County Championship: Hampshire keep Yorkshire in check at Ageas Bowl
- Published
Kyle Abbott has now taken 46 wickets in this summer's County Championship
LV= County Championship Division One, Ageas Bowl, Southampton (day one): |
Yorkshire 197-6: Bess 45*, Ballance 42, Abbott 3-46 |
Hampshire: Yet to bat |
Bonus points: Hants 2pts, Yorkshire 0pts |
Pace bowler Kyle Abbott took three wickets as Hampshire had the edge on the opening day against Yorkshire.
The visitors reached 197-6 at the Ageas Bowl with an unbeaten 45 by Dom Bess their highest score.
Both sides need to win the game. having carried significantly fewer points forward into Division One than some of their title rivals.
Gary Ballance made a painstaking 42 and Bess and Jordan Thompson survived six overs of the new ball before stumps.
Play ended 10 overs early after the umpires took the players off for bad light.
Hampshire carried 8.5 points forward from the first phase of the competition and Yorkshire 4.5.
But they have only four Division One games to try and overhaul on Warwickshire (21), Somerset (18.5) and Lancashire (16.5).
Adam Lyth was lbw to Abbott early after the visitors were put in and although they reached lunch on 59-1, George Hill (31), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (20) and Harry Brook (13) all followed during the afternoon.
Ballance faced 119 deliveries before chipping a catch to mid-wicket off Liam Dawson's left-arm spin and Harry Duke was caught at second slip.
Bess, though, struck up two boundaries in Abbott's final over before the close, the first an elegant cover drive and the second a square cut, and Yorkshire will begin day two only needing three more runs for their first batting point.
Yorkshire all-rounder Dom Bess told BBC West Yorkshire Sport:
"I don't think the scoreboard reflects how well we've batted.
"I think it (the toss) was screaming to bowl first. The lights came on pretty early, it was overcast all day and the wicket was dry underneath but very green.
"There was no point, going to the crease, in trying to look good. It might have looked really ugly but at the end of the day, it's 45 (not out) and I think we're in a good position.
"It was really good grit (by us) and hopefully, if it's a bit sunnier tomorrow, we can pile on some more runs."