Champions Demolish Surrey

The inclement spring weather did its very worst to thwart Yorkshire again, but in spite of losing much of the third day to unwelcome precipitation, the champions were not to be denied. Funnily enough, the opposition duo of Davies and Sangakkara between them amassed over three hundred runs, but were let down by less cosmic contributions from their team mates. However, although the hosts were momentarily struggling at 45 for three, there followed an historic partnership from our dynamic England duo of Bairstow and Root which totally transformed the proceedings. As a result, the Tykes were finally able to record their first win at the fourth time of asking.

Perhaps what separates this talented and resilient Yorkshire bunch from the rest is that whilst one week earlier they hung on in the face of adversity, narrowly averting defeat at Nottingham, this time they were able to just get to the chequered flag of victory before this match reached its conclusion. Surrey had less than eighty overs to survive, but scoreboard pressure assisted the home team in working their way through the visitors' resistance. 

YORKSHIRE versus Surrey; Sunday the 8th to Wednesday the 11th of May. Surrey chose to bat.

Surrey first innings: 330 (Davies 117, Sangakkara 73; Willey 3-55, Brooks 3-73)

YORKSHIRE first innings: 557 for six declared (Root 213, Bairstow 198, Rashid 60*; Rampaul 4-153)

Surrey second innings: 207 (Sangakkara 61, Davies 52; Patterson 3-15, Brooks 3-65)

YORKSHIRE win by an innings and twenty runs. YORKSHIRE 24 points, Surrey five points.

Lyth - Thirteen runs off sixteen balls was a good positive start for Adam, but then he succumbed to a successful lbw appeal from Ravi Rampaul.

Lees - Alex didn't build upon his Trent Bridge heroics, outscoring his partner by a mere three runs, before his 29-ball knock was ended by a caught behind.

Ballance - Eight runs off fourteen balls was just not good enough and seems to have persuaded the national selectors to steer clear of him for the time being.

Root - He treated his county to a six and a half hour stint, decorated with twenty-two fours and a six. Regrettably this is a rare outing for our potent weapon.

Bairstow - JB fell agonisingly short of his second double century of the summer, but he thrilled the crowd with his 24 fours in 262 minutes of first-class batting.

Gale - Eighteen runs off forty-three balls was puny after the runs feast that preceded him. Hopefully he will fill the large void when Root returns to test cricket.

Rashid - Adil was unable to take a wicket from 28 overs that cost 88 runs. However, he did atone for this with a fine batting display that produced eleven fours.

Plunkett - LP dismissed Harinath twice and took the final wicket, as well as removing Sangakkara in the first innings. However, he remains a bit too expensive.

Willey - David was ordered not to bowl in the second innings for fear of aggravating injury. He did however pick up three useful wickets in their first innings.

Patterson - Five wickets, costing 68 runs from thirty overs, was another excellent return. His lethal bowling spell on the final afternoon was especially critical.

Brooks - The headband warrior helped himself to six wickets, costing 138 runs. He will always concede a few runs but he does have a knack of taking wickets.

BATSMAN CHARTS (minimum of one hundred runs)

Bairstow: average - 88.83; 533 runs; two hundreds

Root: average - 80; 240 runs; one hundred

Plunkett: average - 61.25; 126 runs; one hundred, one fifty

Rashid: avergae - 49.75; 199 runs; two fifties

BEST BOWLERS (minimum of ten wickets)

Patterson: average - 23.43; fourteen wickets

Brooks: average - 32.6; fifteen wickets