Day 3: Yorkshire to continue their first innings on 182/3
The two batsmen, Kane Williamson and Jonny Bairstow, resumed on day 3 with plenty of batting still required. They appeared to start rather trouble free until, with the score on 211, Ben Stokes produced a brutal yorker, trapping Williamson for 84.
Yorkshire still had batsmen to come, including Gary Ballance who was in great form coming into this match. Another partnership was required.
Ballance clipped his first ball through mid-wicket for runs, but when Bairstow called him back for a second there was hesitation. Ballance was in trouble and, despite a desperate dive, was short of his ground when Phil Mustard collected a Chris Rushworth throw, run out for 1.
Durham were delighted to have stolen Ballance’s wicket. It lead to complete chaos in Scarborough, with Adil Rashid nicking Jamie Harrison behind for 1, and the key man Bairstow punching one back to Scott Borthwick caught and bowled for 82. Yorkshire were in huge trouble at 253-7.
The wickets didn’t stop there. Plunkett feathered Mark Wood behind off an inside edge in the next over for 10, Steven Patterson was bowled the very next ball. Jack Brooks and Ryan Sidebottom provided slight resistance lasting 10 overs, before Stokes had Sidebottom caught at the wicket for 5.
Yorkshire were all out for 274 before lunch, losing their last 7 wickets for just 63 runs in a morning of madness.
Durham’s lead was 299 and so they could ask Yorkshire to follow on, which is precisely what they did.
The Yorkshire openers would not have expected to be batting again straight after lunch, but before they even could find their feet Adam Lyth was out LBW to Rushworth for 10. A heavy defeat looked unavoidable.
Williamson, who missed out on three figures in the morning, once again settled in and looked more and more elegant as the innings progressed, with Phil Jaques also looking assured.
Stokes produced a hostile spell of short bowling that Jaques decided to take on, pulling numerous deliveries square for four or six. Stokes did find a genuine edge on one occasion, but the ball flew over keeper Mustard for another boundary.
The two batsmen looked as if they were playing on a different surface in the afternoon as runs flowed, just as they had in the first two days. Durham looked to Borthwick to make the breakthrough on a dry turning pitch, but he couldn’t find consistency.
Giving Paul Collingwood further worry was a side injury to Wood, which meant he could not bowl in the second innings.
Jaques crashed past 50 and didn’t look like stopping. At the other end, Williamson calmly accumulated his runs without giving Durham a sniff. Fittingly, it was a four that took Jaques to his century off 132 balls. It was a great knock that shifted the momentum of this game back in the home team’s favour.
As the evening wore on, the Durham attack wore down and batting became even simpler. The partnership moved well beyond 200. There was time for Jaques to notch up his 150 before stumps, meaning Yorkshire ended on 276-1 overnight with Williamson 90*.
Yorkshire still had hopes of winning this game on the final day, something that had seemed impossible after the morning session.
Close of play: Yorkshire 2nd innings 276/1 (PA Jaques 151*, KS Williamson 90*, 65 ov)
