Steve Patterson has reflected on what he believes was a missed opportunity for Yorkshire on day one against Championship leaders Surrey at the Oval.
After electing to bowl and having reduced Surrey to 135-5 just after lunch, including two wickets in an over for Patterson, the hosts advanced to reach close at 292-6.
England Test batter Ollie Pope hit an attacking 136 on a pitch offering seam movement.
Patterson finished the day with 4-52 from 18 overs.
“I think it was a mixed day,” said the seamer, who is playing his penultimate match for Yorkshire.
“If we’re being brutally honest, it wasn’t a particularly great day. I believe there’s more in that surface than we got out of it.
“We started well. We stayed dry early doors, and when we got those couple after lunch and they were 130-5 we could have put ourselves in a position to bowl them out for 200 or just above.
“But fair play to Pope, he played really well. He took a few calculated risks to try and put pressure back on us, and we didn’t respond very well.
“It’s a mixed position at the moment.
“If we come back tomorrow and bowl well – the new ball’s due relatively soon – we’re still very much in the game. But if we could go back to 10.30am, we’d have hoped for a slightly better day.”
Patterson, 38, claimed four wickets to take him to 487 in his first-class career.
With this match and next week’s final round against Gloucestershire at Headingley to come, he could still reach the 500-mark before leaving for pastures new – be it another county or retirement. He is yet to decide.
He added: “I think the 500 might be a touch out of reach with one game to go.
“It’s a nice number to get, but at the end of the day I’ve played 18 years of first-team cricket for Yorkshire and am chuffed to bits I’ve managed to do that.
“I’m very proud to have represented the club for that long, to have captained the club, to become a capped player, to win Championships.
“I have achieved a lot. And when I do finish, whenever that may be, it will just be a number.
“When you’re playing, you think about it. When I’ve finished, I don’t think I’ll look back too much.”
Patterson, meanwhile, was one of a number of Yorkshire players and backroom staff who headed into Central London yesterday to view the Queen’s Funeral procession.
