Bresnan shows his batting credentials
England bowler Tim Bresnan and in-form batsman Jonny Bairstow helped Yorkshire claw their way out of deep trouble on the first day against Hampshire
11-May-2011
England bowler Tim Bresnan and in-form batsman Jonny Bairstow helped Yorkshire claw their way out of deep trouble on the first day of the County Championship match against Hampshire at Headingley.
Bairstow held things together earlier in the day with a fluent 83 and then Bresnan, in his first Championship appearance of the season, weighed in with a defiant unbeaten 82 as Yorkshire reached a respectable 304 for 7.
It was a far better effort than appeared likely after Yorkshire had lost both their openers inside the first three overs for just six runs after winning the toss. Joe Sayers fell leg before to David Griffiths and Adam Lyth was comprehensively bowled by Hampshire captain Dominic Cork, who picked up three wickets.
Joe Root and skipper Andrew Gale worked hard to stage a recovery on a pitch with some assistance in it for the seamers but it became 48 for three when Sean Ervine came on and immediately had Gale flicking a loose legside delivery into the gloves of Nic Pothas.
Watchful batting, allied to a sound technique, enabled Root to move efficiently to 35 before he was unluckily dismissed at the non-striker's end, Ervine moving swiftly to cut off Bairstow's return drive with the ball ricocheting into the stumps.
Yorkshire were a shaky 96 for 4 at lunch and three runs into the afternoon session they lost Gerard Brophy who shaped to play Cork on the legside and was lbw to continue his run of low scores. There was brief support from Adil Rashid for Bairstow who pulled Cork for his ninth boundary to complete a half-century but soon afterwards Rashid was held at second slip by James Vince off Kabir Ali.
There was a scare for Bairstow on 60 when a mistimed legside shot at Ali ballooned to Vince at backward point but umpire Jeremy Lloyds was already signalling no-ball. Hampshire turned to the left-arm spin of Danny Briggs at 180 for 6 and he bowled a tidy 15-over spell from the football end but Bresnan managed to settle in well with Bairstow.
They added a valuable 62 together in 17 overs and Bairstow looked set for his first century in a home match until he attempted an inelegant stroke through the off side against Cork and got an inside edge into his stumps to depart for 83 from 130 deliveries with 13 boundaries.
Bresnan continued Yorkshire's recovery in an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 99 with Ajmal Shahzad who also blossomed after a careful start. Bresnan swept Briggs handsomely for six to go to his 50 from 96 balls with six boundaries and Shahzad also cleared the rope by hooking Griffiths into the crowd at long leg.
At 72, Bresnan had reached his highest Championship score for Yorkshire since hitting 97 against Worcestershire in June 2009 and there was just time before the close for Shahzad to cut a boundary which took his side to 300 and a third batting bonus point, Shahzad ending the day on 42 with four fours and a six.
