Jonny Bairstow produced an extraordinary counter-punching hundred to haul Yorkshire back into an enthralling contest with the Division One leaders, Middlesex.
A glance at the scorecard puts the efforts of Bairstow, England’s current deputy Test wicketkeeper, into context. After his unbeaten 125 the next best score was the 20 made by his overnight partner Jack Leaning, who he saw depart to the very first delivery of the second day.
In fact Leaning’s dismissal was one of four morning wickets by the Middlesex seamers: Glenn Maxwell ambitious drove at a wide one from Toby Roland-Jones two balls later which was followed by edges behind the wicket from Will Rhodes and Tim Bresnan – that left Yorkshire 142 for eight.
Yet it was a position from which they were able to eke out a 17-run first-innings lead thanks to a combination of Bairstow’s calculations and batting acumen. First, he entrusted the strike to the No10 Steven Patterson for the best part of an hour, then farmed it – albeit in madcap manner at times – with the last man, Jack Brooks.
A couple of injudicious singles from final balls of overs by Brooks aside, it was a faultless display. So much so that the stand, at 59 runs, was the biggest of the innings, two dozen of which came from Bairstow sixes. Twice he muscled decent Roland-Jones deliveries into the stand at midwicket and then – after a deft glide to the third-man boundary off James Harris to reach his 10th career County Championship century – he lofted Ollie Rayner’s off-spin down the ground twice in three balls immediately before Brooks nicked one.
The quality of the innings drew a sporting handshake from James Franklin as the players left the field at stumps and left the Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie, pondering how Bairstow – who has passed 50 in every one of his five Division One innings this season and averages in excess of 100 – is not in England’s one-day international squad facing New Zealand this month.
“We’re quite fortunate to have Jonny in this game. My personal opinion is he should be with the England side. He must be very close,” Gillespie said. “It’s one of the best innings you’ll see in county cricket. I thought the way he batted with the lower order was simply outstanding. We shouldn’t expect him to be around at Yorkshire because I think international honours will come calling sooner rather than later. He is in special form.”
So too is Brooks, who followed his five-wicket haul of the first innings with two in two balls – a spectacular one-handed grab low down by Adam Lyth at second slip accounted for Joe Burns while Nick Compton succumbed to a shooter next up.
However, although Middlesex to 72 for four at one point, they showed they will not give up their unbeaten status without a fight and will resume on Tuesday with a three-figure lead on a tufty pitch mastered by few thus far.
