Yorkshire and Essex in action during a tense County Championship match. It made for a great cup tie between two teams battling it out at the bottom of Division One. The final did not take place in any old arena, but in the legendary Headingley Stadium in Leeds. Essex posted a hefty total before Yorkshire started their chase.
Essex racked up a massive 368 runs, a clear display of attacking batting at its finest. Vice-captain Tom Westley took the lead as England’s man of the match, his century of 107 runs blazing an attacking trail. Dean Elgar was full of support, almost achieving a century himself with 94 runs. Joining him in the effort, Dan Lawrence made a priceless contribution, scoring 50 runs. Their relationships gave Essex a significant first-mover advantage.
Yorkshire’s attack took the last seven Essex wickets for only 95 runs combined. Matthew Waite, with inspiration and support from Dom Bess, proved pivotal in breaking the Essex batting line-up to pieces. Waite took three for 68 while Bess took two for 36 and with the Essex batsmen churning out runs, they were made to work hard for every one.
Despite Essex’s strong performance, the Yorkshire bowlers faced a challenging pitch that lacked pace. The Essex batsmen showed a good attitude in batting out 110 overs before declaring on 278 for six. It was an outstanding performance which gave them a good lead against Yorkshire always in the back of their minds.
Once Yorkshire went in to bat, Adam Lyth made sure things got off to a good start. He powered to an unbeaten 65 while his team closed it out to 143 for three in just 54 overs. Fin Bean proved a valuable contribution with the bat with 31 runs. Yorkshire were left facing a deficit of 225 runs by the close of play.
Simon Harmer made an impact with the ball for Essex, taking one wicket for just 18 runs, effectively applying pressure on the Yorkshire batsmen.
As the first half goes on, both sides know what’s at stake in this important Division One match and play their hearts out. With Yorkshire needing to build on their innings and Essex aiming to maintain their hold on the match, the battle is set to continue in the coming days.
Leave a Reply