Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Anthony McGrath left his former home, Chelmsford, with 11 points for the draw.
Anthony McGrath was full of praise for his Yorkshire’s players, but ultimately cut a frustrated figure after watching former county Essex survive 106 overs on the final day for a draw at Chelmsford.
“It’s such a shame because I think the lads threw everything at them,” said Yorkshire’s head coach. “We pretty much dominated the game from session number three on day one.
“It’s a difficult one to take, but I thought we’d played ever so well this week.
“All I can ask for was a response from last week (defeat to Warwickshire), and the lads have been absolutely superb.
“To be pretty dominant, I think it’s pretty harsh on the lads, really, because we probably deserved the points. To walk away with 11 points each seems a little bit of an injustice, but that’s the game.”
Yorkshire bowled 133 overs in the second innings, with Essex finishing on 273-9 having started the day on 64-4.
Last-wicket pair Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter survived the last 13.4 overs of those inside the final 40 minutes of the day.
Earlier, fifth-wicket pair Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper shared 154, batting unbroken through all but one ball of the afternoon session to set things up for what proved a successful Essex survival bid.
“I’ve got to give credit to how Essex played today, particularly Critch and Peps up until the tea,” continued McGrath. “But we opened an end up, and it looked like we were just going to get over the line.
“It’s another example of, you know, against good teams in Division One, you earn every win. It’s tough to get over the line, and we just couldn’t finish the job.”
Given how close Yorkshire came to winning, with Essex nine wickets down, McGrath and captain Jonny Bairstow faced questions about the timing of the declaration, which came 14 balls after tea on day three.
McGrath added: “I think we played the game perfectly.
“Obviously, now you’d say we could have declared earlier. If we declared any earlier, it gives them a chance to get off to a good start. We had enough overs. We just couldn’t get the result.”
Captain Bairstow said of the declaration: “We had 133 overs that we bowled. If you can’t bowl the team out in 133 overs, then that’s fair enough isn’t it?”
He, like McGrath, was delighted with the performance.
He said: “We dominated the game. Look, to get them nine down on day four, it’s a bloomin’ good game of Division One cricket.
“These guys have been at the top of the table, or in and around it, for a period of time now. So to take them on and play in the way that we have here (is very pleasing).
“Lythy getting his 185, George Hill getting nine wickets in the game, they’re special performances. We’re getting closer.”
Meanwhile, McGrath is expecting New Zealand fast bowler Ben Sears to have overcome a minor ankle complaint to be in contention to face champions Surrey at the Kia Oval from Friday.
He also confirmed that Australian seamer Jordan Buckingham will be in contention to play having been left out this week, with Yorkshire playing two spinners.
He added: “We’re hoping Ben’s going to be fine. He’s been up at Headingley today.
“I think he’s going to bowl for the first time on Wednesday. The rest will be a similar squad. We’ll assess the pitch and then decide our final eleven from there. Jordan was purely tactical.”
Picture by John Heald. Captain Jonny Bairstow was delighted with Yorkshire’s performance this weekend.
