Steve Patterson claimed his 450th first-class wicket as he and Ben Coad returned four apiece during a wicket filled opening day which saw Yorkshire slip from a position of significant strength against Warwickshire at Emerald Headingley.
The LV= Insurance County Championship title race has reached crunch stage, with this the penultimate round of Division One matches and both sides realistically needing to win as they chase down current leaders Nottinghamshire.
Ahead of this game, Yorkshire, on 38.5 points, were joint second with Hampshire, 10.5 behind Notts with Warwickshire fourth on 36.
Given, Notts and Hampshire are playing each other at the Ageas Bowl, a slip up for either side here could be fatal.
Warwickshire were bowled out for 155 after lunch thanks largely to the excellence of Coad and captain Patterson, who had earlier elected to bowl in anticipation of helpful conditions.
Seam more than swing proved the downfall of batsmen during a 18-wicket day which ended with the White Rose in trouble on 95-8 when bad light cut things short 12.2 overs early.
Patterson claimed 4-34 and Coad a season’s best 4-48, while England seamer Chris Woakes finished with with 3-40 for the Bears.
Gary Ballance is unbeaten on 51 and the White Rose’s main hope to get up to, or even past, the visiting total.
Warwickshire wicketkeeper Michael Burgess recorded the top score of the day with a defiant 66 off 90 balls, including nine fours and a six.
The Bears, including England’a Woakes and former Yorkshire Championship winners Tim Bresnan and Will Rhodes, lost their first three wickets with the score on 24.
Matthew Fisher made the initial breakthrough when he trapped Dom Sibley lbw for six, playing around his front pad, in the sixth over.
In the next, Coad squared up former team-mate Rhodes and got him caught behind and Sam Hain caught at point off the shoulder of the bat with successive deliveries.
Further success followed on a day which started brightly weather wise before turning overcast through the afternoon and into the evening.
Patterson then bowled Chris Benjamin offering no shot and Matt Lamb through the gate.
He later had Woakes lbw stuck on the crease for nine, 71-6 in the 20th over – and, after lunch, 17-year-old first-class debutant Jacob Bethell caught behind.
The latter was 37-year-old’s Patterson’s 450th scalp of a first-class career which began in 2005.
Earlier, Warwickshire had reached lunch on 103-7 as Bresnan was trapped lbw by one that kept low from the seam of George Hill.
In leaving Headingley last summer, Bresnan spoke about his desire to clear the path for young all-rounders such as Hill to prosper.
And this was further proof that that is exactly what the Sedbergh School graduate has done in 2021.
Coad struck twice after lunch. He had Craig Miles superbly caught one-handed by wicketkeeper Harry Duke and Burgess caught at deep mid-wicket pulling to wrap up the innings.
Burgess had scooped Coad for six as he ran out of partners and was forced to open his shoulders to boost the total.
In terms of the availability of Woakes and Yorkshire’s Dawid Malan, this match has profited from the cancellation of England’s fifth Test against India on Friday.
And Woakes won the mini battle of the international team-mates by getting the left-hander caught at point on the cut for nine as Yorkshire fell to 27-3 during the latter stages of the afternoon.
Woakes took the new ball and claimed two of the first three wickets.
He had Hill lbw half pushing forwards in the third over before Liam Norwell removed Adam Lyth in similar fashion in the next as the White Rose fell to 5-2.
Malan’s departure followed a fluent start to Ballance’s stay at the crease, and he helped reach tea at 55-3 – a deficit of exactly 100.
Ballance was 29 at tea and was reined in after tea as the Bears took further wickets, leaving Yorkshire at 64-5 in the 28th over.
Woakes trapped Brook (15) lbw playing forwards before Norwell struck again to get Dom Bess bowled on the drive for one.
Norwell, more impressive than new ball partner Woakes with 3-25, then trapped Duke lbw – 76-6 in the 30th – before Miles ended the day with the wickets of Jordan Thompson and Fisher.
Thompson was caught at mid-on pulling and Fisher caught at first slip as the score slipped to 93-8 in the 37th. Ballance had earlier reached his fifty off 93 balls and had been joined at the crease by Patterson as the light closed in.
