County Championship Lancashire v Yorkshire September 5-8th

Neil Whitaker reports from Old Trafford

Day 1

AT 3.00 on the first day of the Roses match at Emirates Old Trafford, Yorkshire looked a beaten side, they had failed to take a wicket and Lancashire were heading towards 170 and a big first innings score  then 21 year old George Hill engineered one of the greatest comebacks in Roses history.

Hill ended the day with six wickets for 21 and he took five of them for five runs in 41 balls after the umpires had changed the ball after it had got wet.  He got his first wicket when Luke Wells pulled him to Mathew Waite at deep square leg who took an awkward diving forward. 

The ball after Keaton Jennings and Josh  Bohannon had brought up their fifty partnership Hill struck again. He beat Jennings’ outside edge and the ball clattered into his off stump. Hill got his third wicket when Bohannon sliced a drive and Fin Bean took a low catch at short cover.  Two overs later Hill got his fourth wicket when  Dane Villas tried to turn him to leg but got an outside edge and the ball flew to Tom Kohler-Cadmore at slip, who stuck out his left hand with his weight going to his right.

The same two combined for the next wicket.  Steven Croft was squared up by Hill who took his outside edge and Kohler-Cadmore took a great low catch at first slip. Before he had scored Croft chipped Waite to  Adam Lyth, it looked to be a dolly but the ball deflected off Lyth’s hands into his face and Lyth had to leave the field. Croft drove the next ball to the long off boundary.

Four balls after  Croft’s  dismissal Hill angled one across the left handed George Balderson and Kohler-Cadmore took a comfortable catch.  Hill had taken five wickets for 20.

Hill said: “The’re my best bowling figures in any cricket.  I just kept running in and hitting the right areas because I am not the quickest I try to be consistent and I’m feeling pretty good at the moment  because I haven’t bowled in a while.  The ball that got changed was a lot harder. After I got my second wicket I said to  Jonny Tattersall to get me off and put the strike bowlers on. I think that if we can get them out for 320 then we are in the game.”

Before Hill’s wickets Jennings became the first player from either county to hit four successive centuries against their arch rivals.

Jennings said: “I didn’t know that. When I was at Durham, Yorkshire was the game you always wanted to win.  They were a tough side and as a young lad you want to get runs against the best side. So I’m really thankful that I’m putting those performances in now for this side. “

He has now scored 603 runs in four knocks   against Yorkshire after his 114, 132 & 238 and now 119. Those Lancashire players who scored there were Geoff Pullar who  scored three hundreds in consecutive innings against Yorkshire in 1959-60: 109, 105 & 121 and Clive Lloyd three centuries in four innings against Yorkshire between 1979-1981 scoring 103, 0 (run out!!), 101 & 145.  For Yorkshire Herbert Sutcliffe hit four centuries in five successive innings and Geoffrey Boycott hit three   centuries in four innings twice.

Jennings reached his ton when pushed Hill, out on to the offside for a quick single.  His century came from 220 balls with 11 fours and a six.

For the first time since the first Championship match of the season Lancashire skipper Vilas  won the toss and he decided to bat  with a side that included four spinners if you include Croft.  Yorkshire were captained by Tattersall who also kept wicket replacing Harry Duke.  Former captain Steve Patterson played his first championship match since he lost the captaincy.

Before lunch Wells dominated the opening partnership.  After scoring 17 in 11 overs Wells drove Jordan Thompson for consecutive fours to the extra cover boundary. In the 18th he hit consecutive fours off Waite, the first to long on boundary and the second he flicked off his legs to the mid wicket boundary.

Wells took a couple of steps down the pitch to Dom  Bess and launched him over long off for the first six of the match.  Yorkshire should have got rid of Wells in  the next  over when he was on 43, and  he chipped the next ball to Patterson at mid on who dropped a dolly.  

After lunch Jennings caught Wells up not only with the runs scored but in balls faced and reached his fifty from 119 balls with five fours when he pushed Bess for a single.  

It was now Wells’ turn to watch the runs flow from the bat of Jennings. Jennings hit Patterson over mid off to the boundary and he lofted the next ball to the long off boundary.  He finished the over with a delicate late cut to the third man boundary.

Jennings took a couple of steps down the pitch to  Bess and lofted him over long on for a six to take him to 3,000 first class runs for Lancashire at an average of 45.  He drilled Thompson just wide off Bean at cover point to the long off boundary for the shot of the day.

He reached his fifty in the second over after lunch when he flicked Bess off his legs for a single.  His fifty came from 87 balls with six fours and a six. An inside edge to the fine leg boundary off Thompson took him to 99. He pushed Hill out into the offside for a quick single to bring up his ton which came from 220 balls and included 11 fours and a six.

In the penultimate over of the day Ben  Coad struck twice in two balls when he had Tom Hartley leg before and Tom Bailey caught behind.

Day 2

FINLAY Bean on his championship debut top scored for Yorkshire with 42 on the second day.

The 20 year old born in Harrogate and plays for York cricket club,came to prominence when he hit 441 for the second team against Nottinghamshire, after that score he played for Yorkshire in the RL Cup. He opened the innings and it took him 19 balls to get off the mark against the accurate bowling of Tom Bailey and Will Williams. Six balls after he got off the mark he hit the first of two boundaries off Williams in three balls: the first a  fortuitous edge through the slips, the second was a glorious drive to the long off boundary.

Bean said: “It shows that I can do it at this level.  The nerves were going when I went out to bat but when I was out there it was just great to be out there.  It was a long 19 balls before I got off the mark.

I played for Yorkshire’s academy and then I left the game to be a mechanic so I am fortunate to have been given a second chance.  I wasn’t expecting to play here but I got the nod.  My dad was supposed to be coming but I told him not to come on Tuesday because of the forecast. I said to Matthew Fisher ‘It’s a bit different to Saturday cricket’. That 441 will probably ever happen again and it was my first match in the second team.”

His opening partner was Adam Lyth which came as a surprise after he deflected the ball into his face yesterday and he  survived numerous appeals for leg before off Williams, eventually the Kiwi got Lyth when he gloved Williams to Josh Bohannon at forward short leg.  Bean added: “ It was great to open with Lyth because I have always  admired him.  I’ve grown up as an opener but I am flexible about where I bat.”

George Hill and Bean began to blunt the Lancashire attack. Hill had a life before he scored when he  edged George Balderson but stumper George Lavelle couldn’t make the catch diving to his right. It was a ball that he had to go for because the ball wouldn’t have reached Luke  Wells at first slip.

After 17.2 overs Lancashire managed to get the ball changed, hoping to get the same result as Yorkshire did on the first ball. Lancashire did get a wicket but it was 12 overs after the ball was changed.  Hill and Bean added a patient 63 in 23 overs and looked good to add more.  The partnership was broken when Matt  Parkinson turned one off the pitch that beat Hill and bowled him.

Bean said: “I said to Hill that we’ve got to take time out of the game but he got a good ball.”

As Bean edged closer to a fifty on he was beaten by a yorker from Bailey that tailed in at him and he was plumb leg before. Bean said: “It was a good ball that got me.”

Tom Kohler-Cadmore got off the mark when he smashed Parkinson for a straight six. In Parkinson’s next over Kohler-Cadmore thumped to the extra cover boundary to bring up the Yorkshire hundred. The next Yorkshire boundary came 17 overs later when Kohler-Cadmore cut   Balderson to the point boundary. That was the last action in the day as the umpires took the players off for bad light and 36 overs were lost on the day.

Williams and  Bailey dried the Yorkshire runs up  by bowling  straight but Kohler-Cadmore tried to disturb their rhythms eventually they got their reward when Will Fraine left one that kissed the off bail. 

 Play on the second day didn’t get underway until 12.55 because of heavy morning rain.  Lancashire added one to their overnight score before they lost Lavelle when Thompson found his edge after squaring him up to give Jonny Tattersall an easy catch.

Parkinson pushed forward at Ben  Coad and was adjudged leg before and Lancashire were all out for 276, quite a few runs short off what they looked like getting.

Day 3

YORKSHIRE captain Jonny Tattersall took off his stumper’s pads and gloves, came on to bowl and took a wicket in his first over but Yorkshire face an uphill battle to win this Roses match as Lancashire lead by 224 with eight wickets left.

Lancashire openers Luke Wells and Keaton Jennings put on186 in 28 overs, their second century partnership of their match as they came out with guns blazing to give Lancashire time to bowl Yorkshire out on the final day and realistically keep their title hopes alive.

Wells who hit 124 batted like a man possessed as he plundered the Yorkshire bowlers to and over the boundary. Their fifty partnership came off 50 balls, in the first innings it took them 17.5 overs and their hundred partnership came off 86 balls. Wells dabbed Steve  Patterson through third man for a couple to bring up his fifty from 29 balls with three fours and three sixes.

With 49 overs left in the day Wells quickly hit 17 off 13 balls including a straight six off Jordan Thompson.  He flicked Thompson off his hips into the party stand for his second six. Ben Coad was also hit by Wells for a six, this time it was a straight six into the pavilion and Wells was so pleased with the shot that  he held the pose. He danced down the wicket to Dom Bess and smashed him over long on for another six.  With the prospect of being hit by the fastest Roses century Yorkshire skipper Tattersall had three men on the legside boundary.

Wells flicked Patterson off his legs for a six over fine leg. He hooked Thompson for a single to bring up his hundred off 65 balls in 84 minutes with five sixes and nine fours.  The second fastest Lancastrian Roses century.  On 124 he went to smash Bess over mid wicket to add to his six sixes but this time he found Will Fraine on the boundary edge

Wells said: ““It was obviously good fun. The game and season situation dictated that we needed to do something with the time we had available and dark clouds rolling over. We knew we didn’t have much time to force a lead that could give us something to bowl at. Probably I wasn’t expecting to score quite that quickly!  I just felt in a good groove, got a few out of the middle of the bat and went with it. I’ve felt in good nick for a while and have struck the ball quite nicely.  

The first innings was a bit of a graft but the conditions had changed a little bit. I think they might have expected the pitch to do a little bit more than it did. So it was a combination of those factors. 

Jennings just let me go with it. The rate I was scoring at took the pressure off him. So he didn’t feel like he had to go and blast away.  It’s a short boundary and we just tried to put the spinner under pressure.  We were still scoring at more than seven runs per over and he didn’t say much to be honest. He just let me get on with it and it worked for the best today.”

On 34 Jennings chipped Thompson to Matt Waite at mid wicket but he couldn’t hold on to it.  He pulled Patterson off his front foot for a six to bring up his fifty from 70 balls with four fours and that six.

Tattersall said: “It wasn’t an ideal day just how it goes some days but credit to them. We knew that the session before tea was going to be a big session  and they came out and played some unbelievable shots.”

After the 31st over Tattersall gave his stumper’s pads and gloves to Tom  Kohler-Canmore and he was soon in action. Josh  Bohannon went down the pitch to Bess, missed the ball and was easily stumped by Kohler-Cadmore.

The reason for the change behind the stumps was soon clear when Tattersall came on to bowl for the first time in championship cricket and got the wicket of Jennings. Jennings reversed swept him bowling leg spin and Coad at backward point ran in from point  to take the catch. Dane Villas faced one ball before play was abandoned for the day due to bad light.

Tattersall said: “The main reason I came on was to try and get the over rate up. I told the lads that it was a top spinner, but it was the last roll of the dice and we were running out of ideas.  If I had two slips in, I would have got two wickets.  For the seamers it was hard work on that pitch. We didn’t have any other options; it wasn't doing anything for the seamers.”

After four balls in the morning the  Lancashire bowlers  wanted the ball changed and the umpires agreed so the second ball lasted 36.4 overs, twice as long as the first. Kohler-Cadmore  went down the pitch to Will Williams to smash him over long off but got a thick outside edge and the ball flew over the slips to the third man boundary.

The ball change produced a wicket when Tattersall hit two fours in an over from Williams: the first through mid wicket and the second along the ground to the third man boundary but he feathered the last ball to George Lavelle. Waite followed a widish ball from Tom Bailey and tickled it to Lavelle.

Kohler-Cadmore pulled George Balderson to the mid wicket boundary to take him two short off his fifty which came from 121 balls with one six and six fours.  He then took  17 balls to reach 51 as he and Bess got tied down by Matt  Parkinson and Tom Hartley, when he  top edged a sweep off Parkinson and Hartley, at backward square leg, who appeared to be late in going for it took a diving catch at deep square leg.

Lancashire took the new ball immediately it was due and struck with the fifth ball when Thompson mistimed a pull off Bailey and the ball looped to Villas at mid on. Bailey got his 300th first class wicket when Bess,who got off the mark by pulling Bailey to the square leg boundary, top edged a pull and the ball went high to Balderson who took the catch at square leg.  Bailey’s figures with the new ball were two for 10 in five overs and in the innings he ended up with four for 56.

Coad and Patterson defied the Lancashire bowlers for 72 minutes adding a valuable 36 reducing Lancashire’s lead to 21. The pair had to face an extra eight overs before lunch  because of the fall of the ninth wicket
.
Patterson cut Hartley to the point boundary for his first boundary after 63 balls and the ball was promptly lost under the party stand. The new ball did its trick in the next over when Coad went to drive Parkinson over long off but got a leading edge and Steven Croft took the catch at backward point.

Tattersall said: “Coad and Patterson played really well and it could turn out to be vital because of the time that they took out of the game.  We didn’t show in our innings what we are capable of but there is still a lot of cricket to be played tomorrow and hopefully we can come out with something.  There were a few soft dismissals and we’ve got to be better than that.”

Day 4

THE 224th Championship Roses match ended in a draw thanks to stubborn 83  minute fourth wicket partnership between Tom Kohler-Cadmore  and Will Fraine and the rain which came at 4.11 which forced the players off the field and the match was abandoned as a draw 27 minutes later.

Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson said: “We’ll take the draw but the feeling is that we did do enough to get into it.  When we got them out for 276  we felt that we needed to bat big and only once but we didn’t have enough partnerships to get past their score. But we have to find ways to win matches, we have drawn too many matches for my liking. I thought Luke Wells’ innings yesterday was the turning point in the game, but I am proud of the way that Kohler-Cadmore and Fraine batted today.

I thought that Finlay Bean had a good debut and that innings will do him the world of good for the rest of the season.  A roses match is a big match and they have a decent attack on a sluggish pitch and he bats time. I can see him making runs for us in the rest of the season.”

In the morning Lancashire declared after 36 minutes adding 77 in 10 overs, setting Yorkshire 302 in 84 overs.  Lancashire showed their intent to score quick runs and getting Yorkshire in by scoring eight off the first over.  Captain Dane Vilas reversed shovelled Ben  Coad over the head of the slips for a four,

On 12, Steven  Croft chipped Coad to Steve Pattterson at mid off but after two attempts he couldn’t take the catch.  After adding 56 in seven overs Villas went back to cut Dom Bess but he lost his off stump.  He stopped on his way  back to the  dressing room to pass on instructions to Croft.

George Lavelle skied Jonny Tattersall and Fraine at mid on took a good catch to give Tattersall his second wicket of the match.

Adam Lyth hit the first ball of Yorkshire’s second innings from Tom Bailey to Josh Bohannon at short leg.  The ball hit Bohannon’s midriff but he couldn’t react quickly  enough to catch the rebound.

Yorkshire lost their first wicket in the 12th over when Lyth had a big drive at Will Williams and edged him to Lavelle.  Left arm spinner Tom Hartley got his first wicket in his second over when George Hill edged him and Vilas took a low catch moving to his right at second slip.

After lunch with Hartley and Matt Parkinson bowling in tandem Vilas set attacking fields.  Hartley bowled with four men around the bat and Parkinson with three men so there were opportunities for Yorkshire to attack. Parkinson dropped one short at Bean who pulled him to  the boundary.

Lancashire thought they had got rid off Kohler-Cadmore on 21 when Keaton Jennings caught him at short leg off Hartley but Kohler-Cadmore was unmoved.  The umpires consulted and ruled that Kohler-Cadmore had hit the ball into the ground.

Bean’s 82 ball stubborn innings of 25 ended when Hartley too found the edge of his and Lavelle took his second catch of the innings. Hartley and Parkinson bowled 23 overs in 70 minutes after lunch.

When Vilas reverted back to seam both Williams and Bailey got the ball to rise at Kohler-Cadmore and Fraine.  When  Kohler-Cadmore was on 28 he was hit on the right thumb by a rising ball from Williams.

When the rain came  the partnership between Kohler-Canmore and Fraine had added 35 in 29 overs with Kohler-Cadmore  unbeaten on 34 and Fraine not out on 18.

Gibson added: “We talked about being positive and keeping the scoreboard moving to give ourselves a chance of going for 130 in the final session.”

Lancashire head coach Glenn Chapple said: “I think we played pretty good cricket for the majority of the game.  Maybe we’d have  liked to get more runs after the partnership we had in the first innings. We were 180 for none and in an ideal world we would have made more runs. Then the weather came in a little bit and it started to do a bit. They bowled quite well for a period.” 

We made 280 in 43 overs and set them 302 in 84 overs which for me is 50-50 game.I don’t know what more you can do. It was flat enough to block if you wanted to.  But that was a fair target. We’d have got 300 on that no problem, but  we can’t judge how positive (other) teams are going to be.  

I suppose we are at the stage of the season where a win is not that important, but to set any less would have been giving the game away.  On a pitch like that you might need a bit more pace in the attack. We’ve got our best bowlers out there and I thought everyone bowled well.  You just need a breakthrough when you can. 

Wells’ innings was amazing. That just shows the pitch is good. You’ve got to play out of your skin to do that and take chances. But his shot execution and power was unbelievable. And that showed what can be done on that surface. We scored at seven runs per over comfortably.   It was a brilliant innings and it put us in with a shout and given two teams with an appetite for a win it would have been a great game. 

We’ve worked too hard to let our standards slip. We’ll come out in our last two games to try and win those and see where that takes us.”  





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September 7, 2022 10:53 pm

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