James Wharton to the fore as Yorkshire CCC chases comeback triumph

In a nutshell, the Yorkshire batsman was hit in a painful area while batting in the club’s previous match against Sussex at Headingley, hence his absence from the team-sheet in Taunton.

One man’s anguish is another man’s delight - actually, everyone else’s delight when such “hilarities” arise.

But one man who would have been pleased at least to have grabbed his chance with Whiteman indisposed is young James Wharton, who made an excellent 92 on day three against Somerset, an innings that helped to keep his team afloat.

As Yorkshire moved from 13-0 overnight to 365-9 in their second innings, a lead of 253 that left all results possible, Wharton stepped up impressively following his recall in Whiteman’s absence.

Wharton’s previous scores this season had realised 33 runs in five innings - including a 20-ball duck in the first innings of this match, but here he showed the skills that had made him a fixture in the side before he made way for the returning Joe Root, who is making the second of three Championship appearances before the international summer.

With Root at the other end for company, the pair sharing a third-wicket partnership of 123, Wharton produced an innings of substance, losing little by way of comparison with his colleague. They lifted Yorkshire from 43-2 when they came together about half-an-hour into the day - the visitors still 66 runs adrift at that stage - and helped to establish a platform from which they will hope to secure a fine comeback win, having been dismissed for 162 in their first innings before Somerset responded with 274.

Wharton, 25, is a good player to watch and a difficult one to bowl to - his long levers can turn good length deliveries into half volleys, and he strikes the ball cleanly. The early signs were good when he cut Lewis Gregory to the boundary and then off-drove Craig Overton for another; he and Root rotated the strike well and did not allow Somerset to settle.

Initially, Somerset’s tails were up courtesy of Overton, who bowled Fin Bean past the outside edge and had Adam Lyth caught behind driving. A key moment - it seemed both at the time and certainly now in retrospect - came when Root was reprieved on two when he was struck on the front pad by Gregory as he tried to dab a ball down into the leg side. It looked a good shout, the bowler sinking to the turf in frustration. Root went on to score 64 from 101 balls with seven fours.

In watery sunshine, with the pitch having flattened out as it tends to do at Taunton, Root was his usual inventive self, not least when reverse-sweeping Archie Vaughan’s first ball for four. With no Jack Leach for the hosts in this game due to a neck injury, Somerset struggled to find anyone who could hold up an end while their main men rotated.

By lunch, Yorkshire’s position was a good deal healthier at 140-2, both Root and Wharton on the brink of their fifties. Root went to the milestone in the first over after the break, from 79 balls with five fours, then Wharton from 99 deliveries with six fours.

And then, as if from nowhere, the breakthrough: Root bowled by a full-length delivery from Overton that he tried to drive down the ground, Root throwing his bat into the air in frustration and catching it as he left (well held, sir).

Wharton and Jonny Bairstow added 46 before the latter sliced Migael Pretorius to third man. Matty Revis dabbled at the same bowler and was caught behind for a single, and then Wharton walked into a delivery from Alfie Ogborne, pushed at it and was caught at first slip by Gregory, having faced 153 deliveries and hit 12 fours. Yorkshire, at that stage, were 226-6, the lead 114.

George Hill and Dom Bess added 51, a fine stand ended when Hill edged Gregory to Overton at second slip, before a sharply-turning off-break from Vaughan bowled Logan van Beek - 286-8, the lead then 174.

Another stand of 51 - this time between Bess and Jhye Richardson – ensured Yorkshire would at least have something to bowl at.

Bess scored 40 from 89 balls with four fours, eventually sweeping Vaughan to deep mid-wicket, and was well supported by Richardson, who had a life on 25 when he came down the pitch to Vaughan and should have been stumped by wicketkeeper James Rew.

It was a costly miss, the Australian reaching an unbeaten 48 from 116 balls with seven fours when bad light ended play with two balls left, Richardson and Jack White further frustrating the hosts with a last-wicket stand worth 28.

Game on.