Rich Pyrah, Yorkshire’s bowling coach, hailed one of the county’s best performances of the season with the ball as they gained the advantage on day one against Somerset at Taunton.
South African overseas spinner Keshav Maharaj led the way with 5-54 to bowl the hosts out for 199 in the early stages of the evening, but the four seamers used all backed him up and struck.
Steve Patterson took the new ball and made the initial morning breakthrough, while Duanne Olivier claimed two wickets in five balls during his first two overs. Ben Coad and Tim Bresnan also chipped in with a wicket apiece.
There was a touch of frustration that Somerset recovered from 85-6 to threaten 200 on a pitch which is taking turn, as there also was with the late departure of Gary Ballance as the White Rose closed on 70-3.
But Pyrah said: “All in all, it has been a good day.
“It was disappointing to lose Gary at the end there. If we’d have gone in two down, it would have been a really good day. But keeping them to just over 2.5 runs per over on there is quite good. It’s a quick-scoring ground.
“I thought we controlled it really well. All in all, pretty happy.”
The former all-rounder continued: “We spoke this morning about there potentially being a bit in the pitch.
“We went with Patto opening the bowling to give us that control with a bit of nibble.
“It also suited Duanne as well, him coming on with a bit less pressure on him and being able to just run in and bowl quick.
“The (full) lengths he bowled today were probably as good as he has done all year.
“As a collective, I think it’s right up there with the best we’ve bowled.”
Maharaj has now taken 33 wickets in four and a half Championship appearances for Yorkshire, including 15 of those in the two games against Somerset this season.
This is his last appearance of the summer before resuming international duty with South Africa. They have a Test series in India starting on October 2.
“Kesh has been brilliant,” said Pyrah.
“It’s such a big advantage having a spinner who can go from one end and you can rotate your seamers from the other.
“He has control, he spins the ball, and the way he changes his pace is a delight to watch. Five-for again, he’s world-class.”
Somerset skipper Tom Abell (66) and Jamie Overton (40 not out) shared 51 for the ninth wicket side of tea to give the hosts a much needed boost.
“It was frustrating, but they played well and counter-attacked, especially Jamie Overton. It shows you can score runs on this pitch. It’s not a minefield,” added Pyrah.
“We also showed that positive intent at the start of our innings. Lythy got us going. He got a good ball, which was unfortunate.
“To go in at 70-2 with our rock, Gary, there would have been nice. But if we have a good first hour in the morning, we’ll be on top.”
