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Cricket latest: Rudolph falls short of double as Yorkshire start well
JACQUES RUDOLPH'S superb 191 on the opening day at Taunton put winless Yorkshire in control of their LV County Championships clash with Somerset.
The Tykes are bidding to avoid an unwanted record of 18 first-class games without a win - a run that dates back to the corresponding fixture last season.
In what could be a good omen for Yorkshire Rudolph scored a century in that game and he struck 29 boundaries in a 291-ball stay today to give his side hope of recording a breakthrough win.
Yorkshire finished the day at 375 for seven after winning the toss, Anthony McGrath making 40, Jonathan Bairstow 39 and Adam Lyth 36.
It was a tough day in humid conditions for 40-year-old Andy Caddick, making his seasonal debut for Somerset after back problems. He finished with none for 77 from 16 overs.
Rudolph dominated from the start, enjoying one moment of fortune when he was bowled by a Caddick yorker on 32 only to see umpire Trevor Jesty signalling a no-ball.
Apart from that, the left-handed opener looked untroubled, producing some sweetly-timed cover drives and flicks off his pads to score boundaries freely on both sides of the wicket.
He lost his opening partner with the total on 24 as Alfonso Thomas beat Joe Sayers' defensive prod and bowled him for eight.
It was 101 for one at lunch, with Rudolph having reached his half-century off 81 balls. In the first over after the interval McGrath was caught by wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter, diving to his right, off Peter Trego.
David Stiff struggled with the ball against his old club, allowing Yorkshire quick runs in the afternoon session by conceding two lots of four byes and then four wides in the space of two overs, all with wild deliveries down the leg side.
It was 189-2 when Rudolph reached a chanceless hundred off 145 balls.
That became 222 for three when Lyth top-edged a pull shot off Zander de Bruyn and was caught at mid-wicket by James Hildreth.
Andrew Gale edged Charl Willoughby through a vacant second slip area and it seemed a case of the horse having bolted when Somerset skipper Justin Langer moved Marcus Trescothick back to that position. But Gale, on 17, obligingly edged the next ball straight to the former England opener.
Rudolph was fifth man out nine short of a deserved double century. He was bowled by a full-length ball from Stiff, who tightened his line having switched ends.
Somerset hit back in the closing overs as Thomas had Azeem Rafiq and Bairstow caught behind to end the day with creditable figures of three for 50 from 20.1 overs.
Somerset: M E Trescothick, A V Suppiah, J L Langer (capt) J C Hildreth, Z de Bruyn, C Kieswetter (wkt), P D Trego, A C Thomas D A Stiff, A R Caddick, C M Willoughby.
Yorkshire: J A Rudolph, J J Sayers, A McGrath (capt), A W Gale J M Bairstow (wkt), A Lyth, Azeem Rafiq, A Shahzad, M J Hoggard S A Patterson, J E Lee.
Umpires: T E Jesty and D J Millns.
Keep checking for updates throughout the day.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
