County Championship: Northamptonshire's Berg takes five wickets as Yorkshire hold firm

Gareth Berg took 5-58 against Yorkshire on the opening day at The County Ground

Gareth Berg took 5-58 as Northamptonshire bowled Yorkshire out for 296 before closing the day on 26-2.

Having lost the toss, Berg took three early wickets to leave the visitors 22-3 before Dawid Malan and Harry Brook settled their side in a stand of 131.

Malan fell for 64 and Brook made 84 before a collapse of 3-3 in 11 balls.

From 206-7 Jordan Thompson picked up the pieces to make 51 and then took two wickets in two balls as Yorkshire finished a fluctuating day well.

After Berg's early blows, Yorkshire were well placed at 203-4 but Harry Duke, for 22, and then Brook both chopped Ben Sanderson into their stumps.

Brook played with pleasant fluency as he followed up scores of 101 and 56 not out at Bristol last week.

He drove Matt Kelly through point, punched him through cover and pulled Simon Kerrigan's left-arm spin for six on his way to fifty in only 58 balls.

His stand with Malan brought Yorkshire away from trouble but it needed another partnership - 69 for the eighth wicket - between Thompson and Matt Revis, who finished unbeaten on 31, to ensure Yorkshire had a score to work with.

Thompson then came round the wicket to beat the inside edge of Ricardo Vasconcelos and win an lbw before some bounce outside off stump helped nightwatchman Kerrigan edge to first slip.

Northants all-rounder Gareth Berg:

"It was a last-minute call from the wife who packed the kids in the van and made the long journey all the way here just for a couple of hours. I got to see them at lunchtime. I don't need a lot to spur me on to bowl well, but that was a bit of icing on the cake.

"Around the country every pitch is a new-ball pitch and it is whether or not you hit your straps early on. Myself and Ben Sanderson we know our jobs and that is to try and make guys play as much as we can. It has come off in the last two games.

"I was pretty disappointed to have Dawid Malan dropped on nought but we know if we sit in and bowl tight our rewards will come at some point."

Yorkshire all-rounder Jordan Thompson:

"Having been 22-3 and 206-7 it was good to get up to there and set a target.

"Harry Brook will be disappointed in himself not to get a hundred because we know what he is like, but he just keeps churning out the runs. We know how reliable he is batting at five. He's crucial to our team.

"I timed it well to start with and then when I came out after tea I was scratching around a little. I've worked on a couple of things with my red-ball batting, which has allowed me to access all parts of the ground."