Gregory lbw as Somerset fell to 74-7.
That then became 86-8 when Cliff had Jack Leach caught behind with a beauty of a lifter.
Unfortunately, Overton and Pretorius counter-attacked impressively with a 90-stand. The latter led the way with 10 boundaries, while Overton hit six fours and two sixes over long-off and long-on. Both sixes came against Cliff, with the second – just before his dismissal – taking him to 50.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Ben Cliff takes the acclaim of the Headingley crowd and team-mates after a superb eight-wicket haul.
Cliff then wrapped up the innings when he had Pretorius caught at first slip and Overton at long-on.
But that was by no means the end of the wickets, unfortunately.
Overton struck twice, including in his first over.
He bowled Will Luxton through the gate and uprooted his middle stump before getting Adam Lyth caught behind.
When Jake Ball took out James Wharton’s off-stump, Yorkshire were 21-3 in the 14th over.
After a brief rain delay, forcing an early tea, Sam Whiteman and Matthew Revis advanced slowly.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Sam Whiteman contributed an important 35.
But Revis fell caught at second slip off Ball with the score on 40 and Yorkshire’s lead at 51.
Further damage came when Jonny Bairstow was brilliantly caught by a diving Archie Vaughan at cover off Gregory, who then had Sam Whiteman caught at second slip on 35 as he tried to leave alone.
Yorkshire had gone from 40-3 to 54-6.
Thankfully, Hill and Dom Bess settled things during an excellent unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 74, to which the latter contributed a pleasing 27.
Hill played some dreamy cover drives and slog-swept Leach’s left-arm spin for six to help give Yorkshire plenty of hope heading into what could be the final day of action tomorrow.
He reached his fifty off 69 balls shortly before close, which came seven overs early because of bad light.
