YORKSHIRE V LANCASHIRE - Rival captains set to play vital roles in Roses battle

IN the days when County Championship games were three rather than four-day affairs, the onus was often on the captains to be inventive in the quest for victory.

Due to time being of the essence, the aim was to apply sufficient pressure to the opposition from the very start that the game could only go one way.

Or, failing that, if neither side was on top as the game moved towards the final day then it would be up to the two captains to come together in an attempt to try and contrive a result.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In that respect, the 250th Roses encounter may well prove to be something of a throwback to the days before 1988 when four-day cricket was first introduced – albeit in an initially limited role with the vast majority of Championship games sticking to the original format for a further four seasons.

The incessant rain that fell on Headingley Carnegie throughout Saturday means the latest instalment of county cricket's most enduring rivalry has effectively been reduced to a three-day contest.

And with six sessions remaining, it seems Andrew Gale and Glenn Chapple may well have crucial roles to play if the recent trend for drawn encounters in Roses fixtures is not to be extended come tomorrow evening.

Lancashire will start today on 272-5, leaving those whose loyalties lie with the red and white roses debating which of the two sides enjoyed the better of what was, in the main, a sedate day's play.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Certainly, those from the west of the Pennines will, after winning the toss and then being handily placed at 185 for the loss of just two wickets shortly before tea, surely have been expecting to end the day in a much stronger position.

On a pitch offering little or no help, Yorkshire toiled hard in the field with Adil Rashid and Steve Patterson being the pick of the bowlers.

Rashid had been given an earlier-than-anticipated introduction to the attack, Gale tossing the ball to the Bradford-born leg-spinner after just 12 overs.

He responded admirably, just as Patterson did after lunch with an economic stint that put the Lancashire batsmen under genuine pressure at a time when they were threatening to seize control.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The first two sessions had belonged to the Red Rose county, who after opting to bat on a sunny if cold day made steady progress during the morning.

Paul Horton and Stephen Moore had put on 54 for the opening wicket before the former was removed in the 16th over.

Oliver Hannon-Dalby was responsible for the breakthrough with a decent delivery that found the edge of Horton's bat and was caught by Rashid at third slip.

With Horton having made 149 and 152 in two of his last three innings at Headingley, the Yorkshire celebrations were understandably a mixture of jubilation and relief.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Any hopes, however, that the wicket would pave the way for the home side putting their biggest rivals under concerted pressure were soon banished as Ashwell Prince quickly settled.

So comfortable were Prince and Moore, in fact, that it was not until the early stages of the afternoon session that the next wicket fell when Ajmal Shahzad shattered Moore's stumps with a ball that appeared to keep low.

Once again, hopes that Lancashire would wilt were soon dispelled as Prince brought up his half-century off 100 balls with a quick single off Hannon-Dalby.

He and Mark Chilton, who on his last Championship appearance at Headingley had hit an unbeaten 111, put on 81 before the latter perished courtesy of a smart catch by Jacques Rudolph off Rashid.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Despite losing two wickets during the afternoon, the Red Rose county could still claim with justification that they had once again edged the session.

Yorkshire finally began to reclaim some ground after tea as Steve Patterson ended Prince's resistance with a delivery that the South African left-hander could only fend into the hands of Rashid.

Steven Croft was then dismissed in rather fortuitous fashion as a full toss from Rashid resulted in the ball being hit straight at Gale, who pocketed the gift gratefully.

Tom Smith then survived a strong shout for lbw from Rashid before Joe Sayers was introduced to the attack in an attempt to improve an over-rate that had fallen way behind.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

How Yorkshire had actually allowed this to happen was a mystery, especially with Rashid having bowled so many overs during the day.

And the upshot was Lancashire being able to reassert a modicum of control during the closing stages to end the day handily placed, if not in as strong a position as had seemed likely before tea.

Even so, it is still difficult to envisage the 250th Roses encounter ending in anything but a draw unless one of the two captains can seize the initiative in the remaining two days to end a run of nine draws from the last 10 meetings between these two old rivals.