Amy Lofthouse reports
Yorkshire have declared at Headingley, setting Hampshire 449 to win. It’s dark, cloudy and windy, which makes for fairly difficult batting conditions. Pujara made a lovely century shortly after tea. He batted well with Bairstow, who was furious to fall shortly after reaching his half-century when he swept Liam Dawson to slip. Jack Leaning was something of a revalation. He came out and played almost a one-day innings. A straight driven six was the highlight of his cameo.
It was pleasing to see Pujara get a score. He is well-liked here and he will have been disappointed with his run of form. This is his highest first-class score since December 2013 against South Africa. Adam Lyth also put his afternoon to good use by running drinks when there was a brief break in play.
Richard Rae reports from The Oval at tea
Impressive though Leicestershire’s score of 208-3 may sound, Surrey are sniffing blood at The Oval, because two of those wickets, those of Angus Robson and Ned Eckersley, were taken by the left-arm spin of Zafar Ansari. True, Robson had largely himself to blame for trying to turn a well pitched-up delivery into the leg side across the line, and being sent on his way - after considerable deliberation - by umpire Baldwin leg before wicket for 55, but Eckersley got a ball that just straightened on him, took the edge, and was caught by Jason Roy at slip for 118. Foxes’ skipper Mark Cosgrove has found the going hard, with both Ansari and Gareth Batty beginning to find something in the pitch, but he’s still there on 24, and holds the key if his side is going to set Surrey the sort of fourth day target which, on a wicket taking turn, might yet make the game interesting. KP? He’s been out there fielding, chatting to his team-mates, and generally giving the impression that all his well with his world.
Amy Lofthouse reports from Yorkshire v Hampshire
Pujara is going very well at Headingley. He’s had a mixed time since joining Yorkshire; one half-century against Nottinghamshire aside, he’s done very little else of note. Now he’s found his rhythm here he’s looked far more secure at the crease. Again he wasn’t overly comfortable against Edwards and the short stuff; he pulled him for a six that was more luck than a controlled shot. He does have extraordinary hands against the spinners though. One shot in particular, a front-foot flick where he pushed his front leg forward and turned his wrists to carve the ball through the covers.
Captain Gale departed shortly after lunch, helping an Edwards short ball straight down Tomlinson’s throat at fine-leg. Bairstow is going well. He and Pujara have run hard and they brought up their 50 partnership in 57 balls. Yorkshire have a lead of 307 and one suspects they’ll be pushing for a lead of 400. Pujara meanwhile is closing in on a century, currently 73 not out under the new Yorkshire floodlights.
Amy reports from Headingley
I wonder what Jason Gillespie is thinking about. He spent the lunch break out in the middle, working with young Matthew Fisher on his bowling. Fisher is another one of Yorkshire’s academy products; a 17-year-old right armer who made his first class debut against Nottinghamshire in April. He spent about forty minutes working with him, practicing lines and slightly adjusting his action. Yorkshire’s academy has a fine track record and will stand in Gillespie’s favour when Andrew Strauss comes a-calling.
On the field, captain Andrew Gale has departed for 12. A fairly silly shot, in honesty; he helped a Edwards short ball straight down Tomlinson’s throat at fine leg. Pujara is still there and looking more settled than in the first innings. He leaves Yorkshire in a few weeks and he will be wanting to get a decent score under his belt. He’s been joined by first-innings centurion Jonny Bairstow, who has been running hard to up the tempo of the game. Yorkshire have a lead of 237 and one suspects they’ll be pushing for a lead of 400.
Richard Rae writes from The Oval
Normality, such as it is, has been restored at The Oval, in that once Matt Dunn had popped up a catch to short leg to bring Surrey’s first innings to a close, with Kevin Pietersen left unbeaten on that faintly ridiculous 355, the cricket since has been relatively pedestrian. Relatively is the word that matters though, because it’s still been hugely entertaining: Dunn came roaring in from the Vauxhall End to trap Leicestershire’s first innings centurion leg before to a well pitched up without a run on the board, and you wondered whether the Foxes batsmen might be about to crumble. Ned Eckersely and Angus Robson have proved otherwise however, Eckersley in particular looking in wonderful touch, stroking 12 fours in going to 61 off just 74 balls. Robson, as befits a short Australian opener, has been rather more “nuggety”, but has looked equally determined in going to 29, and at 94-1, the visitors have already reduced the first innings deficit from 265 to 171.
Amy reports from Yorkshire v Hampshire
Fidel Edwards has got into a bit of a rhythm here. He’s still bowling the odd no-ball - and the umpires aren’t thrilled about where he’s landing, by the looks of things - but he’s bowled far better than in the first innings. Lyth took 10 off the first James Tomlinson over, who hasn’t quite been able to find his line. Lees took a little longer to get going; 19 balls before he whipped a delivery off his pads to mark his first run.
Lyth looked unsettled after he ducked into a short ball from Edwards. It caught him on the back of the helmet. Edwards went straight to apologise and Michael Carberry jogged over to check Lyth and the helmet were okay, but it seemed to knock him. He tried to pull a ball that just bounced in front of short leg, before he aimed a loose drive at Edwards and edged through to keeper McManus. Edwards isn’t overly pacey but he’s getting the ball to bounce and rise. Liam Plunkett would be watching in admiration, if he weren’t in Canterbury with the 2nd XI....
Amy Lofthouse reports from Headlingley
You can learn a lot about a team from the way they go about their warm-ups. For example, watching the Yorkshire lot this morning, if cricket ever went wrong for Tim Bresnan then he’d have a cracking career in rugby. Alex Lees, less so. Yorkshire do seem to enjoy their warm-ups; I’m not quite sure what game they were playing but it involved getting down on one knee and shoving each other about a bit.
Anyway, it is lovely to be watching some actual cricket on a fairly blustery day in Headingley. Hampshire are all out for 227; both Lewis McManus and James Tomlinson falling lbw to Jack Brooks and Adil Rashid respectively. Rashid in particular will be pleased with his figures. He’s ended up with 4-70 and after some fairly poor bowling in his first spell yesterday, he’s come back well. All eyes move to Adam Lyth now...
While we await some updates from Amy at Headingley, here are a few of our pieces on the other match – and about one man in particular:
Morning all,
Today we have Amy Lofthouse at Yorkshire v Hampshire and Richard Rae at Surrey v Leicestershire.
Here are the reports from yesterday:
Surrey v Leicestershire
Kevin Pietersen achieves career-high 326 to boost England hopes
The first hundred, completed shortly before lunch, was greeted by the familiar, exuberant and perhaps ever so slightly ostentatious two-footed leap into the air, an indication to some extent of the personal significance of the landmark but more, surely, of how hard Kevin Pietersen had been made to work to reach it. The fist-pumping that marked the 200 was more restrained but carried a more obvious message – and one happily chanted by a group of supporters in the crowd: “Are you watching, Andrew Strauss?”
Yorkshire v Hampshire
Yorkshire frustrated by Jason Gillespie talk while bowlers impress
It was a battle of England past and present on the second day here. In the middle Michael Carberry and Adil Rashid sparred, each trying to outdo the other. Off the field, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, confirmed that the county had received no official approach to Jason Gillespie about England’s vacant head coach role.
Enjoy the cricket.
