A deluxe century from Warwickshire’s Varun Chopra was the highlight of an otherwise truncated third day at Edgbaston, a day when snow stopped play before lunch and a number of Yorkshire’s players, after seeking permission from the umpires, emerged for the afternoon session wearing beanie hats to help counter the freezing conditions.
Both Chopra, who will resume the fourth day of this draw-destined fixture unbeaten on 101, and the Yorkshire head coach, Jason Gillespie, admitted after stumps that they had never known cricket played in such low temperatures; a match against Leicestershire in Scarborough four years ago, where it blew a gale, was as close as the latter could recall.
Some 117 overs have now been lost in this match, one that was tipped as an early-season showdown between two potential title rivals, and with the home side reaching 205 for two by the time sleet brought the close at 4.28pm, needing just 25 more to avoid the follow-on, it will instead go down as a something of a damp squib.
For Chopra, however, it will be the game in which he ended something of a hex against Yorkshire; his 19th first-class century, brought up with a dabbed single off the first ball after tea, was his first against the reigning champions in 10 matches, passing his previous best of 45 and erasing memories of the corresponding fixture last season when he recorded a pair.
“I thought about it with the first couple of runs I got off Ryan Sidebottom, after he got me out in both innings last year,” said Chopra after the close. “You don’t forget these things and I was determined to get some runs against them and show them I can play a bit.”
The right-hander stepped down as Warwickshire captain at the start of the start of the year to be replaced by Ian Bell, citing a desire to focus on his own returns with the bat after a 2015 season in which he averaged just 27. Here he looked the batsman that was on the England radar prior to that dip, unfurling flowing drives and late cuts to go with his rock-solid defence.
Chopra’s chanceless knock over 176 balls anchored the Warwickshire reply in style, following the early completion of Yorkshire’s first innings – 379 all out – and the loss of his opening partner Ian Westwood, who was bowled by a beautiful delivery from Jack Brooks that swung into the left-hander before seaming to kiss the top of off stump.
Both Chopra and Bell would go into lunch – brought about 20 minutes early due to the surprise snow shower in Birmingham – 24 not out, with the latter looking the more supreme. When they emerged for the afternoon, it would be Chopra who was more fluent as the Yorkshire attack, minus Sidebottom with an ankle injury suffered in his sixth over, probed away.
The pair survived an absorbing spell of pressure from Brooks, Liam Plunkett and Steve Patterson in the first 30 minutes of the session in which the sun shone once more, going on to compile a stand of 132 for the second wicket and reach their half-centuries with an identical analysis of 107 balls and seven fours.
Bell, who had started to unleash his own trademark late dabs, would be caught at slip by Adam Lyth just nine runs later, however, as Adil Rashid, who impressed with figures of one for 34 from 12 overs on a day seemingly not conducive to the art of wrist-spin, got a leg-break to turn and catch the edge of his bat.
With the pitch scarcely used due to the three days of stoppages, it remained generally true, as Chopra and Bell’s replacement, Jonathan Trott, added an unbroken 55 for the third wicket to snuff out any hope of a result. It was vintage stuff from Trott who, fresh from a double-century at Lord’s last week, clipped five majestic fours off his pads through leg in his unbeaten 38.
The Yorkshire captain, Andrew Gale, must now consider how best to use his remaining bowlers on the final day, with Sidebottom unlikely to feature again as he awaits results of scans on his injury. There is Sunday’s fixture away to Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge to factor in too, where their winter recruit, David Willey, now looks set to be unleashed for the first time.
