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Ben Stokes roared in the nick of time as Durham survived a Surrey run chase and saved their Division One status in the process

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2016
ScorecardBen Stokes made a decisive late impact•Getty Images

Ben Stokes finally came to the party for Durham, ending their relegation worries by taking four Surrey wickets in a gripping finish at Chester-le-Street.After scoring 24 and nought, and remaining wicketless until the final session, Stokes took 4 for 54 as Surrey were dismissed for 259 to lose by 21 runs.Jason Roy fell four short of his second century of the match, but Surrey were kept in the hunt by a fearless unbeaten 50 from 18-year-old Sam Curran to go with his 7 for 58 in Durham’s second innings.Surrey could have slight concerns over Roy and Zafar Ansari ahead of Saturday’s Royal London Cup final after both needed treatment for hand injuries.Following their first innings stand of 164 the pair put on 143 after coming together at 11 for three in pursuit of 281.
After the persistent murk of the previous day, play again began with the floodlights on, but the sun was starting to emerge as Roy went to the crease and batting became more comfortable after lunch.On nine Durham were convinced Roy had edged Brydon Carse’s first ball to wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter, then he edged the next ball where third slip had been prior to becoming a second gully.He played with calm authority afterwards, but was struck on the hand by Carse on 44. After a lengthy delay he hooked the paceman to fine leg for one of the nine fours in his 79-ball half-century.Ansari was on 32 when he needed treatment following a ball from Mark Wood. Two on-driven fours off Graham Onions provided the highlight as he progressed to 51.Durham had to turn to Scott Borthwick and in his second over he turned one sharply into the left-hander to have him lbw on the back foot.Roy’s 132-ball innings was ended by the first ball after tea when he gloved an attempted pull off Stokes to the wicketkeeper.Sam Curran cracked Stokes to the cover boundary three times off the back foot before the England all-rounder tightened up with three successive maidens, the last of which included two wickets.A stand of 54 ended when Ben Foakes pushed firmly and edged to Borthwick at second slip.Two balls later Tom Curran edged to Poynter, bringing in Gareth Batty with 59 needed. He helped to add 30 before falling to a stunning catch by Keaton Jennings, diving to his left at third slip.Onions took the last two, Stuart Meaker edging a drive to first slip before Mark Footitt had his stumps splattered.In the morning murk Durham’s two remaining wickets added 33.
Curran took his seventh when Onions drove a full toss to mid-off and Durham were all out for 246.Wood quickly took two wickets when Surrey batted, producing a snorter to have Kumar Sangakkara well caught by Poynter second ball.It didn’t look good for Surrey, but Roy, Ansari and the younger Curran ensured a thrilling climax.

Hamish Marshall and Geraint Jones saved the day for Gloucestershire and set up a potentially exciting fourth and final day at Bristol.

ECB/PA20-May-2015
ScorecardHamish Marshall went past 13,000 first-class runs as he helped Gloucestershire fight back•Getty Images

Hamish Marshall and Geraint Jones saved the day for Gloucestershire and set up a potentially exciting fourth and final day at Bristol.Having bowled out Kent, finally, for 235 in the morning session, Gloucestershire found themselves staring down the barrel of defeat, inside three days, as Darren Stevens and Ivan Thomas reduced them to 81 for 4, shortly after lunch.However, Marshall and the former Kent wicketkeeper Jones added 134 for the fifth wicket to give Gloucestershire the chance of winning a third successive Championship game.Resuming on their overnight total of 223 for 9, Kent lost their last wicket when Adam Riley top-edged a pull shot, off the bowling of Liam Norwell, to wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick. It was Norwell’s 32nd first-class wicket of the season and left him with the impressive figures of 4 for 44 off 24 overs.On a wicket that provided the bowlers with a degree of encouragement, Gloucestershire batted well in the early stages of their second innings. Openers Chris Dent and Roderick put on 59 for the first wicket with both batsmen looking set for the day. However, the introduction of Darren Stevens turned the game back in Kent’s favour as Gloucestershire preceded to lose four wickets for just 22 runs in 9.3 overs.Dent, who struck three boundaries in his 48-ball stay, was first to go, when he played on to a regulation delivery from Stevens. Eight runs later, off the final ball of the morning session, Ian Cockbain became victim number two for Stevens. That was 67 for 2.If the final throes of the morning session were disappointing, for Gloucestershire, the early stages of the afternoon session were equally as frustrating. First, Peter Handscomb flashed at a short and wide delivery from Thomas and was duly caught by wicketkeeper Sam Billings. Then, Roderick departed in similar fashion, caught at slip by Stevens, once again off the bowling of Thomas.Thankfully, for Gloucestershire, Marshall and Jones batted with far greater application to add 134 for the fifth wicket. Marshall passed 50 off 84 balls and reached 13,000 first-class runs, courtesy of four overthrows. Jones, who signed a two-year contract in the winter, reached his half-century off 92 balls, with six fours.Marshall eventually holed out to Fabian Cowdrey at backward point off the bowling of Matt Coles, for 83, before Kieran Noema-Barnett departed without scoring and Jones for 55, trapped lbw by Thomas. Craig Miles and David Payne put on 36 for the eighth wicket as Gloucestershire finished the day on 282 for 9, leading by 240 with one second innings wicket in hand.

A wrap of the third day of the first round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group A

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2012
ScorecardPankaj Singh was hostile, but defending champions Rajasthan might get just one point from their season opener•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In a match marred by bad-light interruptions, both teams produced entertaining cricket to keep alive the prospects of an outright result. Sourav Sarkar and Laxmi Shukla took seven wickets between them to secure a 97-run lead for Bengal before Pankaj Singh kept the game alive with three for 15.However, given the history of the bad light in Kolkata – only 179.5 overs have been bowled in three days, a draw, and three first-innings points for Bengal remain the favoured result.The first session, though was played in sunlight, and Sarkar’s mix of big inswingers and straight deliveries pushed Rajasthan back, who began the day at 63 for 4. Both key not-out batsmen, Ashok Menaria and Rashmi Parida, fell to Sarkar. Shukla, too, added one to his overnight tally of two wickets.Pankaj, though, didn’t let Bengal run away with the game, and got the key wickets of openers Jayojit Basu, Subhomoy Das and captain Manoj Tiwary.
ScorecardJiwanjot Singh became the fifth Indian to score a double-century on first-class debut, and the Kaul brothers then got into act to push Hyderabad to the brink of an innings defeat. Jiwanjot and Karan Goel fell 13 short of the Punjab record for the highest opening partnership, but their 288-run association was enough to set up a declaration and a push for outright win.By the time Hyderabad separated the Punjab openers, the hosts were already ahead by 30 runs. Jiwanjot kept going strong, and wicketkeeper-batsman Uday Kaul and Harbhajan Singh provided enough late runs for Punjab to declare in a position of strength. Uday remained unbeaten on 54, and Harbhajan Singh looted an unbeaten 48 off 33. Pragyan Ojha bowled 50 overs for 201 runs and two wickets.Given an awkward 15-over spell to bat before stumps, Hyderabad lost three wickets. All three wickets came through catches for Uday off the bowling of younger brother Siddarth Kaul. VVS Laxman had to bat out three balls before stumps.
ScorecardGujarat were pushing for an outright win over Madhya Pradesh after securing a 105-run first-innings lead, and a declaration set up by fifties from three Patels – Parthiv, Smit and Niraj. Madhya Pradesh openers survived the seven tricky overs to stumps, but still needed 384 to win.The first Patel in action on the day was right-arm quick Mehul, who took the last two MP wickets in three balls to make sure the batsmen had enough time to capitalise. MP responded with an early first wicket, but a 106-run stand between Smit and Niraj out the issue beyond them. Parthiv, who scored 162 in the first innings, then scored 80 off 7 to set up the declaration.
Scorecard
Mumbai kept picking wickets regularly to all but ensure them a first-innings lead, but their main target now was to take the next two wickets for fewer than 40 in order to enforce a follow-on on Railways.Led by Sanjay Bangar and Nitin Bhille’s fifties, Railways put up a fight in the face of Mumbai’s mammoth total, but they just couldn’t put in huge partnerships. Four of their partnerships got off to good starts, but only one – between Bangar and Bhille – went past 100. None of their three half-centurions went on to score a hundred. Ajit Agarkar led Mumbai with three wickets, while Zaheer, who walked off with cramp in the final session, managed just one in his 20.5 overs.Click here to read the full report.

Australia will tour West Indies for a full series in March and April next year

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2011Australia will tour West Indies for a full series in March and April next year. The Tests coincide with the first half of the fifth IPL season and may result in some players missing out for their respective franchises. Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, David Warner, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin are among those in the current Test squad who are contracted with IPL teams.The tour kicks off with a five-match ODI series on March 16, the games shared between St Vincent and St Lucia. The teams then play two Twenty20 internationals followed by a three-day warm-up match involving the visitors. The three-Test series begins on April 11, a week after the start of the IPL, and ends on April 27. Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana will host the three Tests.The ODI series clashes with the Sheffield Shield final in Australia, which is scheduled between March 16-20.Click here for the full itinerary.

Central Districts took just over 30 overs on the fourth day to beat Wellington by 243 runs at Nelson Park in Napier

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2010Central Districts took just over 30 overs on the fourth day to beat Wellington by 243 runs at Nelson Park in Napier. But the margin of victory doesn’t tell the entire story. At one point Central Districts were in trouble at 66 for 6 in their second innings. It took a 187-run stand between wicketkeeper Kruger van Wyk and seamer Doug Bracewell to set Wellington a target of 405 in the fourth innings.Joshua Brodie and Cameron Merchant played confidently at the end of day three to set up an interesting last day with Wellington needing 344 more to win with nine wickets in hand. Central Districts’ opening bowlers Michael Mason and Ben Wheeler quickly made it a one-horse race, though. Wheeler dismissed Brodie and Neal Parlane off consecutive balls before Mason struck twice in two overs to reduce Wellington to 79 for 5. Wheeler and Mason both finished with three wickets apiece, as did left-arm fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan, who wiped out Wellington’s tail.The win was set up by van Wyk and Bracewell in the third innings, after Central Districts had taken a 87-run lead in the first innings. Both fell in sight of well-deserved centuries. Andrew Lamb took both wickets to return with figures of 6 for 70 in the second innings.Wicketkeeper Joe Austin-Smellie took six catches in the first innings, while a steady 80 off 141 balls from Brad Patton helped Central District reach 293. Wheeler took 6 for 60 in Wellington’s first innings to give Central District the advantage, before Van Wyk and Bracewell set up the win.Otago and Northern Districts began the season with a draw as batting seemed to gradually become easier at the Queenstown Events Centre. Otago’s decision to bat ran into early trouble as seamer Graeme Aldridge prised out early wickets to leave them stuttering at 38 for 4 and later 84 for 5, before Sam Wells and Derek de Boorder began to resist. Wells struck 14 fours and a six in his 70 that came off 97 balls while de Boorder fell eight short of a maiden first-class ton after steering his side past 300. Aldridge finished with six wickets.Northern Districts’ reply featured several significant contributions, but none that was substantial enough for a huge lead. Six batsmen scored over 31, but the highest score was Joseph Yovich’s 61, after opener Brad Wilson made 60. Neil Wagner did the most damage, finishing with figures of 6 for 55 as Norther Districts finished 74 ahead. Otago’s second innings too began in shaky fashion and, at 33 for 4 early on the third morning, they were in a tight spot. The Broom brothers, Neil and Darren, however came together to steer them to safety. The pair added 252 runs for the fifth wicket before Darren fell for 112. Neil pressed on with the tail to reach a double-hundred that included 22 fours and a six before Otago declared, setting Northern Districts 365 to win in around half a day’s play. The visitors chose caution over valour, with openers Brad Wilson and Daniel Flynn scoring steady half-centuries, as the game petered into a draw.Canterbury and Auckland were involved in a game of fluctuating fortunes that eventually ended in a stalemate at Village Green in Christchurch. Canterbury chose to bat and began in determined fashion as Rob Nicol, supported by Michael Papps and Rob Nicol, laid the foundation for a big score. Nicol made 75 before No. 5 Dean Brownlie took charge of the innings with an assured 151 off 248 balls inclusive of 18 fours. Reece Young and Todd Astle chipped in with significant contributions to push the score to 435 for 9 when the hosts decided to declare.Auckland’s innings began in disastrous fashion, with Ryan McCone removing both openers for ducks. Things got progressively worse from there and, at 29 for 4, Canterbury would have nursed hopes of pushing for an innings win. Colin de Grandhomme began the resistance along with Anaru Kitchen, the pair adding 76 to weather the storm. Kyle Mills stepped up after de Grandhomme’s exit, contributing 69, while Kitchen reached his maiden first-class ton before Auckland were bowled out for 289, conceding a 146-run lead. Micahael Papps and Peter Fulton led Canterbury’s second innings with half-centuries, before offspinner Bhupinder Singh stalled them with four cheap wickets. The hosts declared at 187 for 7, setting Auckland a target of 334 with most of the final day’s play remaining. Auckland began with a draw in mind, but Bradley Cachopa and Andrew de Boorder scored fluent half-centuries that might have left Canterbury sweating. Mills joined in the fun again, scoring 45 off 52 balls, but it was not enough to force a result.

Plays of the day for the fourth day of the Australia-West Indies Test in Adelaide

Alex Brown and Brydon Coverdale07-Dec-2009The Chris Gayle shuffle
Proof that Chris Gayle is cooler than Mawson’s Hut was evident in his celebration of his maiden Test century against Australia. Triumphant waves of the bat bookended a short dance sequence that featured the kind of rhythmic sashaying that would have proven a hit in the nightclubs of Kingston. Gayle looked decidedly less graceful several overs later when he was struck by cramp. Gayle’s nickname among team-mates is “crampy”, a Jamaican expression for slow movement, and his seizing muscles served to decelerate his scoring rate for a time, but he picked it up at the end of the day.Brother, can you spare a wicket?
Australia’s inability to take 20 wickets proved a curse in recent losing campaigns against India, South Africa and England, and the lack of an enforcer returned to haunt them on Monday. Without the services of the incapacitated Peter Siddle, who has a hamstring problem, for much of the day, Australia struggled for impact against a resolute West Indies batting unit on a benign Adelaide surface. Nathan Hauritz could not replicate the bounce or bite of Sulieman Benn the previous day, while Mitchell Johnson lit up the start and the end, but not in the middle. It was a tough time at the office.Tall tales of Big Benn
Sulieman Benn said it wasn’t until he was about 14 that he began getting taller than most of his friends, but at 28 it seems he’s still enjoying a growth spurt. The story of his success on the third day in Adelaide turned into a tall tale – but just how tall depended on whose story you read. His profile page on Cricinfo lists him as 6ft 7in, which equates to 200cm, but in the he had grown to 204cm and in the he had shot up to 207cm.Save the umps
The Gould League is an Australian organisation that, among other things, aims to protect the environment. Umpire Ian Gould might just need his own group if he keeps getting in the way of Gayle drives. Gayle crunched a straight one that clipped the fingers of the bowler Marcus North, but that didn’t take much of the pace off the ball. It promptly ricocheted into Gould’s ankle, sending the umpire hobbling in pain and denying Gayle a boundary.

Farooq Nazar, the fan in question, refused to cover his Pakistan shirt during the fourth England vs India Test and was “asked to leave the stadium” by security officials

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2025Lancashire have apologised for an incident at the Old Trafford Test between England and India where a fan was ejected from the ground after he refused to cover his Pakistan team t-shirt.Farooq Nazar, the fan in question, posted a video on social media documenting the sequence of events, which started with a request from a member of the security staff that he cover the shirt, a replica of Pakistan’s traditional green limited-overs kit.The security guard, who identified himself as working for Lancashire, said he had been sent by “control” to ask for the shirt to be covered. Nazar refused. He was subsequently escorted away by police officers and, according to a statement from Lancashire, “asked to leave the stadium by stewards and police officers due to unacceptable behaviour directed towards the stewarding team”.In the days since – the incident took place on the last day, a Sunday, of the Test – the club conducted an internal review and apologised for “any upset and offence caused which was not intended and will review its procedures for handling similar situations in the future”.Lancashire, however, explained that a separate incident at the ground between a set of Indian and Pakistani fans on the Saturday of the Test influenced their handling of the situation with Nazar.”Firstly, we wish to make it clear that there was no intention to remove the individual simply for wearing a Pakistan cricket shirt,” the club said in a statement. “The approach taken was informed by an incident on Saturday, during which a group of supporters waved a Pakistan national flag, leading to tensions with nearby Indian fans. In that case, our stewards were able to de-escalate the situation by respectfully asking the individuals to put the flag away, which they did without hesitation.”In light of this context, our team adopted a precautionary, safety-first approach on Sunday. A stand supervisor politely asked the individual to cover his shirt in the interest of his own safety and to avoid any potential escalation. Despite several courteous requests from the supervisor and the response team, the individual repeatedly declined to comply.”Earlier, the ECB CEO Richard Gould had said Nazar was known to the ECB from previous years.”There may well be a context [to what happened] and I know the ground is looking at that, and we’ve also referred it along to the Cricket Regulator to make sure that they’re aware,” Gould said.Relations between India and Pakistan, have been at a low following a brief military skirmish between the two countries in May. Those tensions have filtered into relations between the BCCI and PCB; the two sides have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13 and no Test cricket since 2007-08. Their participation in ICC events hosted by either country has also recently become an issue, with a neutral venue added in to stage their games as part of a hybrid solution to the issue.Earlier this week, an India veterans team refused to play their Pakistan counterparts in two games – including the semi-final, which they forfeited – of a legends tournament in Birmingham.

The series starts on July 6, with all matches to be played in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2024Zimbabwe will host India for a five-match T20I series in July, a week after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. All five games will be played in Harare, from July 6 to 14. Four of the five T20Is will be day games, starting at 1pm local time. The third T20I, the only night match, will begin at 6pm.”We are absolutely thrilled to be hosting India for a T20I series in July in what will be our biggest international attraction at home this year,” Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said in a press release. “The significance and magnitude of this tour cannot be over-emphasised, especially as it is coming at a time we are working round the clock to re-establish ourselves as a force to reckon with at the highest level of the game.”India last toured Zimbabwe for three ODIs in August 2022, when they won 3-0. Since then, the two sides have met only once across formats, at the T20 World Cup in Australia later that year.Overall, the two teams have played eight T20Is each other, with India winning six of them.Zimbabwe could not qualify for this year’s T20 World Cup even though as many as 20 teams will participate for the first time in the tournament. Before that, they had failed to make the cut for the 2023 ODI World Cup as well.

Fixtures

July 6: 1st T20I
July 7: 2nd T20I
July 10: 3rd T20I
July 13: 4th T20I
July 14: 5th T20I

Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel part of the squad going to Australia in October

Alagappan Muthu12-Sep-20226:27

Uthappa: Shami is a handful with the new ball and has experience

India will have a full-strength fast-bowling attack to take to Australia for the T20 World Cup with the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel.They’ve also placed a considerable amount of trust in young Arshdeep Singh, who only made his India debut in July 2022, but has been picked ahead of the likes of Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami, who only find a place in the reserves.India have, over the past few months, been investing heavily in super specialists. Arshdeep fits into this category having displayed exceptional skills as a death bowler in the IPL. In fact, last season, with a minimum of 40 balls bowled between overs 17 and 20, only Bumrah managed a better economy rate than the 23-year-old left-arm quick. And that too by a mere 0.2 points: 7.38 vs 7.58.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A lot of the squad picked themselves, including the top four of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. India then turned to their allrounders with Deepak Hooda’s ability to provide a few overs of offspin pushing him into the main squad ahead of other contenders like Shreyas Iyer, who only found a place among the stand-bys.

India’s standby players for T20 World Cup

Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.

Hooda is another of the bolters in the squad. He too played his first game for India in 2022, following a breakout season with Lucknow Super Giants for whom he made 451 runs at a strike rate of 136.66. Although his sample size is smaller – nine innings as opposed to 14 in the last IPL – in international cricket, he has pushed that strike rate up to 155.85.Hooda’s presence may also have become necessary with India losing Ravindra Jadeja to a knee injury. Axar Patel takes over the role of lead left-arm spinner in the squad but it remains to be seen if that means he gets a place in the India XI. At the Asia Cup, where Jadeja picked up the injury, the team management preferred Hooda’s batting ability over Axar’s.0:23

Karthik, Hooda in Uthappa’s likely India XI for T20 World Cup

Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has forced the selectors to make his “dream come true” by taking his game as a finisher to a whole new level. At IPL 2022, where he first began to make his case for inclusion, he had a death-overs strike rate of 220. Among batters who faced at least 50 balls between overs 17 and 20, only Jos Buttler (236.53) fared better.Karthik has shown sparks of the same ability in India colours as well, notably against West Indies in July when he came in to bat in the 15th over, with the score only 127 for 5, and took it up to 190 for 6. The 37-year-old who hadn’t played any T20Is between February 2019 and June 2022 will now turn up for his third T20 World Cup, and is among a handful of survivors who played the inaugural edition way back in 2007. Rohit is part of this group as well.Yuzvendra Chahal, the top wicket-taker from the last IPL, will lead India’s spin attack with support from R Ashwin. Ravi Bishnoi is among the reserves. All teams can make changes to their T20 World Cup squads until the first match they play, which in India’s case is on October 23.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shami returns for home T20Is against Australia and SA

While most of India’s players have recent cricket to back them up, one of their reserves seems to have been picked based on reputation (and a solid one at that). Shami has not played anything since the end of the white-ball series against England in mid-July, but has been called up for the home T20Is against both Australia and South Africa that start on September 20 and has been placed on standby for the T20 World Cup.In IPL 2022, Shami was central to Gujarat Titans winning the title in their first season, claiming 20 wickets in 16 matches. Among Indian fast bowlers only Umran Malik (22), who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad, had more.Allrounder Hardik Pandya and seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar are part of the squad for the T20Is against Australia, but have been rested for the following series against South Africa. Arshdeep, meanwhile, has been rested for the Australia T20Is, but has been picked for the South Africa T20I series – India’s last before the T20 World Cup. Chahar was picked for both bilateral series.”Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be reporting to the NCA for conditioning-related work during the course of the home series against Australia and South Africa,” a BCCI media release said.India squad for Australia T20Is: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit BumrahIndia squad for South Africa T20Is: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah

Wayne Parnell takes five as Northamptonshire take upper hand on first visit in seven years

David Hopps29-Apr-2021In the week that Citizen Kane was said to have been ousted by Paddington 2 as the best film of all time, it was fitting to reflect that some people think Headingley has gone the same way. Overbearing and malevolent for much of its history, it is now held to be sweet-natured and adorable, spreading joy and marmalade wherever it goes.Well, just as reports that Paddington 2 was now No 1 film proved on further examination to be a little dubious, so the suggestion that Headingley is always awash with kindness was entirely lost on Yorkshire as they were brusquely turfed out for 206 by a Northamptonshire attack relishing their first Championship visit since 2014.Not that conditions were all that challenging. Leaden skies, and a couple of rain stoppages encouraged the decision to insert Yorkshire, but there was a good balance between bat and ball, leaving Headingley nicely placed between egomaniac newspaper baron and tiresomely cute bear.Yorkshire lie second to Lancashire in Group 3 and they are understandably regarded as one of the favourites for the Championship, but their top six remains flaky and they did not acquit themselves particularly well. Northants were then blessed by a sunnier evening as Ricardo Vasconcelos and Ben Curran scooted to 36 without loss in 11 overs to set up an enticing second day.If the weather remains crabby, Yorkshire are probably not too far off the pace, but it is interesting to note that the batter to make the most serious attempt to meet the challenge was Dom Bess, their newest acquisition, born in Exeter, schooled at Blundells, developed at Somerset. Yorkshire are having to import mental toughness these days – Dawid Malan, away at the IPL, being another example – and Bess’ 56 from 95 balls, compiled over more than two-and-a-half hours, was impressive in its responsibility.This was Bess’ first half-century of the season – and only the seventh of his first-class career – but it was perhaps the strongest indication yet that Yorkshire’s commitment to batting him at No. 7 can bear fruit. The hope will be that he can balance up the side in the way that the departed Tim Bresnan did, restoring order and common sense.Compact and judicious, he did just that. He was fortunate, on 29, that an edge against Tom Taylor reached the slips on the half-volley – had that been taken Yorkshire would have been even more in the mire at 80 for 6 – but he put away the bad ball, defended with soft hands, and his dismissal only came when he sensed he was running out of partners, as he pulled Gareth Berg to midwicket to become the ninth batter to fall.Berg, 40 now, is in danger of becoming an unsung version of Kent’s Darren Stevens, county cricket’s symbol of longevity. He also provides order – to Northants’ bowling – and he finished with commendable figures of 3 for 32 in 13 overs, also striking Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s off-stump and having Will Fraine lbw.Related

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Kohler-Cadmore has talent in abundance, but it is doubtful that there have been few looser opening batters in Yorkshire’s history. One wonders what Louis Hall, a Methodist lay preacher and tee-totaller, who carried his bat through an innings 15 times, 14 for Yorkshire, would have made of him. There again, even in the late 19th century, Hall was regarded as the odd one out in Lord Hawke’s side of “10 drunks and a parson” so maybe he would have just clutched his bible and thought: “Bloody hell, another chancy one”.Kohler-Cadmore was a picture of vulnerability, crashing along at nearly a run a ball in defiance of the fact that he has yet to make a half-century this season. He still hasn’t, although he did get to 42, with an uncomfortable number of them flying to third man off a thick edge. Perhaps two rain interruptions on either side of lunch did for him.Fraine was standing in for Joe Root, who was rested (non-stop cricket asks a lot of England’s players so nobody should chide) and even a double century in the 2s is no help when you are replacing the England captain. He was Kohler-Cadmore’s opposite, made 11 in 66 balls, and was dropped at second slip on 1 by Rob Keogh, who had been juggling handwarmers, but who failed to juggle the catch.The race to 1,000 runs by the end of May is well and truly on this year, with so many Championship rounds scheduled in this period, and a preponderance of flatter surfaces, so Graeme Hick’s status as the last batter to manage it in 1988 must be under threat. Adam Lyth is one of the early leaders, along with Durham’s David Bedingham; Lyth lasted one ball, unfortunate to be bowled by Ben Sanderson as he essayed a perfectly sensible leave-alone only for the ball to change direction after flicking his back pad.There were also five wickets for Wayne Parnell, which is an afterthought partly because he mopped up the tail, but he did make important inroads during a morning period when Yorkshire lost four wickets for 14 in 37 balls. He was all over the place, but he is an attacking bowler who makes things happen. Vascelonces, who is filling the role of captain, keeper and opening batter here, could have done with a bit less desperate diving around.Gary Ballance was an important scalp, caught at first slip by Curran after Keogh had knocked the ball up, one-handed, at second. Harry Brook registered a second-ball duck, notable for a big trigger movement where he set himself firmly back and across a full six paces before Parnell delivered. You didn’t have to be a qualified coach to wonder whether, for a left-arm inswinger as talented as Parnell, it was a bit of a gimme.