Cricket latest: Yorkshire struggling to avoid defeat
A splendid career-best 83 not out from Jonathan Bairstow narrowly failed to avoid the follow-on for Yorkshire on the third day of their LV Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough.
Bairstow's brave effort helped the last two wickets put on 126 runs and when last man Deon Kruis was out for 37, Yorkshire were only 15 runs away from safety.
They began their second innings 164 adrift and they closed on 14 for one, Jacques Rudolph falling to the last ball of the day.
While other front-line batsmen floundered around him, Bairstow, the 19-year-old son of former Yorkshire captain David showed infinite patience and no little skill in compiling his runs off 137 balls with 10 fours and a six.
This was only Bairstow's fifth Championship appearance since making his debut a few weeks' ago and he has already rapped out three unbeaten half-centuries and scored 316 runs at an average of 79.
A lethal morning spell of three wickets for six runs in seven overs from Andre Adams shattered Yorkshire's hopes of making a substantial score in reply to Nottinghamshire's 395.
Adams, on the previous day, had blasted 84 and claimed the wicket of Anthony McGrath and he made his mark again as Joe Sayers stretched forward and was caught behind by Chris Read for 17.
Before Sayers' departure, most of the outstanding shots came from nightwatchman David Wainwright who played some glorious cover drives.
Having included six boundaries in his 29 off 71 balls he drove too casually at Adams and David Hussey held a good catch low to his right at second slip.
In his next over, Adams struck again as Andrew Gale poked another catch to Hussey and Yorkshire were struggling on 81 for six when Gerard Brophy slashed hard at Ryan Sidebottom and was caught at point by Samit Patel.
Bairstow, who came in at 72 for four, survived patiently until lunch when he had scored four off seven overs but soon after the interval he lost Tim Bresnan who edged Sidebottom to Alistair Brown at first slip to bring the former Yorkshire paceman his third wicket.
Adil Rashid soon departed to the same combination but Bairstow then received no-nonsense support from Matthew Hoggard, the ninth wicket pair adding 45 in 18 overs before Paul Franks had Hoggard caught at cover.
Kruis quickly showed plenty of initiative with the bat himself and played a full part in a stand of 83, Yorkshire's highest for the 10th wicket in matches at North Marine Road.
But it was Bairstow who had the crowd purring as he lifted Luke Fletcher for a straight six to reach his fifty and reverse swept both Hussey and Patel to the boundary.
Nottinghamshire took the new ball immediately it became available at 225 for nine and Sidebottom ended the resistance by having Kruis caught at gully by Adams to pick up figures of five for 59 against his native county.
Sidebottom had still not finished because off the second ball of the final over he extracted extra bounce from the pitch and Rudolph edged straight into Hussey's hands at second slip.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: -1 C to 1 C
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