Steve Patterson admitted his frustration as Yorkshire “let them off the hook” on day one of the Roses clash at Headingley.
Patterson was, of course, talking about opponents Lancashire, who were reduced to 12-2 early on before recovering to 288-3 through centuries for Keaton Jennings and Steven Croft.
Jennings ended the day on 150 not out, but he was the beneficiary of three chances of varying difficultly on five, 70 and 85. Croft’s 104 also saw him dropped on five.
“It was a disappointing day in the end,” said the captain, who himself couldn’t hold onto a one-handed return catch – the latter of the trio of chances.
“It started off brightly and then a bit of a case of deja vu from there really.
“We knew it was going to be a decent surface, but we felt that if there was anything in it, it would be first morning.
“We got two early wickets and put two soft chances down after that. Realistically, they should have been 22-4 at that point. Then we drive hard from there to dominate the day. It didn’t happen.
“We gave them those chances, as I say, and as the ball became softer in the afternoon, it got harder. The pitch got slower and slower.
“We’ve let them off the hook today. We had the chance to grab it with both hands. They are a good side, as we know, and they’ve made us pay.”
Patterson led a bowling attack which included Haris Rauf, who has returned from a week out with a side niggle to play, and Tom Loten, playing his first game of the season.
“We know we’re light on bowling,” he continued.
“We have a lot of injuries and other people unavailable. The lads who are playing – Tommo and myself, Haris when he’s played – we’ve already bowled a lot of overs this year. If you’re going to win a lot of games, you can’t afford to be bowling extra overs unnecessarily.
“I think we’ve counted 17 or 18 dropped chances this year. And these are not half chances, they are genuine ones you would expect players to take. At some point, it catches up with you.”
On the state of the pitch and the game, Patterson, who finished with 0-38 from 21 overs, added: “It’s slow and there’s very little carry for anyone.
“It’s going to be hard from here. The momentum is firmly with them now, and we have to force our way back into the game.”
