Sussex suffer Jack White interrogation but take upper hand against Yorkshire

“No, I won’t tell.”

“Tell us their names, Mr White, we’re not messing about here.”

“No, I won’t. You can do what you want to me. I’m not going to give anything away.”

White, the 34-year-old pace bowler, certainly did not give anything away on day one at Headingley.

Instead, it was he who had Sussex on the rack, subjecting their batsmen to a harrowing ordeal as they found the going easier against some of his colleagues.

On a day when the visitors scored 373-6 after being sent into bat, White played the role of Grand Inquisitor from The Howard Stand end.

During 18 overs of intense interrogation, he returned figures of 3-42 with seven maidens, figures that scarcely did justice to the way that he bowled and the ominous threat that he posed.

Contrast White’s display with that of Jhye Richardson and it was chalk and cheese from Yorkshire’s perspective.

Richardson, the Australian fast bowler, had “one of those days”. No doubt he had fallen out of bed in the morning and banged his head against the beside table too, spilt his milk all over the kitchen top when preparing his cornflakes, and then discovered that his parking space had been taken on arriving at the ground. That said, Fred Trueman would have killed for anything as grand as a parking space at Headingley.

At times, en route to figures of 16-0-105-0, it felt as if Yorkshire were trying to bowl Richardson into form. You felt sorry for him, quite frankly, as he wheeled away in vain.

Richardson conceded six boundaries in his first spell of four overs from the Kirkstall Lane end – all lovely cover drives by Tom Haines, the left-handed opener.

As the ball kept disappearing to the rope, Richardson kept walking back to his mark, head bowed, clearly unhappy with himself and the way things were going. He was replaced by George Hill, who thankfully for Yorkshire was a good foil for White.

On a day of flawless blue skies and pleasant temperatures, with the sun beating down from first ball to last, White opened up with three successive maidens from the Rugby Stand end.

He then summoned a double breakthrough after Sussex had moved to 41-0 from 11 overs, having Daniel Hughes caught behind and Tom Clark leg-before, both pushing forward.

White took his sweater on figures of 7-5-11-2 to be replaced by Logan van Beek, whose first over disappeared for more runs (12) than White had conceded in his entire spell.

Haines cover-drove van Beek’s second and third balls for four in a scoring area that proved extremely productive for him, then pulled the final delivery to the rope for good measure too. Another pulled four - this time off Matty Revis - took Haines to his fifty from 62 balls, 48 of those runs coming in boundaries.

It was curate’s egg stuff from Yorkshire and relief for them, no doubt, when Dom Bess had Haines lbw just before lunch, for 64 from 112 balls with 15 fours. There was almost a third wicket for White straight after the break. Fin Bean was unable to cling on behind the stumps to a very tough chance, one-handed to his right, presented by Jack Leaning, the former Yorkshire batsman.

Bean took the gloves for this match even though Jonny Bairstow, the captain, returned to the side after suffering a small fracture in his right thumb in the Easter game in Glamorgan. Bairstow did his best to gee up his players and offer encouragement to Richardson especially.

Richardson conceded 27 from three overs in his second spell as James Coles took him for a flurry of boundaries. Yorkshire even tried switching Richardson to The Howard Stand end but it made little difference.

Hill, as he often seems to do, made something happen for the hosts out of nowhere, sending Sussex from 145-3 to 150-5 with the wickets of Leaning (well caught low down at second slip by Adam Lyth) and Coles (also well caught low down at first slip by Joe Root), Coles contributing 47 from 74 balls.

At that stage, the day was anyone’s but up stepped John Simpson and Tom Price to make sure that it shifted strongly towards the visitors, Simpson playing anchor and Price occasionally opening up - not least when pulling Richardson for six out towards the West Stand.

At tea, Sussex were 249-5, the partnership worth 99, the platform threatening. By the time the second new ball became available, that stand had climbed to 150, with Simpson and Price having doubled the total.

It was new ball or bust for Yorkshire and White delivered with his ninth ball back. Price walked into the shot and Lyth took the edge at second slip, sending the batsman packing for 93 from 159 balls and ending the stand at 165.

Simpson struck three boundaries in the day’s last over, bowled by van Beek, to reach a fine hundred, finishing on 101 from 163 deliveries.