County Championship: Ballance ton aids Yorkshire recovery v Hampshire
- Published
Gary Ballance made a third century in three visits, having hit 108 and an unbeaten 203 against Hampshire last season
Specsavers County Championship Division One, Ageas Bowl (day one): |
Yorkshire 315-7: Ballance 109, Brook 79; Steyn 4-48 |
Hampshire: Yet to bat |
Hampshire 3 pts, Yorkshire 3 pts |
Gary Ballance hit 109 as Yorkshire overcame a slow start on day one against Hampshire in Southampton.
Yorkshire started poorly, Alex Lees, Cheteshwar Pujara and Adam Lyth all falling early on as the Tykes were reduced to 21-3 after just 11.1 overs.
Ballance put on 143 runs for the fourth wicket with Harry Brook as Yorkshire seized the initiative with the bat.
Dale Steyn (4-48) removed Ballance after his first century of the season before Yorkshire closed on 315-7.
It was the worst possible start for Yorkshire against the pink ball when Lees and Pujara were easily dispatched by Hampshire for just one run between them.
Lyth followed when he edged a ball from Gareth Berg to Tom Alsop soon after, before Ballance and Brook's stand turned Yorkshire's fortunes around.
Ballance reached his ton off 171 balls, bringing up his hundred when he drove his 15th boundary of the day - only to fall as the natural light began to fade after the second interval.
Yorkshire picked up three batting points when Tim Bresnan (33) and Steven Patterson put on a late 38-run stand to help the White Rose go past 300.
Hampshire spinner Ollie Rayner:
"The pink ball is a tricky one because we did things early on and then there is a period where it gets soft and harder to bowl with.
"Dale bowled exceptionally well and was backed but by Fidey - who picked up wickets at important times.
"All in all we've had a pretty good day but it is tough work. People say that under the lights is really hard to bat, and it looked like that. Credit to them for batting well at the end.
Yorkshire centurion Gary Ballance:
"I love batting here. It was a pretty decent wicket. It felt good batting out there in the middle and we have a decent score.
"They bowled well and in some good areas and made it tough to score so we had to be patient and once I got in it was a nice paced pitch.
"When we went back out after tea it took a bit of time to get used to the twilight. But I don't want to make any excuses. It was a poor shot. I just got stuck in two minds."