Points Shared

County Championship hopefuls, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire each had to settle for a share of the spoils after rain and a wet outfield contrived to deny the two teams much play during the second day of their close-fought skirmish. In the end, the only winners were Somerset who were able to preserve their lead at the top of the tree, five points above the Tykes, at the halfway stage.

Interestingly, it took until the fourth day before any batsman recorded a half century, after three batsmen had fallen off their horse whilst possessing 45 runs to their name. I will assess the individual performances of the Yorkshire players below, but in passing, I must register a few comments about the visiting personnel. The dangerous Michael Lumb proved yet again to be a thorn in the flesh of his former county, as he amassed a pair of forty-something scores. Meanwhile Chris Read chipped in with plenty of runs in this low-scoring match, confirming my belief that he has developed into a much better batsman than the one who failed to distinguish himself in his test career. Also, while James Taylor provided a few hints about his test credentials, Min Patel remarkably bagged a pair of ducks, being caught twice by Adil Rashid. Patel did however bowl well alongside the formidable Peter Siddle.

YORKSHIRE versus Nottinghamshire; at Headingley; June 8th-11th; Nottinghamshire won the toss.

Nottinghamshire first innings: 205 (Bresnan 3-43, Brooks 3-74)

YORKSHIRE first innings: 247 (Siddle 4-65, Patel 3-13)

Nottinghamshire second innings: 335 for eight declared (Taylor 96, Read 75; Patterson 4-57, Bresnan 4-112)

YORKSHIRE second innings: 53 for three

Match drawn. YORKSHIRE 9 points, Nottinghamshire 9 points.

Lyth - The in-form opener had a match to forget, recording scores of zero and thirteen.

Lees - After the heroics at Northampton, Alex also misfired, with two inadequate efforts of nine and six.

Leaning - It's a huge demand to expect this rookie to bat at three, but he did acquit himself well in the first innings when his stint at the crease was sabotaged by rain.

Gale - The captain made an explosive start to his first innings, but his efforts were also ruined by weather interruptions which undermined any continuity to his batting.

Bairstow - Jonny only made eighteen runs in the first innings when a much larger total was needed. He needs to find a big total soon to justify his number 5 position.

Finch - Our latest import compiled a useful 45 in the first innings, in the context of a small team total. He also produced a tidy spell in his little bowling cameo.

Rashid - Adil took four catches, but only two wickets and three runs. His thirteen overs cost 73 runs. Now that he is failing with the bat, he is fast becoming a liability.

Bresnan - 25 runs in his innings and seven wickets represented a typically wholehearted effort from TB. However his bowling became more expensive on the final day.

Pyrah - Richard bowled quite tidily without taking any wickets, but his aggressive innings reinforced the fact that he is more a number 7 batsman than a number nine.

Patterson - His match figures of forty overs, five wickets at a cost of 101 runs were excellent and a real credit to the county's unsung hero.

Brooks - JB was very expensive in the first innings, conceding 74 runs from 16 overs, but far more economical second time around, even though the wickets dried up.