Yorkshire v Derbyshire at Headingley County Championship Div 2 April 26-29

Neil Whitaker reports

Day 1

ONLY 59 overs were possible on the first day at Headingley when rain stopped play with Yorkshire on 256  for three after been put in by Derbyshire.

Adam Lyth made 97 after adding 114 with Joe Root.  Root is unbeaten on 65,  Harry Brook is  on 44 and the pair are threatening to take the game away from  Derbyshire.  Root said: “I felt that I’ve not been contributing much in the games I’ve played this summer so it was a nice feeling to get some runs.  We are now in a good position and should get a decent score. They missed a few chances and we’ve capitalised on them.  It was a bit of a grind for me today and sometimes that’s what needs to be done but hopefully I can get going tomorrow.”

Brook hit consecutive fours of Zak Chappell: the first was straight and the second was drilled to the third man boundary.  He blasted Luis Reece straight for a six into the Howard stand and two balls later he showed no mercy as he drilled Reece to the long off boundary.

Root added: “ I think that  Brook  is one of England’s greatest talents in all formats of the game.  He has a cricket intelligence which is quite mature for a lad of his age. I hope that he continues tomorrow and gets a big score”

Lyth fell three short off his third Vitality Championship  century of the season when he feathered Chappell to stumper Brook Guest who made no mistake.  His 97 came from 157 balls with 15 fours and he shared in a second wicket partnership of 114 with Root.  On 17 Lyth swayed out of the way of a short ball from Kiwi Blair Tickner and ended up on his haunches. He brought his fifty up, which came from 81 balls and included nine fours when he flayed at Reece and the ball flew to the third man boundary.   Pat Brown over pitched to Lyth who    drove it elegantly to the cover boundary

Root added: “Lyth was disappointed he missed his century because he played lovely today,  he got us to the position that we’re in and that’s testament to him.”

Again it was a poor day for Derbyshire’s catching as they put four catches down bringing their dropped catches for the season to 12. Today both  openers were dropped.   First to benefit was Finlay Bean.  On  six  he edged Anuj Dal but  Aneurin Donald, who dropped two chances last week,   couldn’t hold the comfortable chance at second slip.  Bean had another life on 11 when he flashed at Tickner; this time it was Wayne Madsen at first slip who dropped the chance.

His partner Lyth had a life on 22, when he tried to turn Anuj Dal to leg but Madsen  at first slip got a hand to it but dropped it.  Lyth’s next life came when he was on 80 when he glanced  Tickner  off his legs but as Guest rolled over to take the catch he dropped the ball.

Derbyshire’s Anuj Dal said: “Putting them into bat was the right decision, so it  was frustrating to see the catches go down but no one drops catches on purpose but it’s something that we’ve got to work on.  But when you come into bowl to someone like Lyth get dropped early on. It cannot go on.  We are  learning our lessons the hard way.”

The visitors  finally caught one to dismiss Yorkshire captain Shan Masood who made an elegant 40 with all his runs coming in boundaries.  He tried to guide Reece through the slips  but Donald at second slip took the catch moving to his right.

Derbyshire eventually broke the opening partnership controversially when Bean was given out leg before to Anuj Dal as he played over a straight ball. But Bean shouldn't have been facing.  He drilled the last ball of Tickner’s over straight and Brown fielded the ball as Bean and Lyth ran three. But Brown’s back foot slide back and touched the rope as he threw the ball.  Brown appeared to signal a four but umpire Martin Saggers didn’t gave the four.

Derbyshire made one change from the team that played Leicestershire last week seamer Chappell replaced Sam Conners who has  a groin issue, which is being managed by the club’s medical team.  Yorkshire  made two  changes from their last game against Middlesex Matt Revis came in for Mickey Edwards who has a foot issue and Matthew Fisher replaced Dan Moriarty.

Day 2

HARRY  Brook hit his second Vitality Championship century of the season with both centuries coming at Headingley and shared in a fourth wicket partnership of 201 with Joe Root.

Resuming on 44, Brook wasted no time in reaching his fifty by driving Anuj Dal straight to the long on boundary for his second boundary of the morning. He  reached his second championship century of the season at Headingley when he  drove Zak Chappell off his back foot through the covers for a single.  His ton came from 102 balls with 15 fours and a six.

On 106,  he  chipped Luis Reece to Derbyshire captain David  Lloyd and another chance went down for Derbyshire.  It was so much of a dolly that Lloyd sat on the floor in embarrassment. Brook was unbeaten on 126 when Yorkshire declared on reaching 450 for their fifth batting point.

With Root,  Brook added 130 in the morning session before the partnership was broken when Root drove over one from Chappell and lost his middle stump. The partnership  failed by 32 to break the record fourth wicket partnership for Yorkshire against Derbyshire  which Root also featured in, it was in fact the last time Root played a first class match against Derbyshire when he hit 231.

Brook said: “I felt pretty good but there are still a few things I feel I can get better at.  It was nice to get some runs and spend some time in the middle.  It was class, batting with Root and I would ask him about what he would do in the same situation because he’s one of the best players to have played the game.

I think that Yorkshire have got a good enough squad to win the division but it’s about creating different opportunities in the field.  We bowled well at them at the beginning of their innings but Wayne Madsen and Brook Guest have batted well  and for Madsen to come out after snapping his webbing and bat like he did  you can only respect that.”

Root,  reversed swept Alex Thomson to the point boundary to  reach his first Championship century since 2022 when he hit 147 against Lancashire at Headingley. 

His century came from163 balls with nine fours.

Despite losing three early wickets, an unbroken  fourth wicket partnership of 167 between  Madsen and Guest rallied the Derbyshire innings.  Despite coming to the crease behind Madsen, Guest  was the first to reach his second fifty of the season. He  cut Jordan Thompson to the cover boundary to bring up his fifty and also the hundred partnership with Madsen.  He did give a chance to Yorkshire stumper Jonny Tattersall on 35 when he glanced Matthew Fisher off his hips but Tattersall couldn’t hold on to the ball.

Madsen was the more patient of the two but he did have his moments.  Batting with an injured right hand he took a couple of paces down the wicket to George Hill and lofted him over the long on boundary for a six.  Two balls later he drilled Hill straight for a boundary.  He  drove Matt Revis off his back foot to the cover boundary. His  third Championship fifty of the season came off 109 balls with nine fours and a six when he drove Ben Coad straight.

Needing 301 to avoid the follow on Derbyshire lost an early wicket in the sixth over when Harry Came pushed at Fisher and was plumb leg before.  Two balls later Lloyd edged a drive off Fisher and Bean at third slip took the catch in his midriff.

Coad got his first wicket when Reece edged a back foot drive and Bean took a sharp catch at third slip.

Reece said: “It was a great fight back, they’re both very good players and are in decent form and I hope we can carry on tomorrow and get ahead and push the game on. Madsen has had six stitches in his hand and there was a lot of blood yesterday.  He had a hit this morning and was okay about batting.  He to stick two fingers together.

It was nice to bowl at both Root and Brook but Brook took a liking to me.  I was trying put enough balls in the right areas.  We’ve not started the season as well as we would have wished, but if we had taken the catches yesterday the game would be different.”

Day 3

No play

Day 4

DERBYSHIRE’ S WAYNE Madsen, batting with an injured hand,hit his second Championship century against Yorkshire as he laid the foundation for the draw before bad light ended play early.

It was the eighth first-class  Derbyshire century scored  at Leeds, Madsen’s first at Headingley, and his 37th in all.  Madsen reached his century  when he drove Matt Revis of his back foot to the boundary. After adding another single  he slogged/swept Joe Root and Harry Brook at mid wicket was underneath it.   At that moment many thought that Derbyshire wouldn’t have saved the follow on needing another 64 with five wickets left but  they did and in some style.


Derbyshire’s head of cricket Mickey Arthur said: “It’s a nasty cut which  Madsen has got, but that’s typical of him. He just gets it done. He's an incredible professional and a very, very good player. The thing for me is that he walked out and did it under pressure. He played an innings which was very valuable for us.

A decent haul of points. I think we played our best cricket from the partnership between  Madsen and Guest onwards. That almost got us into our season because we’ve been really hampered by the weather. 

We’ve bowled and created enough opportunities, like we did last week. The thing for us is just our catching. Again, we put down too many catches behind the stumps. We did that against Leicestershire as well, and it’s something we’re really going to have to work on.”

Aneurin Donald missed out on his first Championship century for nearly five years by three runs when he  went back to cut Root got an outside edge and Jonny Tattersall snapped up the catch after sharing in an eighth wicket partnership of 109 with  Zak Chappell.

It wasn’t a faultless innings; he had a couple of heart stopping moments. Early in his innings he  edged Matthew Fisher inches past Adam Lyth at second slip to the third man boundary.  On 35  Fisher was again the unlucky bowler when Donald  edged him  but Finlay Bean at third slip diving to his left could’t hold on to the low chance.  When he was on 71 he hooked a short ball from Jordan Thompson straight to Revis on the fine leg boundary but the umpire had signalled a no ball.

Donald  made an early appearance at the crease on the final day coming in after the fall of Brooke Guest’s wicket at 11.06 and 82 minutes later he reached his fiftand saved the follow on.  He  guided Ben Coad to third man for a couple to bring up his fifty  off 68 balls with six fours.

After  Madsen’s departure, Donald  with Anuj Dal added 54. before Anuj Dal  was trapped on the crease by Thompson was plumb leg before. On the stroke of lunch Alex Thomson chipped Jordan Thompson to Bean at short mid wicket.

Playing his Vitality Championship match of the season Chappell played a swashbuckling innings reaching  his fifty In fantastic style by sweeping Root over the square leg boundary for a six. His fifty came off 48 balls with six fours and two sixes.

He hadn’t stopped there with the sixes, he drove Root over the mid wicket boundary clearing the fielder and pulled the next ball over the square leg to get their fourth batting point.  Going for another big hit proved to be his downfall. He got an top edge to slogg and the ball flew in the air with Bean at gully standing underneath it

More noted for his bowling than his batting, Pat Brown beat his previous best first class score of five when he smashed Root over the long on boundary for a six.  Root got his third wicket when Brown missed  a sweep and was leg before.

After Sunday's play was washed out Derbyshire added three to their overnight score befor Fisher sent Guest’s off stump cartwheeling out of the ground.  With Madsen, Guest added 170 for the fourth wicket with Guest hitting 75, his  best score of the season beating the unbeaten 72 he made at Cardiff.

Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson said: “We looked to set something up with them but they didn’t show any interest, we wanted to set them 400 in 80 overs but we’ve come out of the game with maximum bowling points.  It wasn’t the kind of pitch we wanted to play on but we have to be more creative to take wickets, but at home we want more assistance from the pitch.

To get out of this division you have to try to win games and be creative to create opportunities to win games.  I am still confident of going up, we are brave enough to say we want to win division two and win every game we play. I think we are playing well but the weather hasn’t helped us, but we are in a performance business and winning makes everyone smile but division two is a tough division to get out of.”

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