Yorkshire v Lancashire

Bob Willis Trophy Yorkshire v Lancashire at Headingley August 22nd -25th

The Roses Match

Neil Whitaker reports

Day 2

ADAM Lyth top scored for Yorkshire with an unbeaten 86 day two of the Roses match when all the batsmen had trouble getting the ball away while the Lancashire bowlers bowled well without getting any luck.

Lancashire’s Tom Bailey will have a sleepless night wondering how he didn’t get more than the one wicket he did. At one stage in the morning session he had only conceded 14 runs in seven overs with four maidens.  

Bailey finally got his reward for some good bowling when Keaton Jennings took a brilliant low catch to his left to dismiss Tom Kohler-Cadmore.  He should have got rid of Kohler-Canmore on nine when he got a thick edge and stumper Alex Davies dove in front of Jennings at first slip but couldn’t hold on to it.

Lyth rocked back to George Burrows making his first class debut and pulled a him for a flat six. Two balls later the opener cut Burrows to the cover boundary to bring up the fifty partnership in 10 overs.  Lyth went to leave one from George Balderson but the ball came back in at him, found the edge of the bat and on to the stumps. The England under 19 captain thought he had got his first wicket but as he turned he saw the outstretched arm of umpire Peter Hartley signalling a no ball.

Lyth said: “You need luck. Batting here is never easy, but getting bowled off a no ball helps!”

He worked Bailey off his pads for a single to bring up his second fifty in the competition off 130 balls with eight fours and a six in 171 minutes.    When Jennings came on to bowl Lyth drove an half volley from to the cover boundary for the shot of the day.

Yorkshire went into lunch four down. Will Fraine was caught on the crease as he tried to drive Danny  Lamb but edged it to give Davies a comfortable catch.  Two balls later Tom Loten didn’t get forward enough to Lamb and was leg before for a duck. 

Burrows got his first first class wicket when Harry Brook didn’t move his feet across and cut him to Josh Bohannon at point. He got his second wicket 38 overs later when Jordan Thompson got an inside edge to a ball that wouldn’t have hit another set of stumps and saw his middle stump cartwheeling out of the ground.

Lyth was joined by Jonny Tattersall and their partnership was the substantial one of the Yorkshire innings thanks to Jennings.  He dropped a sitter off Lamb when Tattersall toe ended a cut and Jennings at first slip  failed to hold on to it.  Bailey got one to do too much at Tattersall and Davies thought Tattersall  must have got an inside edge and ran off like a man processed  celebrating but umpire James Middlebrook was unmoved.

Part time bowler Jennings got a wicket in his second over when he got rid off Tattersall with a fuller ball with an hint of swing. It tempted Tattersall to drive it and his edge went to Steven Croft at first slip who took a comfortable catch.

Two balls after he was beaten by a ball that came back at him from Lamb, Lyth pulled him over square leg for his second six.  Lyth said: “It was quite tough out there. To be fair, if they’d have bowled a bit better with the new ball, it could have been tougher. But we got off to a bit of a flyer and scored at five an over.  They then pegged it back really, really well with some tight lines and good lengths.

“That was probably a bit of inexperience from their debutant Burrows, but he bowled well after that. Hats off to him. Bailey at the other end, he’s always a challenge on any pitch.

“We got ourselves into great positions and lost wickets at key times. Hopefully tomorrow myself and George  Hill can start well and get some partnerships together and get some batting points.

At Headingley there are some overheads, and it wasn’t easy, coming on and off for rain, that sort of thing. You need to keep yourselves switched on.  There were a couple of soft dismissals in there. Brook caught at point, for example. On another day, he’s smacking that for four.

If we can get 250 plus, you never know.”

The second day was like the first ruined by rain.  Only two over possible after lunch because of rain and the players didn’t return until 4.45.  Between the two teams, 10 players are making their maiden appearance in a Roses first-class fixture. With so many regular players missing due to being called up by England for Test match duty T20I duty both gave plenty of debuts and it had a feel of a Roses Development match.

Day 3

LANCASHIRE ended the third day of their Roses clash with Yorkshire 65 behind  with five first innings wickets standing as they struggled to get on top of the Yorkshire bowlers.

That is apart from wicket keeper opener Alex Davies who celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday and today it looked like he would get a belated birthday present, a Roses century.  He was aggressive from the moment he came in and pulled Duanne Olivier to the mid wicket boundary.

He was helped by some inaccurate bowling from Jared Warner,  making his first class debut for Yorkshire.  Warner bustled in off a long run up but he didn’t make Davies work for a shot in his first over as he was wide off his off stump.  In his second over Davies blasted a full toss from Warner to the cover boundary.

He drilled Warner to the mid wicket boundary and kept the fielder interested but eventually the ball won the race to the boundary.   But his next ball induced a false shot from Davies who chipped the ball to mid wicket but luckily for Davies the ball fell short of the fielder.

It wasn’t just Warner who he sent to the boundary,he whipped Jordan Thompson off his legs to the mid wicket boundary to bring up the Lancashire fifty in the 19th over. Two balls later he drilled Thompson to the extra cover boundary for a delightful boundary. He didn’t stop there, he carved Thompson to the shortest cover boundary to bring up his fifty from 73 balls with 10 fours.

How could the young Yorkshire bowlers cope with Davies when he showed them that he isn’t a lover of reputations by uppercutting the South African Olivier to the third man boundary.

Just as Davies and his teammates thought that his Roses ton was there for the taking he fell 27 runs short.  Six balls  after Josh Bohannon became Warner’s frst first class victim for Yorkshire when Bohannon was strangled down the leg side, Davies tried to clipp Steve Patterson off his legs and was plumb leg before.

Davies opening partner Keaton Jennings had a watching brief but he too had his moments especially when he drilled Olivier straight past the bowler for his first boundary.  When Yorkshire captain Patterson bright on Adam Lyth for a couple of overs before tea, Jennings must have thought that it was time for some easy runs instead the opening partnership was broken. Jennings tried to sweep Lyth missed it and was adjudged leg before.

Lancashire skipper Dane Vilas looked in a determined mood to get Lancashire as close as possible to the Yorkshire score if not beyond it. First a bottom edged slash off George Hill that ran to the third man boundary that moved him to 26 then he threw everything at Hill’s next ball and should have been caught by Tom Kohler-Cadmore at first slip as the ball thudded into his left hand and away for another boundary. Vilas like Davies flattered to deceive when he shuffled across his stumps to Olivier but the ball died and was plumb leg before. 

The first ball of the next saw Jones make his way to the hutch when he edged a drive off Hill.

In the morning session Lyth duly  completed his 23rd first class century and his first century across all formats since September 2018 as Yorkshire secured a second batting bonus point for passing 250. He reached his century when he cut Danny Lamb to the cover boundary.  

Lyth said: “It was very, very pleasing to get to a hundred. It has been a while since I last got one and quite frustrating.  I’ve been trying like hell and have got out in the eighties and nineties. Sometimes when you try too hard, it never happens. Thankfully, I had a bit of luck and got over the line.  It’s my fourth (first-class) hundred against them, and I’m really pleased.

It looks like we’re not going to bowl a ball tomorrow with the forecast. But (if no rain) if we don’t make a game of it, then it will just be bonus points. That will be up to both captains whether to force a result.

It’s ended up being a pretty good wicket now. It was quite like Derby last week – a couple of heavy rollers on it and not really much sideways movement.”

Starting day three on 178-6 from 66 overs in their first innings, Yorkshire were bowled out for 260 in 93 thanks to Lyth’s 103 and valuable contributions from Hill (29) and Olivier (20 not out). 

Tom Bailey got his second wicket of the innings when Lyth edged a drive off him and Jennings took the catch at first slip. Hill was the next to go when he was bowled through the gate by Lamb. Patterson tried to pull Lamb but as he swivelled round he top edged to Jennings who took a stealing catch. Warner was the last man out when he played down the wrong line to Lamb and was leg before. Olivier steered his side beyond 250 for a second batting point.

Lancashire’s Lamb claimed two of the four morning wickets to fall, securing a first-class career best 4/55.

Day 4

YET again in a Roses clash the weather had its say in the result with play on finals day called off half a hour before the scheduled start.

Umpires Peter Hartley and James Middlebrook decided to abandoned the final day at 10.30am with the rain teeming down and puddles on the outfield.   212 overs were lost across the four days of a penultimate round North Group fixture which was unable to complete its first innings.

Lancashire finished on 195 for five replying to Yorkshire’s 260, with Adam Lyth’s 103 for the hosts the standout performance of a match which saw 10 players make their maiden first-class Roses appearance.

Yorkshire now go into their final match against Leicestershire at Emerald Headingley on September 6, second in the North Group five points behind Derbyshire who visit Lancashire at Liverpool.

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