Groundhog day for Gibson as Yorkshire frustrated in search for first victory

By the time thunder and lightning brought a premature conclusion with 18 overs left, they had moved on to 372-7, a lead of 74, with captain Sam Northeast unbeaten on 142 after Colin Ingram hit 113.

“I’m obviously frustrated that we couldn’t get over the line,” said Ottis Gibson, the Yorkshire head coach, whose side have drawn four and lost one of their opening five games in the Second Division.

“I think we gave ourselves enough time this time, in this game (to bowl them out), so you’ve got to give them a lot of credit, Northeast and Ingram, for the way that they played.

“It’s difficult to keep saying that we’re playing good cricket when we’re not winning, but we are playing good cricket.

“We bowled them out for 220 in the first innings, with our spinners doing fantastically well to take eight wickets between them, then we batted at pretty much five-and-a-half runs an over to score 520, so we gave ourselves the best part of 150 overs to try and get the match done, but we couldn’t get across the line.”

Gibson felt that the heavy roller dulled the surface, negating the threat of the Yorkshire spinners.

Between them, first-choice spinners Dan Moriarty and Dom Bess, along with back-up spinners Joe Root and Adam Lyth, delivered 120 of the 138 second innings overs, with Root and Lyth each taking two wickets and Moriarty and Bess one apiece (Moriarty and Bess each captured four wickets in the first innings).

“I think the difference in this game, from the first innings to their second innings, was the two heavy rollers,” said Gibson.

“Teams have an opportunity for two heavy rollers and the rollers took the life out of the pitch, so maybe we need to get rid of heavy rollers from county cricket; that’s another thing for Rob Key to look at.

“The two heavy rollers took the sting out of the pitch but you can’t take anything away from the way that they batted.

“Taking 20 wickets at Headingley has been one of our biggest issues in recent times, but we can’t fault the effort and endeavour – and also the skill – of our guys, but, in the end, it wasn’t to be.”

Gibson continued: “We did everything apart from win the match.

"We drove the game from the first day, so not to get the result was obviously frustrating.

“We have all these different little mantras in the dressing room, and one of the things I say all the time is ‘when the game starts, you’re trying to create an opportunity to win the game over four days’.

“We did that; we didn’t go on and win the game, but we had an opportunity to win it.

“We’re playing well enough and, eventually, if we keep doing the right things, we’ll find a way to win.”

Yorkshire have a break now until their next match against Sussex at Hove starting on May 17.

Gibson said that pace bowler Matty Fisher is a doubt for that game having sprained his left ankle while fielding on Sunday.