Yorkshire’s star trio of Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jonny Bairstow walked out together for the first time this season at Headingley on Thursday, a jewel-laden middle order that drew a good crowd through the chilly Leeds turnstiles for the county’s last Championship fixture at the ground before September. The occasion delivered on its promise, though not quite in the order the home fans might have scripted.
Headingley’s golden trio and Surrey’s old boy
Root was greeted by a round of applause warm as a cinnamon bun after Matt Revis elaborately left a ball from Jordan Clark that arrowed into his stumps. He was off the mark with four deftly turned off his boot end and was just warming up with back-to-back boundaries when he was trapped lbw for 44 by Matthew Fisher, the former Yorkshire seamer now bowling in Surrey colours on his old home ground. Fisher also sent back Brook, who tramped to the crease whirling his bat but soon plodded back after a twinkle-toed flurry down the pitch ended with a catch behind. A Headingley tut hung in the air.
Root, speaking to the BBC, acknowledged he didn’t feel great at the crease but said he was still scoring and contributing through experience and an understanding of his own game. “The more and more I’m playing, the more I’m starting to find my own rhythm,” he said. “It’s always a big game against Surrey – I’m desperate to beat them.”
With Yorkshire at 105 for 3, the stage was set for Bairstow. He pulled Sean Abbott for six with vintage muscle flexing, then spatchcocked Abbott through the off side to reach a warmly applauded fifty. Clouds circled Headingley, but the sun would eventually break through. Bairstow found a steadfast partner in Adam Lyth, who received an affectionate standing ovation from the blue plastic seats after reaching his first century of the season – his third against Surrey – and shared a big bear hug with his captain. Their partnership swelled to 200, and Yorkshire sailed towards a second batting point at 276 for 4.
Rew returns to form, Dawkins shines on Beckenham flat track
Elsewhere in Division One, James Rew – fresh from England selection as a reserve – was back in the middle order for Somerset and back to form with 86 against Sussex, part of an engine-room contribution that also included Tom Lammonby’s 73 and Tom Abell’s unbeaten 68. At Beckenham, Kent made the most of a generous pitch: 19-year-old Ben Dawkins shimmied to a maiden first-class century, reaching 153 not out, while Sam Northeast enjoyed the conditions with 115 not out as Kent reached 326 for 1. Zak Crawley drove Ben Stokes gorgeously down the ground for four but tried again through the covers and was caught by Matthew Potts for 30.
At Southampton, Josh Tongue purred towards the first Test against New Zealand, always threatening and once knocking Nick Gubbins to the dirt, but it was Nottinghamshire’s Fergus O’Neill who had Hampshire in trouble by removing the top four to finish with 4 for 27. Hampshire were 68 for 4 before rebuilding, with Gubbins and Ben Brown in rescue suits. Glamorgan recovered from a horrendous start – 0 for 2, with Zain ul Hassan and Asa Tribe both out for nought – to reach 253 for 4 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, where the match was designated a “Red-ball showcase” fixture attracting hundreds of local schoolchildren. Ben Kellaway struck an unbeaten 118, his first hundred of the season, after Kiran Carlson had helped steady the innings.
In Division Two, Gloucestershire’s struggles continued against Northamptonshire, slumping to 76 for 5 and later all out for 154 – a small recovery from 81 for 6. Ben Sanderson took 5 for 47. Worcestershire collapsed to 107 for 6 against Lancashire but recovered to 270 all out thanks to Matthew Waite’s 77 and Tom Taylor’s 41. At Lord’s, Derbyshire’s Ben Aitchison pocketed a five-wicket haul against fragile Middlesex, who were wobbling at 70 for 3. Essex were 166 for 2 against Leicestershire, where Simon Harmer was already into his third over and Jake Weatherald and Sol Budinger were scoring at a run-a-ball.
Bairstow’s century as captain: a long time coming
Back at Headingley, all eyes were on Jonny Bairstow as he closed in on a landmark. He drove Dan Worrall hugely for four and received a pat on the back from Lyth. On 95 he went fishing and edged a skewiff four through third man to reach 99, and then came the crack: he tore off his helmet, his still-ginger hair shining like a candle, lifted both arms in the air and turned to the dressing room. It was his first hundred as Yorkshire captain and his 17th for the county. Sated fans packed up their bags, walked down the aisles and headed home.
The century carried added significance. Bairstow had been under scrutiny after a patchy run with the bat this season. As one observer noted, he did well last year marrying everything together, especially in the second half of the season, but for one reason or another it hadn’t really happened so far this year. Since returning from a hand injury, his scores had been 6, 38, 18, 25 and a duck – a sequence that prompted questions about how he was coping with the burdens of captaincy. On Thursday, he answered emphatically, sharing a 200-run partnership with Lyth and guiding Yorkshire to 299 for 4 at close on a day that belonged to the home side’s most decorated batting trio.
The ECB also announced a new T20 Hall of Fame before the Blast begins next week, with Ravi Bopara, Charlotte Edwards, James Vince and Danni Wyatt-Hodge as the inaugural inductees. Meanwhile, the ECB is hosting a meeting with counties, Hundred teams and YouTube next month on how best to monetise their streams, and confirmed that if a county put its stream behind a paywall it would still, under the county partnership agreement, have to provide the ECB with a stream so fans could watch wickets on platforms such as NVPlay. In other news, Richard Gleeson will join RCB for the rest of the IPL after his stint in the Pakistan Super League. The England Lions squad for two four-day games against South Africa A was named, featuring Dan Mousley as captain and seven uncapped players, with Jordan Hermann – who played for Somerset on a three-game loan – set to feature for the South Africa A side.
