Top-of-the-table Yorkshire Play Out Draw at The Rose Bowl

Neil McKenzie top scored for Hampshire with 91

Slow first day tells as Hampshire remain unbeaten in last three matches.

Hampshire v Yorkshire
LV= County Championship Division One
Monday 24th -Thursday 27th May 2010
The Rose Bowl

Summary
Match Drawn
Yorkshire: 415 & 292-5 (DEC)
Hampshire: 351-9 (DEC) & 12-0

Hampshire and Yorkshire played out a draw on day four of their County Championship encounter at The Rose Bowl.

Yorkshire had set Hampshire an ambitious target of 357 to win after declaring on 292 for 5.

Adam Lyth top scored again for Yorkshire with 98 and David Balcombe was once again the pick of the hosts' bowlers with 2 for 17.

Hants will be frustrated after the visitors failed to set them a realistic target on the final day, with Yorkshire seemingly content to play out a draw after a sun-decked week in Southampton.

Afterwards, Dominic Cork told the Hampshire Cricket website, "We've got to take the positives out of it. Basically, a top-of-the-table side felt we were dangerous enough to go for a draw against us.

It's still disappointing, but its a very flat table and we're in a better place than last week so we'll just look forward to Sunday's match and hope to gain another win in the CB40."

With 16 overs lost due to overnight rain, Hampshire knew they needed quick wickets on the final day’s play if they were to claim victory at the Rose Bowl.

The hosts did get that early breakthrough when McGrath (64) and Lyth’s partnership was ended as the former tried a hook shot off the bowling of Dominic Cork only for Jimmy Adams to take the catch just inside the boundary rope.

The visitors reached 200 shortly after lunch and in some style as Jacques Rudolph smashed a huge six off spinner Rangana Herath as Yorkshire began to show signs of upping the ante and their lead extended to 265.

Opener Adam Lyth (98) fell two short of what would have been his second century of the match as Balcombe’s delivery was edged to the slips where Neil McKenzie took a superb diving catch down low to his right.

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Click on the image above to see highlights of Thursday's play

The wickets continued to tumble with Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale going for just 12 as McKenzie took is second catch of the day off Michael Carberry. At the tea interval Yorkshire’s lead was 326, with a draw looking all but certain with just a single session of the match remaining.

As nothing more than a passing gesture Yorkshire eventually declared on 292 for 5, with a lead of 356 runs. That meant Hampshire would have to go at a ferocious rate if they were to snatch victory.

Keen to make up the over rate, Yorkshire opened up with spinners Adil Rashid and Joe Sayers as openers Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams put up a stern defense as the overs ticked by.

And with just an hour of play to go both teams shook hands and agreed on a draw with the home side finishing on 12 for 0. Hampshire have now gone three County Championship games unbeaten, and host Kent at the beginning of next month in their next outing in Division One.

Day Three

Summary
Yorkshire lead by 216 runs
Yorkshire: 415 & 152-1
Hampshire: 351-9 (DEC)

An unbeaten 116-run partnership between Adam Lyth (64*) and Anthony McGrath (60*) have left Yorkshire 216 runs ahead of Hampshire going into day four at The Rose Bowl.

Hampshire decided to declare 64 runs shy of Yorkshire’s first innings total of 416, on 352 for 9 with Neil McKenzie top scoring for Hants with 91.

The home side can expect an early declaration in the final day from Yorkshire, who lost just the single wicket of Joe Sayers in the evening session.

Even with plenty of bounce in the pitch, the runs were hardly flowing for Hampshire during the first hour with both McKenzie, who moved on to his fifty off 88 balls, and James Vince resisting the temptation for any rash strokes as they easily ducked bouncing deliveries from Tino Best.

Patience in those early overs later paid dividends with McKenzie hitting a plethora of fours, the third a sweetly timed pull shot off Patterson that brought up a well-worked 50 partnership.

That dogged partnership didn’t last very much longer, though and only two overs later Vince was run out after seeing his stumps thrown down with devastating effect by Richard Pyrah, capitalising on a mix up in the middle between Vince and McKenzie.

Ervine, the new man, raced to 20, showing the sort of class Hants fans had come to expect in recent weeks from the Zimbabwean. However, soon enough Best found his edge for Jacques Rudolph to take the catch at first slip.

McKenzie-Whites-Bat-GETTY-2

Neil McKenzie (pictured) and James Vince made a partnership 50

A nervy end to the morning session for Hampshire meant the overall dominance of the session was shared, but an early breakthrough after lunch swung the game slightly in Yorkshire’s favour.

Nic Pothas (23) was caught between defense and attack as he tamely drove the ball back to Adil Rashid, with the England man taking the simplest of catches off his own ball.

But if Rashid thought the scalp of the South African wicketkeeper was a big wicket he knew the dismissal of his fellow countryman McKenzie, who was closing in on a well-earned century, would be the crucial one, and Pyrah duly delivered in the following over.

McKenzie’s (91) mistimed drive flew straight into the hands of Rudolph at slip, who picked up his fourth catch of the innings, and possibly the most vital of all.

With the new ball taken and wickets running out, Dominic Cork and David Balcombe were given the license to thrill, with both batsmen exploiting an open offside field with drives through the cover boundary to help bring up 300 runs, and secure Hampshire’s third batting point.

Just two balls after reaching their 50 partnership, from only 41 balls, Cork was trapped lbw by Best for a boundary-ridden 26 and then Balcombe (30) was bowled by Rashid after attempting an audacious sweep; Rashid’s fourth wicket.

Rangana Herath hung in there with a brave 17, and after sweeping Rashid away to confirm Hampshire’s fourth batting point, a declaration was called with Hants on 351 for 9, still trailing by 64 runs, but with their minds now set on taking quick Yorkshire wickets.

Click on the image above to see highlights of Wednesday's action

Yorkshire’s second innings started in a subdued manner and in-fact both players Sayers and Adam Lyth remained as both sides went in for tea, a lead of 98.

Neverthless, the tea break soon helped provide a breakthrough. Only three overs after tea Sayers (13) played a lose stroke and cut straight into the hands of Carberry at Gully.

Anthony MaGrath was next in and, together with Lyth, built a solid fifty partnership from 65 balls without really being tested by the Hampshire bowlers.

Both players past their half-centuries in the 34th over. Lyth nudged a single to bring up the milestone from 92 balls and then McGrath hit his seventh four through mid-wicket the very next ball taking just 66 balls for his.

It was a comfortable afternoon for the Yorkshire pair who built a solid platform for an attack tomorrow. The 100-run partnership also brought up the 200 run lead with 9 wickets intact putting Yorkshire in a very strong position.

Yorkshire closed out the rest of the day finishing on 152 for 1 with Lyth finishing on 64 and McGrath on 60 with a formidable lead of 216.

Day Two

Summary
Yorkshire lead by 253 runs
Yorkshire: 415
Hampshire: 162 for 3

Jimmy Adams’ 82 helped a resurgent Hampshire fight their way back into their County Championship encounter with Yorkshire on day two.

Adams shared a 94-run partnership with Neil McKenzie who was left unbeaten at the close on 48.

Yorkshire had earlier been bowled out for 415, with Dominic Cork, James Tomlinson and David Balcombe taking three wickets apiece.

With their batteries re-charged, Hampshire's attack of Cork and Tomlinson went hard at Yorkshire's overnight pair of Andrew Gale and Anthony McGrath, with instant success in the morning session.

Nic Pothas found himself involved in each of the dismissals of the not out batsman taking the edges of McGrath (64) and Gale (56) off Cork and Tomlinson respectively.

Tomlinson was amongst the wickets again in his next over, seducing Jonathan Bairstow into an edge for just 4, with Pothas again the recipient of the catch behind. That sixth wicket was crucial to Hampshire bowling out their opponents and also meant they picked up a second bowling point.

The visitors now had two new men at the crease and one of those, Adil Rashid, fired a beautiful drive back past Cork for a boundary, before hitting successive 4s off Sean Ervine’s first over of the day.

The lunch interval did nothing to halt Hampshire’s progress with Balcombe finding Richard Pyrah’s edge, with the ball flying into the hands of James Vince. Pyrah added just eight to the score and as Yorkshire closed in on 400, Hants smelt blood.

Rashid continued to stand tall, however. The all rounder strolled to his half century off 80 balls with a single through cover off Rangana Herath, who appeared to be struggling to find much turn.

Balcombe had no such trouble finding his length, though, and Rashid (51) succumbed to his good technique by edging to Pothas, for the South African’s fifth catch of the innings.

Click on the image above to see highlights of Tuesday's play

Herath did find his length eventually, trapping Tino Best, who had been swinging from the hip since reaching the crease; gone for just 6.

Yorkshire’s final pair of Steve Patterson and Oliver Hannon-Dalby gave little resistance with the latter bowled compressively by Balcombe for nought. But the visitors can hardly have been disappointed with their first innings work despite losing seven wickets for 113 runs on the second day.

The intimidating pair of Best and Hannon-Dalby did their utmost to unsettle Hampshire openers, Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry. It was to no avail, however, as Hants emerged from the rest of the afternoon session unscathed by the seam attack.

Best, despite his inferior height, found some decent pace and bounce to trouble the openers while Hannon-Dalby at 6’8” got the ball flying through to the slips on a pitch that looked decent and true.

However, where the seamers failed, spinner Rashid succeeded in taking two crucial wickets before the interval. He took a brilliant catch off his own ball to remove Carberry for 19 and soon turned his attention to the returning Michael Lumb.

Neil McKenzie put on a partnership of 94 with Adams

The England Twenty20 star was put under immediate pressure and without scoring he topped edged Rashid high in the air for Jacques Rudolph to comfortably catch.

On a pitch that had appeared flat for two days, Rashid had seduced two of Hants’ top batsman into ill-timed strokes and had fashioned important breakthroughs for the away side.

It was then left to Adams to keep Hampshire afloat in the evening session as he built his way towards his 32nd first class fifty with the sort of industrious display that we’ve come to expect from the 29-year old.

His driving, particular against Rashid, who had tamed Hampshire’s batsman until the late evening, gave the hosts a platform to chip away at Yorkshire’s lead, and with McKenzie playing second fiddle at the other end the pair worked perfectly towards the close.

With just 10 overs of play remaining Adams edged Hannon-Dalby to Rudolph and that ended the openers’ quest for a second century of the season as he was dismissed for 82.

McKenzie was joined by James Vince (8*) but as the ominous cloud formed above light stopped the day's play. Hampshire know they need more than bad weather to help make up the 253 run deficit and save this match during the final two days.

Day One

Summary
Yorkshire lead by 300 runs
Yorkshire: 300-3

A century from Adam Lyth gave Yorkshire the advantage over Hampshire after day one at a sun drenched Rose Bowl.

Lyth, the County Championship’s top run-scorer, plundered his second hundred in as many matches to leave Yorkshire 300 for 3 at the close.

Two wickets from Dominic Cork and one from James Tomlinson was all Hampshire could muster as they toiled in the heat with an unbeaten half-century from Anthony McGrath compounding the home side's misery.

Despite a seemingly flat wicket and the beaming sun overhead, Hampshire, without Micheal Lumb for the opening day, bowled first against Yorkshire after winning the toss for the seventh successive match in the County Championship.

The away side earned immediate success in the opening session and with 80-degree conditions in the middle clearly affecting the bowling side, Yorkshire saw to press home their advantage.

The in-form Lyth slashed four boundaries in the opening over off Tomlinson and soon raced to 50 off just 59 deliveries during a scintillating display in the opening session.

At the other end Joseph Sayers produced the perfect rearguard, playing second fiddle to Lyth’s thrilling hitting as Cork was left frustrated during his opening spell.

The rate did subside between the two in the closing stages of the morning session, mainly down to the pace and length of Sean Ervine. The Zimbabwean went for just seven runs in his five-over burst before lunch.

Click on the image above to see highlights of Monday's play

The pair brought up the 100-run partnership in the 25th over as they meandered towards the interval keeping the Hampshire seamers, and latterly Ragana Herath at bay.

It was the Sri Lankan that was on the end of the strike that brought up Lyth’s century early in the afternoon session. The 22-year old chipped the ball over the in field for his 13th four of a faultless innings to record his second first-class hundred of the season.

After the momentous milestone the game slowed dramatically with the heat clearly interfering with the players concentration. Jimmy Adams was one of those affected as he spurned a chance, dropping Sawyers at first slip off the bowling of Ervine.

But as the middle session came to a close, Hampshire were finally rewarded for their steadfast approach. Tomlinson was the beneficiary as Lyth (133) found Ervine at long on, five runs short of the opening pair's 200-run partnership.

Sayers almost ran-himself out in the penultimate over of the session, but soon after tea he was caught by Neil McKenzie off the bowling of Cork for 49 to end a labored innings.

Anthony McGrath had joined Sawyers temporarily and had found some form with the bat striking three boundaries in front of square on the offside to open his account.

Team-Weather-Hot

The Hampshire bowlers struggled in the 80 degree heat

Jacques Rudolpe added just 3 before he was caught behind by Nic Pothas to give Cork his second wicket of the day in his 16th over. Hampshire had now taken three wickets for the loss of just 20 runs and a run rate that was up above five runs an over at the start of the day was now below three.

Fresh from England Lions duty, Andrew Gale came to the crease with Yorkshire slightly on the back foot. He was able to nullify the tired Hampshire attack and then took the play to them, battering consecutive 4s through the cover boundary.

With the new ball taken for the final 13 overs of play the home side’s attack looked to make further inroads but it did to improve the fortunes of McGrath and Gale rather than the Royals’ seamers.

Former England man, McGrath struck three successive 4s off David Balcombe, taking his partnership with Gale past 50 and then his personal score to the half-century mark as he clipped Balcombe away again for a single.

The 34-year old's knock went some way to swinging the advantage back in Yorkshire’s favour after a flurry of wickets after tea. They eventually finished on 300 for 3 with McGrath finishing the day unbeaten on 55, and Gale not out on 38.

Words: Nick Howsen
Images: Dave Vokes @ LMI Photography.

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