CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY ONE: Lancashire 226-7 (Yorks 2pts, Lancs 1pt)
Headingley ground guide:Link Weather:Link Yorkshire CC form guide (Most recent last) L D D D W
Live league table: Link Live Yorkshire averages: Link BBC Radio: Link Lancashire website: Link Yorkshire's all-time CC record vs Lancashire: P 207 Won 57 Tied 0 Lost 34 Drawn 116
Stats & Trivia: Yorkshire have played more County Championship matches against Lancashire than any other county
Next Match : August 26-29 | LVCC: Yorkshire vs. Warwickshire (Scarborough)
It's a an ill omen that the two players who are playing their last CC matches for Yorkshire this season have taken 7 of the 9 wickets that have gone down.
yes but they have bowled over 60 of the 117 overs so far.
IS Shahzad injured and not bowling today?
Looks like we are flogging Bres and Adil into the ground before they go off to England - wouldn't it be a shame if they got a convenient injury that forced them out of the England squad and the ECB had to call up someone else?
Well predicted - and well done Adil again. How many overs has Wainwright bowled today!? Now we need an impressive batting performance - and runs from McGrath.
How many times have many of us said that Rudolph is being wasted as an opener - he is vulnerable to the new ball. It seems Moxon etc. are deaf and inflexible to even try a different opening pair and positioning of Rudolph at number 4.
If McGrath fails again, then Sayers and Gale will effectively be opening, with only 8 wickets left. I hope that I am wrong and McGrath gets a hundred!
Of course, if Rudolph survives the new ball, he can be prolific - which is my point Also Gale seems pretty comfortable opening in 40 over games etc. and I rather think he would prefer to open in CC than coming in after we are 2 down for very few. Although he is out today (c&b to their first change), he has a very good eye and is rarely bowled or lbw - and he hits bad balls effectively.
McGrath is walking wicket nowadays and is surely not secure enough at number 3.
However, it looks as though (once again) we have to hope for the middle/later order to rescue us, avoid follow on and at least accumulate some bonus points.
Positives .... Brophy & Bresnan have saved the follow on with a 50 partnership. Lancashire's bowling doesn't exactly look threatening
Negatives .... we looked totally flat this morning (Hoggy was back to being the comedy cheer leader) .... Rahid was just put on & left from the Kirkstall Lane end. Lancs should have been got out far sooner.
Then Lancashire bowled ... & Yorkshire didn't bat ... Rudolph put Hogg's loosener down Du Plesis throat. Mags initially looked better ... then played an awful shot to Lungley's first awful ball, got a leading edge & Croft took an excelent catch at full stretch ... Gale & Bairstow didn't last long skying easy catches that the bowler took... Joe was lucky as Loye dropped a ball that shot to him in slip ... but perished soon after. Basically we made poor bowlers look world beaters ... again.
Think Dpressed is being overly negective. Batting against the new ball is very tricky although we haven't helped ourselves. On this pitch how the remaining new balls are played will determine the game. The loss of Rudi (poor shot to an equally poor 1st ball of the innings - why oh why on this pitch was he not leaving well alone) and Mags (same as Rudi although it was an athletic catch)the teams best 2 bats so early is a hammer blow. Gale appeared to be deceived by the pace of the pitch and Bairstow by his own slight indecision. Sayers was very out to his LBW.
Just like us, Lancs dropped a couple of chances, Sutton low to his right and there was a sharpe one to gully.
Top marks to Brophy and Bres, we're now back in the game, which, to be honest, I thought we won't be when Sayers went. The soft ball is obviously easier to play, but the bounce is uneven, I think the pitch is two paced and Keedy worries me. I won't fancy us to get 150+ in the 4th innings. The low scoring rates for both teams is a reflection of the ptch
Not sure what else we could have done this morning. Lancs added 50 for the final 3, which is a few more than we'd all have liked but over half these came from a stubborn final wicket pair. Chilton played well, give credit. Adil ('was just left on') -well he looked like taking a wicket any moment. The only thing we might have done differently is bowled Wainwright rather than the couple of overs Shazhad set down.
An interesting day and one where during the final hour or so we recovered some lost ground.
Prediction - A Lancs win by 100+ runs. I just can't fancy the team batting last.
well I hope the announcers brother does not reasd this forum or he may have to put up a spirited efence about it not being the announcers fault and it all being the fault of the club for not giving him a decent microphone and duff player info as the onyl extension lead long enough to reach his mike stand was being used to make sure the webcam was working
Dare I say that it is never over until the "fat lady" sings? And just perhaps YCCC will pull it off and feather enough points to remain in Division 1.
However, increasingly, it seems to me that were it to do so it would be in spite of Mags and Mox.
Sooner or later we will have to face up to the fact that we have a Director of Cricket, who was once a "warm-up" coach, but is now a bottle carrier, and that our captain has the tactical insight of a jelly-fish. Neither are up to the job.
Surely to God, at the end of this season, we have to move on.
Sid may be right that I'm being a bit negative .... but 72-5 againt this Lancs attack is relegation form ... especially when even Sid accepts that 3 batsmen 'got themselves out' ...& yes Sayers was one of the easiest lbw decisions the umpire will ever give.
My comment on Rashid was that he was put on with a field .. & that was it ... Adil might have got 5 wickets but still isn't 100% 'right' ... there were some shocking balls .... but it just felt as though Yorks expected the wickets to fall ... rather than saying 'how do we get these wickets as soon as possible' & we shouldn't just be 'going through the motions'. Its probably just my way of putting what Mr Cronshaw says much more forcefully.
Today's anouncer was a 'stand in' .... & he sounded as flat at Yorkshire were in the field
Must admit I do not think DP is being overly critical. Three final wickets got 20-30 too many as Rashid will always go for runs when trying to get wickets. Bresnan bowled well at the other end.
Batting was awful, Gale gets the benefit of the doubt with the ball appearing to stop on him but Rulolph, Mags and Bairstow got themselves out. I left after the Bairstow wicket due to the shower and other commitments so cannot comment on the Sayers dismissal or out mini recovery.
Also Gale seems pretty comfortable opening in 40 over games etc. and I rather think he would prefer to open in CC than coming in after we are 2 down for very few. Although he is out today (c&b to their first change), he has a very good eye and is rarely bowled or lbw - and he hits bad balls effectively.