Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire: Yorkshire toil away as Hussey dominates title clash

County Championship

IF Yorkshire's performance in this match was the subject of an entry on Azeem Rafiq's Twitter page, it would doubtless make for colourful reading.

As Yorkshire continued to toil against title rivals Nottinghamshire, who reached 497-6 in reply to the home team's first-innings 178, Rafiq was yesterday banned for a month for a foul-mouthed rant on the social networking site.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Rafiq was charged with breaching England and Wales Cricket Board directives by making a personal attack on England Under-19 coach John Abrahams, who dropped him as captain after he allegedly broke a team curfew during a game in Northampton.

Rafiq tweeted: "What a ******* farsee (sic) John Abrahams is a useless **** ECB prove it again what incompetent people are working for them!! John Abrahams is a useless ******"

The player's suspension lasts until three weeks today, ruling him out of two County Championship fixtures and two Clydesdale Bank 40 League matches, and he was ordered to pay 500 costs.

Yorkshire, who plan to issue a statement on the matter today, could decide to take further action against Rafiq, but their immediate priority is not the conduct of someone whose greatest crime was gross stupidity, but the recovery of a parlous situation against their closest rivals.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Going into the second half of this game, Yorkshire are in an almighty pickle after being comprehensively outplayed during the first two days.

Nottinghamshire have been superior in every department, displaying greater accuracy with the ball and more killer instinct with the bat, and such has been their dominance that Yorkshire would appear to be pinning their hopes on an unpromising weather forecast for tomorrow, with heavy rain predicted for Leeds.

After Nottinghamshire resumed yesterday on 147-3, with play not getting under way until 1.30pm after morning rain, Yorkshire failed in their attempt to take early wickets.

Samit Patel, 37 overnight, and David Hussey, who resumed on 35, made comfortable progress as Nottinghamshire continued to highlight the inadequacy of Yorkshire's score.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Both batsmen were commendably positive from the outset, driving confidently and rotating the strike in dexterous fashion as Yorkshire strove in vain for a breakthrough.

Hussey, who took 189 off Yorkshire at Scarborough last summer, was the more aggressive, striking 18 off an over from left-arm spinner David Wainwright, which included a straight six into the Rugby Stand.

Patel, fresh from his maiden Championship hundred of the season against Somerset last week, was the perfect foil as the scoreboard ticked along beneath murky skies.

A second successive century seemed in the offing, especially when he was reprieved on 76 when Ajmal Shahzad put him down at long-leg off Oliver Hannon-Dalby.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But the impressive Patel fell four runs short of three figures when he drove loosely at Adil Rashid and was smartly held one-handed at slip by Jacques Rudolph.

Patel's and Hussey's partnership was worth 184 in 42 overs, beating Nottinghamshire's previous fourth-wicket best against Yorkshire of 169 by Willis Walker and Arthur Staples at Bramall Lane in 1931.

Hussey, however, was in no mood to miss out. After reaching his hundred from 106 balls, he required a further 102 deliveries to register a double century in which he hardly seemed to break into a sweat.

The Australian shared in another big stand with his captain, Chris Read, the pair adding 114 in 28 overs before the latter slapped a wide one from Shahzad to backward-point.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ali Brown was bowled by the persevering Steve Patterson, who took 3-82, but no one could shift the obdurate Hussey.

At stumps, the 33-year-old was unbeaten on 222, beating by two runs Nottinghamshire's previous highest individual innings against Yorkshire by Tim Robinson at Trent Bridge in 1990.

Nottinghamshire's total eclipsed by five runs their previous best against the White Rose in Championship matches – 492-5 declared at Sheffield in 1949.

Hussey had one life: he was dropped on 168 by Hannon-Dalby off his own bowling when the pace man initially seemed to have taken the ball cleanly.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Perhaps Hannon-Dalby could not quite believe Hussey had made a mistake, such was his mastery over an attack in which only Patterson posed a consistent danger. Paul Franks chipped in with a fluent, undefeated 57, made from just 65 balls with 10 fours and a six, adding 97 in 18 overs with Hussey.

Yorkshire can take heart from the fact the pitch is still true and that gritty application should be fully rewarded. But they have it all to do trailing by 319 runs against their closest rivals.

DISPLAY OF THE DAY

David Hussey

He scored 222 from 232 balls with 26 fours and two sixes as Yorkshire continued to struggle in the top-of-the-table Championship battle.