Yorkshire fought hard with ball and then bat on day two against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl today in their bid to fend off Hampshire’s pursuit of an opening round Rothesay County Championship victory.
After being bowled out for 121 during the early stages of the opening afternoon, Jonny Bairstow’s side have played some impressive cricket to try and prevent Hampshire from taking a stranglehold on this Division One fixture. But it looks like their early collapse on day one has left them with too much to do.
A Hampshire win is not quite a certainty yet, though it would take something remarkable from Yorkshire to prevent it.
Yorkshire bowled the hosts out for 249 during the second morning after Hampshire had started on 164-5. Seamers George Hill and Jack White finished with three wickets apiece to limit the deficit to 128 runs when the Headingley side started their second innings just after lunch.
The White Rose cleared that debt during the first half of the evening during another gloriously sunny Southampton day, and they closed on 189-6 from 65 overs with a lead of 61. Captain Bairstow and opener Adam Lyth, particularly patient, were central to the revival on a slow pitch, ending with 56 off 108 balls and 57 not out from 192 respectively. They shared an 105 inside 37 either side of tea for the fourth wicket.
Picture by John Heald. Adam Lyth defends en-route to his unbeaten half-century.
Their partnership was very much a battling affair against a tight home attack, and it was not without fortune. Bairstow was dropped on six, 13, and 19.
Lyth only scored 13 runs in his first 100 balls.
Credit should go to Hampshire’s bowlers, especially new ball pair Brad Wheal and Kyle Abbott.
Yorkshire were 4-2 only nine balls into their second innings, which started immediately after lunch, and they later fell to 53-3 in the 17th over. Scotland quick Wheal claimed all three and finished the day with 4-41 from 12 overs.
He had Fin Bean caught at mid-on, James Wharton trapped lbw and Malan caught behind, the latter for 37.
Picture by John Heald. Jonny Bairstow pulls to reach his fifty.
While South African overseas Abbott didn’t strike, he maintained a vice-like grip on the scoring rate as he bowled nine maidens in his 14 overs, conceding 12 runs.
Bairstow offered a return catch to left-arm spinner Liam Dawson on six before pulling pacer Sonny Baker out to deep backward square-leg, where the chance burst through the hands of Nick Gubbins and struck the fielder on the head before ricocheting for six.
The ball afterwards, sub fielder Joe Weatherley dropped a catch diving forward from the same fielding position after Bairstow had top-edged an aborted pull shot.
At the stage, Yorkshire were 81-3 during the second half of the afternoon, still trailing by 47.
It took Lyth until the 41st over of the innings to find the boundary, indicating his style of innings.
Picture by John Heald. Jonny Bairstow completes the run out of Toby Albert.
Bairstow reached his fifty midway through the evening session, off 92 balls, by which stage Yorkshire were 14 runs ahead at 142-3. They were right back in the game.
Unfortunately, two wickets in an over from X-Factor fast bowler Sonny Baker changed the complexion somewhat, as he rocked back Bairstow’s middle stump and bowled George Hill for four, leaving the score at 162-5 after 53 – Yorkshire 34 in front.
Devonian Baker, 22, was a winter signing from Somerset and is on his Championship debut this week. He made his first-class debut for England Lions against Australia A in January and is someone the national management are hugely excited about.
Lyth went on to reach his fifty off 176 balls, by which time the White Rose were 179-5 inside the day’s final 10 overs – a lead of 51.
However, Wheal struck again when he had Luxton caught behind down leg – 187-6 in the 61st over. Nightwatchman Ben Cliff will begin day three alongside Lyth.
Picture by John Heald. Jack White celebrates trapping Brett Hampton lbw this morning.
At the start of the day, Yorkshire’s bowlers chipped away at Hampshire’s middle and lower order, preventing them from getting a batting point at 250 in the process.
Toby Albert was first to go when he was run out by a combination of Will Luxton at mid-wicket and Bairstow behind the stumps. Dawson had tucked Dom Bess into the leg-side and tried to pinch a quick single – 176-6 in the 66th over.
Bess, bowling from around the wicket, then trapped a sweeping Dawson lbw, the first of four lbws to finish the innings.
White removed Brett Hampton, Ben Coad got Abbott for his first wicket of the season and Hill got last man Baker to leave Hampshire captain Ben Brown stranded on 49.
Yorkshire were without injured fast bowler Cliff in the field today, giving extra weight to the efforts of Coad (1-66 from 24 overs), White (3-51 from 19), Hill (3-36 from 18.2) and Bess (2-76 from 23).
