SECOND XI REPORT: Yorkshire seize advantage on opening day at Crosby
A century partnership between Fin Bean and Matt Revis backed up a good display with the ball by the visitors as Yorkshire seized the initiative on the opening day at Crosby after bowling Lancashire out for 159 – a total that including six catches by wicketkeeper Harry Duke – before closing on 177-2 to be ahead by 18 runs.
Lancashire were quickly in trouble at the start of this three-day match after opting to bat at the hands of Matt Milnes as the Yorkshire seamer struck three times in a devasting opening four-over burst of 3-9.
Milnes’ fifth delivery pitched on middle stump to draw Rian Maisuria forward before seaming away to hit off stump. The bowler then found an edge off Harry Singh taken by Duke for 9 while Arav Shetty was also beaten by a seaming delivery and bowled for 6.
By then left-arm seamer Michael Finan had induced an edge behind by George Bell from a nicely angled delivery that left the batsman, and when George Harris also edged behind off Matt Revis for 10, Lancashire were 38-5 barely an hour into the day.
Joe Chapple and Ollie Sutton led a mini recovery by adding 40 in 52 balls with Chapple making 34 of them off 33 balls before he edged behind off a wide delivery from Bradley Sylvester while Milnes returned for a second spell after lunch to have Josh Boyden keeping Duke busy for 23.
A determined 32 off 98 balls by Sutton ended when the left-hander gave ‘keeper Duke his sixth catch of the innings off Sylvester (3-42) who then had Miller Childs caught at gully for 4.
Adnan Miakhel, on his second team debut, hit a couple of boundaries in making an unbeaten 25 before the innings ended mid-afternoon when Haider Hussain (7) drove Finan to extra cover with Lancashire 159 all out.
The visitors replied strongly with a 64-run partnership for the opening wicket between Jonny Tattersall and Bean.
A double change of bowling produced results for Lancashire as left arm seamer Miakhel struck with his eighth delivery when Tattersall glanced down the leg side to be well caught one-handed by Bell behind the stumps for 26. Seven deliveries later Joe Chapple produced a beauty that came back in to bowl Will Luxton for 2.
But that proved to be the last Red Rose success of the day as Bean and Revis took the visitors past the Lancashire total with a 108-run partnership during the evening session to finish the day strongly, unbeaten on 79 and 59 respectively.
TEAMS
Lancashire: George Bell (capt/wicketkeeper), Harry Singh, Rian Maisuria, Arav Shetty, George Harris, Ollie Sutton, Joe Chapple, Josh Boyden, Archie Davies, Haider Hussain, Miller Childs, Adnan Miakhel.
Yorkshire: Noah Kelly (capt), Will Luxton, Jonny Tattersall, Harry Duke (wicketkeeper), Jawad Akhtar, Matt Milnes, Jafer Chohan, Bradley Sylvester, Michael Finan, Ed Burch, Fin Bean, Matt Revis.