Tanned and tested, Yorkshire prepared for serious business

The tour ended yesterday with a drawn two-day game against the Sri Lanka Development Squad in Colombo.

After scoring 280 all out on the opening day, with Jack Leaning striking an unbeaten 85, Adil Rashid 64 and Gary Ballance 40, Yorkshire dismissed their hosts for 174.

Jonathan Tattersall, the 19-year-old batsman, took 4-26 with his occasional spinners, frontline spinner Rashid capturing 3-45 and seamer Ben Coad 2-23. Rich Pyrah took the other wicket.

In sweltering conditions at the P. Sara Oval, where the temperature reached 42 degrees on the hottest day of the trip, acting captain Adam Lyth and his men had to work hard in the sapping weather.

An impressive bowling and fielding effort ensured the first innings lead of 106, Yorkshire reaching 84-2 in their second innings before stumps were drawn, Lyth contributing 32.

Yorkshire’s impressive display followed a 3-1 victory in a four-match Twenty20 series against the development squad.

Those games were the only other competitive fixtures on the tour, with Yorkshire also playing inter-squad cricket as well as working on skills and fitness.

In the first T20 game, Yorkshire cruised to a six-wicket win with 40 balls to spare. Coad was the pick of the bowlers with two cheap wickets, Rashid following figures of 3-16 with an innings of 25. Ballance top-scored with an unbeaten 28, the left-hander sealing the victory with a huge leg-side six.

In the second match, Azeem Rafiq took 3-20 from four overs as the hosts racked up 132-9. Tattersall top-scored in the reply with 35, Leaning made 22 and Oliver Robinson contributed an unbeaten 21 as Yorkshire won by four wickets with 15 balls to spare.

Rashid was the standout performer in the third T20 fixture as his 53 from 34 balls underpinned a total of 151-8, Dan Hodgson chipping in with 31.

Rashid followed that performance with his side’s best figures of 3-29 as the development squad finished nine runs short of victory with two wickets standing in a nail-biting finish.

Coad delivered a key contribution at the death, the 20-year-old capturing two wickets in the final over to keep the home team at bay on a tour in which he enhanced his growing reputation.

Yorkshire’s hopes of making it a clean sweep of T20 wins were dashed in the final match as the development squad held their nerve to overhaul the White Rose total of 150-7.

Hodgson hit 44 and Lyth 35, and although Rashid and Steve Patterson both took two wickets, the home side won by four wickets with nine balls to spare.

Yorkshire officially start their season on Tuesday when they host Leeds-Bradford MCCU in a three-day fixture at Headingley.

Yorkshire’s opening County Championship match is against Somerset at Taunton a fortnight on Sunday.