Battling Jonny Bairstow leads Yorkshire CCC to draw at Durham

The results - a bit of everything so far - represent a solid enough start to life back in the First Division of the County Championship.

Yorkshire would certainly have taken a draw going into the final day against Durham, and thanks in no small part to a captain’s performance from Jonny Bairstow, who made an unbeaten 86, a draw they achieved having been behind the eight-ball at the halfway stage.

After two days, Durham had been 264-1 in their first innings in response to Yorkshire’s 307 before increasing their total to 301-1.

But a subsequent slide to 427 all-out as Yorkshire fought back determinedly with the ball meant that their advantage was not as big as had seemed likely as the visitors then reached 132-4 at stumps on day three to lead by 12 runs.

Bairstow’s men were hardly out of the woods at effectively 12-4 heading into day four, with the skipper on two and George Hill on 13 following the key departures of Adam Lyth and Dawid Malan late on the third evening.

But resolute batting from Bairstow, Matty Revis and Hill saw Yorkshire to 277-6 and a lead of 157 by the time the forecast rain arrived just before 3pm with a minimum of 49.3 overs left in the match, with play eventually abandoned at 4pm.

“Really pleased to get out of that the way that we did,” said Bairstow.

“We left a few out there (in the first innings) and there were a few softer dismissals. As a group, we'll look to improve on that. I think that's a fairly easy fix, if I'm honest. There's a lot of talent within the group.

“They put us under pressure. For two of their guys to get 150, it’s exactly what Division One cricket is about. It's probably the biggest difference between that and Division Two. When a team's on top, they don't let you off, and that's a lesson we can learn as a group.

“I'm happy with the way that I've been striking the ball. Yes, it was a tricky day today, but the way in which we started the day with Hilly and then the way that Rev played as well, just to be out there for the whole day is something that you can draw upon.”

Conditions had been murky and miserable from the get-go, with the floodlights on for the 11am start.

The action was preceded by a minute’s silence for Jeff Evans, the former umpire, with the players lining up in front of the pavilion to pay tribute to a man who died on Sunday at the age of 70.

With Paul Coughlin suffering with a stomach injury and Brendan Doggett with an ankle problem, the hosts were two bowlers down as they sought what always felt an unlikely win, particularly given the forecast.

They started untidily, too, as Matthew Potts gave Bairstow and Hill a nice easy leg-side single apiece to get themselves going, Bairstow also striking two boundaries in an opening over that disappeared for 10.

Durham thought that Bairstow offered a chance down the leg-side off Ben Raine when his score was 19, something that proved academic as wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson dropped the ball anyway.

The first wicket finally fell after 55 minutes, Hill pulling a long hop from spinner Colin Ackermann to Ben McKinney at mid-wicket, a dismissal that ended a fifth-wicket stand worth 59 and which caused a frustrated Hill to linger briefly at the crease with his hands on his head in self-recrimination.

Bairstow went to his half-century from 91 balls with his eighth four, a cover drive off Raine, and had reached 66 - and Revis 24 - out of a lunchtime total of 232-5, effectively 112-5.

Revis went on to 40 before he drove at Ackermann and was caught behind, having faced 93 balls with five fours, his stand with Bairstow worth 96. The skipper faced 167 balls overall and struck 11 fours, with Dom Bess finishing unbeaten on two.