A mist to rival those from the mists of time

Surrey 219 for 7 (Burns 59, Bresnan 3-57) trail Yorkshire 342 (Dernbach 4-104) by 123 runs
Scorecard

Mist. Mist everywhere. Mist wreathing the sightscreens and the umpires' coats. Mist masking the terraces around the ground and the refreshment stalls inside it. Mist crippling Surrey's batsmen as they crept to 219 for 7 in reply to Yorkshire's 342. Mist halting play nine times and for 25 minutes in all during the evening session as the umpires stood with the players and waited for it to clear. Mist turning Ollie Pope into a young ghost as he battled away for 34 plucky and unbeaten runs in conditions as alien as he can have known. Mist finally stopping play 14.5 overs before the close when more or less everyone gave it best and went home.

Rarely can the weather have determined the nature of a day's cricket as much as it did at North Marine Road this extraordinary Tuesday. The foghorn had sounded at six o'clock in the morning and even two hours later the cars were inching along Queens Parade past fret-gauzed hotels and pedestrians already armed with their copies of the Yorkshire Post. The mist cleared and then swirled in again, invading every crevice and seeming to make an early start unlikely.

But the lexis of religious observance is not forced at Scarborough. The faithful still make their pilgrimages on days of obligation and hotels are booked before the second Sunday in Advent. Those who have been coming here since the 1960s have seen it all and remember most of it. They were not dissuaded by the mist. Instead, they talked of these being ideal conditions for seamers like Tony Nicholson who used to rumble in and create havoc in the years when Yorkshire were winning the last three of their seven titles in a decade.

This summer is not comparable to those and Steve Patterson's seamers were made to battle for almost every breakthrough on a chilly Tuesday afternoon. After a morning session in which the mist lifted and 127 runs were scored, 38 of them by the home side's tailenders, Surrey's batsmen ground out the runs in a fashion which Yorkshiremen like Doug Padgett or Phil Sharpe might have admired. While Rory Burns profited from the attacking fields to hit 11 boundaries in a 46-ball fifty, the Surrey skipper's colleagues were more restrained, especially after the mist returned soon after lunch.

Before the break Mark Stoneman was caught at the wicket off Ben Coad for 9 and Scott Borthwick also taken by Jonny Tattersall when he skied a pull off Tim Bresnan. If those blows were not bad enough, the session brought disciplinary problems for Surrey. Following a Level One offence being committed by Jade Dernbach (not officially identified) when Jack Brooks and Patterson were extending their ninth-wicket stand to 61, Stoneman dissenting when given out. The two offences in the same game led to five runs being added to the home side's total. The Scarborough crowd, ever vociferous, rather enjoyed that.

The afternoon offered ideal bowling conditions and Yorkshire's seamers made the most of them. Burns was caught behind off Coad for 59 after adding only five to his lunchtime score. Ryan Patel took nearly two hours over his 32 runs before he was fourth out, caught at slip by Harry Brook off Bresnan; 40 minutes later Theunis de Bruyn, after playing well for his 38, nicked Steve Patterson to Tattersall

The murk increased in the evening session and play was stopped. Each hold up attracted barracking; each resumption brought applause. Will Jacks was leg before to Patterson for seven and Rikki Clarke caught and bowled by Bresnan for a duck. By the close Surrey could look back on a day in which they could have crumpled but did not do so. Pope's innings was a magnificent demonstration of character and resolve in one so young. Yorkshire have the advantage but this match has a long road ahead of it. Let us hope we do not need fog lamps.