Chopra plays long game as Bears opt for safety first

Warwickshire ultimately decided that much as they might have liked to leave Headingley with a win it was the long game that they were really interested in. Thus not losing became the priority that dictated their tactics on the final day, when captain Varun Chopra delayed his declaration just long enough to hand control of the outcome to Yorkshire, who after being on the back foot for much of the contest were content to emerge with a draw.

The long game is the 2015 Championship, in which Warwickshire have ambitions to topple the incumbents, to whom they lost twice by an innings last season. This was an obvious chance, given Yorkshire's long list of absentees and injured, to exact some revenge. But at the back of Chopra's mind was the thought that, come September, he would not want to be dwelling on the defeat in April that cost him the title.

Yet it was a negative approach that hardly helps when Championship cricket so wants to be exciting. They had Yorkshire on the back foot, the home side avoiding the follow-on but still trailing by 132 runs on first innings. Ian Westwood, with his second substantial innings of the match, turned that into a position from which his side could dictate.

With an ace up his sleeve, too, in Jeetan Patel, the country's best offspinner, it was a position from which they could have backed themselves, given Yorkshire's belief in playing positive cricket. Dangle a carrot, and Yorkshire invariably go for it.

To that end, the obvious moment to declare would have been lunch, when Yorkshire would have needed 303 from 76 overs. But how often, these days, does a captain set a team 300 at four an over? Chopra decided he could not take the risk. So the target instead grew to 352 and the time shrank to 68 overs, which interested Yorkshire for a while, less so once they lost four wickets.

Patel did his stuff, a strong crosswind adding to the hazards facing his opponents, and he took three wickets in the space of 43 balls. But they included Cheteshwar Pujara and Andrew Gale in quick succession and that was enough to set Yorkshire's thoughts towards defending. Although Jack Leaning was dropped on 21, there were no other scares and he and Andrew Hodd were able to negotiate the remaining overs successfully.

Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire's first-team coach, was clearly frustrated, although he accepted that Warwickshire's tactics were their prerogative. "They played with a safety first element, trying to bat us out of the game and that's fine," he said. "That was the tactics they wanted to adopt and I'm not having a go at them. It was our fault that we were in that position in the game, that they were calling the shots.

"But you would not see Yorkshire playing like that, we would look to be a lot more pro-active. We were going to have a crack even at the target we were set but it meant that we were comfortable enough if we lost a few wickets to be able to save the game. Once they set us that target, losing was not really on the cards for us."

It was indicative, perhaps, of the kind of tactics likely to waylay Yorkshire all season in their bid to defend their title. "There is something in that, yes," Gillespie said. "But we will just have to find a method to counter it."

Tim Bresnan's bowling was a pleasing feature for Yorkshire, but his contribution was eclipsed by the other offspinner in the game, James Middlebrook, who came out of retirement to dismiss Westwood twice, finishing with 5 for 82 and eight wickets in the match. But there will be no change of heart from the 37-year-old about his future. "It was great to know that I can still perform at this level and I was chuffed to make a contribution but there will be no change in my plans," he said. "I'm focussed on umpiring now but it was fitting to be able to end my career here, and on a high note."