Joe Root scored a classic maiden first-class century to put Yorkshire back in
the match on the second day of their County Championship clash against
Sussex at Scarborough.
The 20-year-old England Lions batsman, who also plays for Sheffield Collegiate,
the same club for who Michael Vaughan first stepped out, was still there at the
close with 111 as Yorkshire reached 251 for 4 in 45 overs. Root's chanceless century came off 188 deliveries and contained 18 cleanly-struck boundaries.
Replying shortly before lunch to the visitors' first-innings score of 398,
Yorkshire suffered a blow in the third over when acting captain Jacques Rudolph
was out for only a single, the South African being tempted into a drive by Wayne
Parnell and edging to wicketkeeper Ben Brown.
Parnell struck again after the interval by trapping Joe Sayers lbw but his
new-ball partner, James Anyon, went unrewarded for a fine spell of decidedly
quick seam bowling. Root, coming in at the fall of Rudolph's wicket, was helped in repairing the
early damage by Anthony McGrath, and they moved the score on to 81 before
McGrath was lbw to Amjad Khan for 29.
Another useful stand developed between Root and Jonny Bairstow with Root
pulling Khan fiercely for four to complete his fifth half-century of the season
off 83 balls with 10 boundaries.
They had taken their partnership to 71 by tea but only four had been added in
the final session when Bairstow fell for 33 to a tumbling catch at first slip by
Mike Yardy to give James Anyon a much deserved wicket at the start of his second
spell. With Yorkshire 156 for 4, Gary Ballance came in to continue his good run of
form and he carved Anyon over the top of third man for six.
Runs were coming rapidly but when Ballance swept hard at Monty Panesar he
struck Chris Nash a painful blow on the arm at short leg and had to leave the
field for treatment.
Root was looking a class act and consecutive boundaries off Panesar and a
straight drive for four at Kirk Wernars' expense pushed him into the 90s. He
reached his century by slapping a loose ball from Anyon to the cover boundary to
receive a standing ovation. Ballance was 45 at stumps and his unbroken fifth-wicket partnership with Root was worth 95, Yorkshire having reduced the first-innings deficit to 147.
Sussex had a chance to take control of the game when they resumed in the
morning on 335 for 5 with Yardy on 126 and Wernars 16, but Yorkshire hit back
well by claiming the last five wickets for 63.
In the day's first over, Yardy glanced Ryan Sidebottom for four but the next
ball he edged into Bairstow's gloves to give the former England left-arm paceman
his first five-wicket haul since returning to his native county at the start of
the season. Richard Pyrah chipped in with two wickets in three balls as Parnell hooked
straight to Sidebottom at long leg and Wernars chopped into his stumps.
The first eight wickets of the Sussex innings had fallen to pace but
leg-spinner Adil Rashid, came on to snuff out the tail by gaining lbw verdicts
against both Khan and Panesar.
Soon after midday, with umpire Trevor Jesty off the field for an hour with a
sickness complaint, former Yorkshire and England all-rounder Craig White, now
the county's deputy director of cricket, came on to stand at square leg for a
few overs until being replaced by 75-year-old local umpire Fred Bernard. Bernard returned an hour before the close when Jesty was forced from the field again.