Shahzad and Rashid give Yorkshire the edge

Yorkshire's local Asian contingent took the honours on the first day of their home match against the 2008 county champions and 2009 current table leaders Durham. The pace bowler Ajmal Shahzad and legspinner Adil Rashid both bowled superbly, taking three wickets each as Durham were bowled out for 178 runs. Their batsmen made a good start before the close, dampening the fires of a fierce Steve Harmison, but there is still a long way to go in this crucial match.

Yorkshire were no doubt secretly relieved that Graham Onions, a major thorn in their flesh in the last couple of years, was required to stay in Cardiff with the England team. Durham won the toss and decided to bat, in mainly cloudy conditions, rain threatening (without actually arriving), and on a rather slow pitch that gave the bowlers a little movement and some uneven bounce. There was an impressive crowd officially given as 2200, all sitting on the eastern side of the ground due to the building operations.

Durham began slowly, the first runs not coming until the third over, when Michael Di Venuto pushed a ball from Matthew Hoggard through the covers for two. Part of the slowness was due to the fact that Hoggard bowled a little too wide of off stump, and the batsmen were content to let it pass rather than being forced to play it. Di Venuto and Mark Stoneman shaped well in a solid opening partnership, not looking to dominate until Shahzad came on and bowled a couple of early balls too short, not wise policy on a slow pitch.

With Rana Naved suffering from no-ball problems, Yorkshire were wondering where their first wicket was coming. Then, with the score 47, Stoneman (23) pushed a ball to mid-on for a single, only to find Anthony McGrath flying in to throw down the stumps at the bowler's end superbly. This proved to be the start of an unexpected slump for the champions. Kyle Coetzer never looked comfortable, and still had not scored when he edged a low catch off Shahzad, now bowling very well, to the keeper. Then Gordon Muchall fell second ball to the same bowler, trapped lbw from a ball that moved in to him quite sharply. When Shahzad was rested, Di Venuto was beaten and bowled by a well-flighted spinner from Adil Rashid, and Durham had slumped to 62 for 4.

After lunch, the slide continued. Ian Blackwell, who has often rescued his team in such circumstances, made only 12 today, playing back to be bowled by a ball from Rashid which he pushed through, it keeping rather low. Naved produced a beautiful ball that had Phil Mustard caught at slip for 7, while Liam Plunkett was perhaps unluckily adjudged lbw to Shahzad for 3. All this time Dale Benkenstein was playing with patience and skill at the far end, and now, at 128 for 7, he finally found a partner in Mitch Claydon capable of staying with him.

They added a valuable 43 and survived until tea, but in the first over after the interval, Hoggard got a delivery to rear unexpectedly, and Claydon edged it to the keeper after a determined 20. Steve Harmison came in and struggled to unravel the mysteries of Rashid. He looked out of his depth long before he attempted a sweep across the line and was palpably lbw without scoring.

Finally Benkenstein, with last man Mark Davies in, went for a ball from Hoggard outside off stump and edged to the keeper, with a fine 62 to his credit. The innings thus closed for 178, with three wickets each to Shahzad and Rashid. Rashid in particular bowled superbly, with scarcely a bad delivery, and it remains a mystery why, with so many good bowlers in their team, Yorkshire still seem incapable of bowling teams out twice. Jonathan Bairstow took three catches and kept wicket superbly.

Now it was Yorkshire's turn to bat on this pitch - no Onions, but there was a Harmison eager to gain selection against Australia. His first delivery was taken in front of the slips, while his second threatened Jacques Rudolph's ribcage. In his next over Rudolph drove him superbly through the covers for three, but then he played a loose shot against Claydon and was caught at the wicket for 5.

Despite the slow pitch and the emergence of the sun, Harmison was a very serious threat. He worked up a god pace and often made the ball fly, striking McGrath a painful blow on the hand. Claydon too had the batsmen defending desperately as the champions fought back. McGrath and Joe Sayers, who effected two skilful leg glances for four, saw off Harmison, and Plunkett conceded 11 runs in his first over. They were still there at the close, but will be well aware that there is plenty of time left in this match for the Empire to strike back.