Yorkshire CCC lay positive platform for their spinners as hosts eye first win

It was a typically fine innings but, in terms of strike-rate, was actually the least briskest of the Yorkshire top-six.

That statistic - which you won’t see very often - is picked out purely to highlight how positive Yorkshire were collectively (Brook included) as they laid the foundation for what they hope will be their first win of the season.

Going into the final day, Glamorgan are 171-3 in their second innings, 127 behind, after Yorkshire declared some 40 minutes after lunch on day three at 519-7 in reply to the visitors’ first innings 221.

It felt like a good declaration, with 56 overs left in the day and the prospect - with an extra half-hour if required - of a three-day finish if everything went to plan.

Matters did not quite run to that sort of clockwork but, thanks to the chipping and chiselling away of spinners Dom Bess and Dan Moriarty, Welsh hopes appear to be less than promising.

Yorkshire have the benefit of a used pitch and they’ll be dancing in the streets of Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding districts if Glamorgan get out of this one intact.

On the best day of the match so far weather-wise, the sort on which one is made to regret having come with a coat, the sun shone on a good batting display by Yorkshire as they advanced from their overnight 295-2.

Fin Bean was badly dropped in the morning’s second over, by Colin Ingram at first slip off Mir Hamza, but Joe Root soon added two offside boundaries off James Harris which took him to a hundred made from as many balls.

Bean dusted himself off to find the 10 runs he needed to reach 150, a milestone celebrated with a straight six off Mason Crane, whom he hit for three of his five sixes in a career-best performance.

The leg-spinner had his revenge eventually, bowling Bean for a splendid 173, the left-hander sharing in a third-wicket partnership of 265 with Root that was also compiled from as many deliveries.

Root then shared in a stand of 72 from 75 balls with Brook, who hit Crane for two sixes early in his innings - the first lofted straight towards The Howard Stand, the other pulled out towards the East Stand.

Root went to his sixth 150 in Yorkshire colours before falling for 156, lbw to Harris, leaving the field to suitable acknowledgement of a classy exhibition.

So dominant and destructive were Yorkshire that they reached maximum batting points with a whopping 31.1 overs to spare, a remarkable effort.

There was no let-up in momentum as Jonny Tattersall arrived to keep Brook company, Tattersall playing a little gem of an innings and out-scoring his partner as he contributed 55 from 57 balls with eight fours and a six to their stand of 79 from 90 deliveries.

After passing 500 in easy-as-you-like fashion, Yorkshire lost three wickets in quick succession to Crane as the declaration loomed.

Tattersall was comprehensively stumped, Matty Revis bowled around his legs looking to sweep and Brook caught in the gully, at which point Shan Masood called his men in to appreciative applause from a crowd numbering 1,345.

Crane, who played one Test for England at Sydney in 2018, finished with 5-152 from 23.1 overs, an unlikely five-for given that he was, for the most part, hit around the park.

Still, fair play to the 27-year-old for persevering and fighting his way through a difficult ordeal – and fair play to his captain, Sam Northeast, for keeping faith with his bowler.

Trailing by 298, Glamorgan began mission improbable in plucky fashion.

Eddie Byrom and Billy Root added 56 for the first wicket, Root appearing to be bowled through his legs by Moriarty, who had been introduced just seven overs into the piece.

After a tea break taken a fraction early when Matty Fisher seemed to injure his left ankle slipping as he ran full tilt towards the boundary (he did not return for the final session), Bess had Byrom top-edging a sweep to deep backward-square as Glamorgan fell to 72-2.

That became 93-3 when Kiran Carlson was the victim of a freak dismissal - and what looked like a bad decision to the naked eye - when he advanced to Bess and drove straight against Root at silly mid-off, the ball ricocheting back to wicketkeeper Tattersall, who broke the stumps as Carlson turned and dived desperately to make his ground.

DRS would have cleared it all up but this is Division Two of the Championship, old boy.

Northeast and Ingram batted defiantly thereafter, sharing an unbroken 78 in 28.3 overs to at least give some hope to the residents of Merthyr Tydfil.