Fin Bean is hoping to push on from another LV= Insurance County Championship hundred as he looks to further cement his place at the top of Yorkshire’s order.
Bean, 21, scored an outstanding 114 off 153 balls in Yorkshire’s commanding 393-6 on day one against Gloucestershire at Headingley today.
It was the left-hander’s second century of the four-day summer and the second of a first-class career which only started last September.
A batter from York on a rookie contract at Headingley, Bean is still making his way at senior level.
But the signs are looking extremely good for a long and prosperous career facing up against the new ball.
This knock followed the 118 he scored in the very first innings of the season against Leicestershire at Headingley in early April.
“It’s nice to back up my first score from my first game of the season, and that’s the biggest thing – to consistently score hundreds. Hopefully that’s what I can do now,” he said.
“I felt really good. I’d like to think my concentration is my biggest asset. I just felt good today, and it’s a nice wicket to bat on.
“With these Kookaburra balls, there’s not much off the seam, but there was a bit in the air early on. That’s the biggest thing we spoke about – just getting through the swing and pile them on like we did. Onto tomorrow now and see what we can do.
“We’ll try and get the maximum batting points from here. I’m not sure what we’ll do declaration wise. That would be the plan. It will definitely be important with this Kookaburra ball to strike early with it.”
Bean also praised fellow centurion George Hill, who scored 101 – his first hundred of the summer.
“Hilly obviously got a ton in the second team last week, so for him to back that up today is brilliant. He looked in good order,” said Bean, who did admit to a tinge of disappointment having pulled pacer Zaman Akhter down deep square-leg’s throat to fall during the afternoon.
He said: “On days like this when things are going your way, you need to make hay. So I was a bit disappointed with that. But a hundred’s a hundred.”
And on that aim for the next few days, Bean added: “If we can make it back-to-back wins and get on a roll like we did in the T20s, that would be nice. That first win puts everyone at ease, so hopefully we can keep going.”
Meanwhile, Ottis Gibson has revealed Ben Coad is missing this match for personal reasons and Jordan Thompson is resting a sore ankle.
