County Championship Yorkshire v Essex at Headingley June 3-6th

Yorkshire v Essex at Headingley June 3-6th

Neil Whitaker reports

Day 2

ONLY 39 overs were possible on the second day of the Yorkshire/Essex Specsavers County Championship match at Emerald Headingley.

Dominic Bess hit his highest score for Yorkshire giving his parent club Somerset a reminder of his batting credentials was unbeaten on 91.  If he had made it to the century it would have been only his second first class century, he hit his first ironically against Essex for MCC last year.

When he came into bat on the first day Yorkshire were beginning to wobble at 252 for six after they had been 224 for two and were in danger of being bowled out for less than 300 which would have swung the first innings Essex way.  On the second morning it took him nearly six overs to add to his overnight score. He toe ended a drive off Jamie Porter just wide of Simon Harmer’s outstretched right hand at second slip.

 He could have reached his century and many Yorkshire fans would say he should have but at the beginning of what turned out to be the last over he took a single off Sam Cook leaving Duanne Olivier to face the rest of the over.  Olivier made it to the fourth ball of the over when attempted to drive Sam Cook and Harmer at second slip took the catch on his knees.

Bess reached his first fifty for  Yorkshire when he steered Sam Cook into the covers for a couple after he had thudded the previous ball to the mid wicket boundary.

He said: “If you had said to us before play started that we were going to get 300 plus we would have taken it.  The ball is was doing a bit and I never felt in.  It was to get in and face a lot of balls. My and Jonny Tattersall talked about sticking in because their bowlers today bowled nicely in the right areas so we decided not to go searching for the ball.  In fact my first scoring shot was a nick through the slips.”

Resuming on 289/6 it took Yorkshire nearly four overs to get the scoreboard moving when Tattersall drove Sam Cook through extra cover for a couple.  They lost their first wicket of the day in the 17th over of the day when Tattersall top edged a cover drive off Ravi Bopara giving stumper Will Buttleman a simple catch.  Tattersall and Bess had added 90 in 32 overs for the seventh wicket.

Yorkshire skipper Steven Patterson delicately swept Harmer to the fine leg boundary.  With Bess he added 37 vital runs for the eighth wicket in only eight overs until Porter squared him up and was leg before.

Ben Coad tried driving Porter without moving his feet and edged him to Sir Alastair Cook at first slip who took a great catch diving to his right.  Bess added: “Patterson was very good with the bat and I know that both Coad and Olivier can bat so I wasn’t worried.”

Yorkshire got an early breakthrough in the third over when Sir Alastair Cook pushed at Coad and edged him to Tom Kohler-Cadmore at second slip. Bess said: “To get Cook’s wicket was massive for us and we’ve got two full days to get 19 wickets.  We are in a good position.”

Bess who is the third game of his four match  loan spell from Somerset is just happy to be playing first team cricket. “I am enjoying my time here and it’s nice to get back playing first team cricket and showing everyone what I can do.  I am always pushing myself.   Back at Somerset I’d say to our captain Tom Abell push me up the order and I’ll even open the innings even though we’ve got Marcus Trescothick. I was so desperate to play, but if you don’t ask you don’t get. I am always pushing myself and wherever I am I want to play first team cricket.

I am looking my time here at Yorkshire and they have been very good to me and I now know what the Yorkshire competitiveness means.  It has been a big learning curve for me coming here but I am happy to have been given the opportunities and I am taking them.  I am here at Yorkshire and I want to win with Yorkshire it’s as simple as that.”

After England’s poor fielding performance in the World Cup yesterday Bess said: “I always pride myself on my fielding.”

Essex head coach former Yorkshire player Anthony McGrath said: “I think everyone was expecting it to rain today and we did well to get one session in.  After the first session yesterday, we did well to fight back.  Yorkshire batted well today. It looks a good wicket, and this is the fastest outfield we’ve played on this season.  We’ve got two days left  and we have to bat well in the first innings. We are pretty happy with our efforts so far. Simon Harmer showed what a good bowler he is.”

Last week Cook scored 125 and 90 against Kent and today he only got two, McGrath said: “That’s the pitfalls of being an opening batsman against the new ball. He only lasted six balls but it gives Nick Browne and Tom Westley a chance tomorrow.”

Yesterday Essex wanted to bat first and had a toss which Yorkshire won and decided to bat McGrath added: “We wanted to bat first because it was a ice sunny day and I know from time here that it was the best time to bat and the wicket looked good but we weren’t too disappointed when we lost the toss because whatever you do you have to do well.”

Essex gave a Championship debut to 19 year old wicket keeper Buttleman because of the injuries to their wicket keepers and McGrath said: “I think there is a curse on our wicket keepers with the the injuries that they’ve had but I thought Will did well, an academy player on a Test ground.

Day 3

ESSEX avoided the follow on after they had lost five wickets for 65 runs in 29 overs and they ended the third day 138 behind Yorkshire.

Tom Westley top scored with his highest championship score of the season of 77 despite being hit on his helmet when he had made 17.  He became the 10th batsman this season to be hit on the helmet by Duanne Olivier when he  ducked into a short ball.

David  Willey bowling around the wicket had a strong leg before appeal turned down against Westley but Westley had his revenge in Willey‘ s next over when he flicked him off his legs to the fine leg boundary to bring up his fifty.

In the next over Westley launched Dom Bess straight into the Northeast stand and drilled the next ball to the extra cover boundary. His best shot of his innings, which ended  when he was squared by Willey and took his outside edge to give Jonny Tattersall an easy catch, was a beautiful cover drive off Willey.

With Nick Browne they frustrated the Yorkshire bowlers for 18 overs until Browne pushed forward at Bess and played down the wrong line and was leg before, the first of his three wickets.

The departure of Westley brought in Ravi Bopara who also played one of his best innings of the season but with a fifty beckoning he fell six runs short. How Yorkshire must have wished that his drive off Ben Coad on two had been a bit wider because a diving Willey at short cover would have swallowed it.

Bopara‘ s innings was beautiful to watch but his dissmissal was ugly. He played an ugly shot to a short ball from Olivier as he tried to pull him from outside his off stump got a bottom edge to it and lost his off stump.

After the partnership of 94 between Westley and Browne the best partnership was between Bopara and Dan Lawrence with these two at the crease it looked like Essex would easily save the follow on.  Despite batting for 118 minutes Lawrence only faced 62 balls for his 21 but importantly he added 58 for three fourth wicket in 13 overs.  The fifty partnership was brought up when Bopara drove Steven Patterson straight past the bowler. It was broken when Lawrence drilled Olivier off his legs to Will Fraine at short mid wicket.  

Skipper Ryan Ten Doeschate came and went for a duck, he pushed forward at Bess and edged him to Adam  Lyth at slip.  

Will Buttleman on his debut faced 37 balls for his duck.  When he came in the 19 year old had to face Olivier bowling at great speed, not a pleasant experience, all he wanted to do was avoid being hit.  With Simon  Harmer they batted nine successive maidens either side of tea before Harmer got a single off Bess. That single got Buttleman out of Wiley’s firing line but he was soon back in it. His end came when he edged a drive off Willey to Tattersall and Essex were still 44 off saving the follow on.

They should have been eight down two balls later when Aussie Peter  Siddle copied Buttleman’s shot but this time Tattersall spilled the catch.

Harmer’ s 78 minutes of resistance for his 18 ended when he edged Bess and Lyth at slip took a low catch at the second attempt moving to his left.

Siddle went down the wicket to Bess and drove him to the extra cover boundary. After Yorkshire had taken the new ball the umpires decided the light was too bad and took the players off. 50 minutes later they reappeared and 14 overs were lost.  In the third over after the the restart Essex lost their ninth wicket when Patterson took the shoulder of Jamie Porter’s bat and Kohler-Cadmore at first slip took the catch. Siddle saved the follow on with a straight six of Patterson.

Scorecard

June 5, 2019 12:00 am

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