CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY TWO
Yorkshire 181, Lancashire 219-2 (Lancs 4pts, Yorks 0pts)

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Next Match : August 5 | PRO40: Yorkshire vs. Hampshire (Southampton)

Come on Yorkshire, lets shown them we are a proud Yorkshire side. Bowl 'em out for under 300 and let's bat out the match.

Grim. What other conclusion can we have but that the team is just going through the motions and have mentally at least, accepted their demotion fate. Completely unmotivated. One of the worst performances ever by a Yorkshire team. Second XI stuff all the way.

And some uniformed posters think we should stick with this lot and not panic.

It's time for Anthony McGrath to put his personal agenda aside and do the right thing: resign!

I'd certainly be thinking of bringing in Rafiq or Wainwright for the hopelessly out-of-form Rashid. Even Cally has just suggested that.

..err...we better hurry up...296/2 !!

What's the record for an innings defeat in a Roses match? The Cricket Archive only lists Yorkshire innings defeats of up to 150 runs, and no Roses match is listed. So it must be under 150 runs.

Unbelievably, Yorkshire have not yet earned a single point in this match so far and now it's lunch on the third day. I'm afraid that if we come out of this match with only 1 or 2 points, I'm of the mind that we probably can't recover enough over the last 6 matches to stay in the division.

The spectre of an entire season without a victory in the Championship is also now within sight. And it's worth noting that Yorkshire have not gone through a season without a victory since 1866, and have not had a non-winning season since the official Championship was constituted in 1890.

Lancashire lead by 151 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Yorkshire 181; Lancashire 332/2

Thats my Sunday lunch in the bin then

Our three seamers have bowled 80 overs between them (for 2 wickets) and our lone spinner only 13 overs. Is there much chance of him developing any form or rythm, being used like this by our tactically inept captain? The match situation shows the folly of winning toss and batting - it was obvious at the outset that conditions very much favoured fielding first - and only chance of winning in a match almost certain to be curtailed by weather. We do not deserve to be in the top division.

that would be some achievement, I reckon most local league sides could get at least 3 wickets in 120 overs

We got a point. Hurrah, the celebrations will go on for weeks.

Something to build on. Who says McGrath and Moxon don't know what they're doing!!

Rudolph and Sayers will open. They will put on 30 at the most and Rudolph will be out cheaply. We will also lose wicket just before the close. Am I too cynical?

No.

Fully expect us to be 2 down by the close staring down the barrel of a thrashing tomorrow. Hope I'm wrong but the evidence leads me to believe otherwise.

Come on Jacques and Joe...time for a couple of centuries.

We have a point, please do not lose it through a slow over rate. Get spin on at both ends and rattle through some overs.
Rain forecast tomorrow so surely we can avoid defeat by not losing 10 wickets by close of play, or can we??

Rashid got us a point, when he was given a chance to bowl, but I will be quite astonished if we change openers - they are completely deaf about that need
Also the idea of not having 2 spinners and to play (but hardly bowl) the replacement player, is example of the "muddled minds" of coach and captain.

Well, you were half right, Jimmy. Obviously we haven't sorted out our opening woes. I think we have only three 50+ stands all season.

However, I'm not sure Moxon and McGrath are capable of appreciating this fact.

I fully expect that Rudolph will get a big score today, MM and Mags will decide him opening is a fantastic idea and nothing will be changed for the rest of the season. Then for the next 6 matches it will back to low scores again.

2 down now, including our hopelessly out-of-form captain. An innings defeat all but assured now, unless the heavens open tomorrow. You have to think that Gale and Rudolph are our last hopes of saving this.

Oh well a lot of teams will think that a point at Old Trafford is an acceptable performance

When I read your message, I thought you said pint - too much TV watching! On the other hand, maybe you meant to say pint Pray for rain tomorrow.

Would need a lot more than a pint at the moment to cheer me up.
The acceptable point was at the other Old Trafford.

Its all been a bad dream were stuffing them, from cricket Info close of play day 3

Lancashire v Yorkshire at Manchester - Jul 31-Aug 3, 2009
Yorkshire lead by 251 runs with 8 wickets remaining
Yorkshire 181 and 70/2
JA Rudolph 32* AW Gale 17* F du Plessis 0.1-0-0-0 G Keedy 7-2-18-0
Live scorecard | Desktop scorecard | Bulletin | Article index (3) | Photo index (4)

Yorkshire should be able to take some comfort in the fact that there are two damn good batsmen at the crease, only five wickets fell all day today and the notorious Manchester weather will probably mean nothing like 96 overs will be bowled tomorrow.

Today Yorkshire finally lost the plot. I wont go into gory details ... just mention a few points

1) We bowled 1 no ball all day (Shahzad) ... guess which delivery was put straight down a fielder's throat

2) One ball was driven for 4 ... Bresnan trotted behind it making no effort to try & save runs

3) We finally got a new ball ..... the first bowler to have use of it was .... Pyrah !!! the only logic was that he had just bowled his only maiden

4) Rashid mostly bowled poorly for most of the day (please note 27 overs & zero maidens)... he only got a wicket because Lancs were chasing the 5th batting point

5) After 118 overs Lancs needed 18/19 to get to 400. Mags then realised that the field can be changed during the over ... Bressy bowled short or 1 day wides (much to the anoyance of the locals). This left Lancs requiring 15 of the 119th over to get the final batting point. Mags left Rashid on & only spread the field for the last ball ... the batsmen hit 4s etc & got the 2 they required off the final ball .... a complete mess.

I could go on ... but it would be too depressing

Basically unless there's a miracle or it rains all day we will lose tomorrow.

I have to agree. This was the most dispiriting day i've ever spent watching Yorkshire Cricket. We were totally flat in the field and never looked like taking a wicket. I'm really worried about Adil - he looks completely short of confidence and I think he needs a rest from first team cricket for a while. The body language and energy levels were poor, and there was a dreaful sense os simply going through motions.
I've no idea why lancashire didn't declare at tea - there seemed to be a sense of inevitabillity and gloom about the whole process. Old Trafford is a mess and there was no atmosphere whatsoever. I was bored - and felt terribly distant from the team that i passionately support.
Joe got a good ball, Mags got a bad decision - he was a long way down the pitch to be given lbw - he must feel like the whole world is against him at the moment.
Cheeseman made it across the pennines - I wonder if he travels by Cheese-moblie?
I left early - and I don't think i've ever left before the close of play before...

The Cheeseman makes it to most Yorkshire matches within a day's travelling distant and nearly all second eleven matches too.
He obviously has problems,but basically a harmless eccentrifc who is undeserving of all the flak he recieves on here,good -natured or otherwise.
He'll be at all five days of the Test too supporting his country and his county.