County Championship: Matthew Fisher marks Yorkshire comeback with four wickets

Matthew Fisher's only previous Championship game in 2022 was at Bristol in April

England bowler Matthew Fisher took a brilliant 4-45 during an intriguing opening day against Gloucestershire at Headingley as Yorkshire bid for County Championship safety.

Fisher, 24, has missed the majority of the 2022 season with a stress fracture of his back, suffered during his county's opening game at Bristol in mid-April.

But the fast bowler battled back to fitness in time to help his side bowl already-relegated Gloucester out for 190 shortly before tea.

Yorkshire's reply then closed on 80-3 in the 27th over, bad light ending the day almost 12 overs early.

It was a day Fisher will not forget, given it started with him being awarded his first-team cap by Steve Patterson, the former captain who is playing his last game for Yorkshire.

• Relive the first day's Championship action as it happened

James Bracey top-scored for Gloucester with 71 off 112 balls as they failed to make the most of electing to bat.

Yorkshire came into this game 15 points ahead of second-bottom Warwickshire in Division One, knowing a maximum 10-point haul would secure safety. They have already earned three of them.

Fisher suffered his injury less than a month after making his Test debut against the West Indies in Barbados in March.

In the last fortnight, after months of rehab, he has taken six wickets in a Roses second-team game and captained them to the Second XI Championship title.

Monday started with him awarded his Yorkshire cap almost seven-and-a-half years after his debut in a one-day game aged 15 and Patterson also presented captain Jonny Tattersall with his during the morning warm-ups.

Fisher initially bowled only a two-over opening spell from the Howard Stand before switching to Kirkstall Lane, where he benefitted from extra bounce in a devastating five-over burst.

He struck in each of the first four overs of the spell, getting first Ben Charlesworth caught behind, the opener falling for 25 as the score fell to 30-1 after 13 overs.

He then forced Chris Dent, the other left-handed opener, to play on before Miles Hammond edged behind to give Tattersall his second catch.

And when Ollie Price was squared up and edged to fourth slip, Gloucester were 47-4 after 19 overs on a largely good pitch.

Bracey and captain Graeme van Buuren steadied through to lunch on 90-4, but Yorkshire were back among the wickets during an afternoon which was briefly halted by a 10-minute rain shower.

Ben Coad struck twice in the 34th over as the score slipped to 102-6, breaking a 53-run partnership between Bracey and Van Buuren by trapping the latter lbw playing back for 25 before Jack Taylor was bowled.

Shortly afterwards, Gloucestershire were 128-7 when Zafar Gohar edged Patterson to first slip.

Bracey came into this game with two Championship hundreds to his name in 2022, including 117 in the second innings of the April defeat against Yorkshire.

Both came in the opening fortnight of the campaign, and this knock was only his third half-century since then.

He drove well on the way to a 70-ball half-century and was largely composed under the Headingley floodlights, in use for most of the day.

He also shared 44 for the eighth wicket with new-ball bowler Tom Price, who made a useful and belligerent 38.

However, Bracey was struck on the helmet by a Jordan Thompson bouncer moments before inside-edging George Hill behind to leave his side 172-8 in the 55th over.

Hill bowled David Payne later in the over before Dom Bess removed Price via the same method to signal an early tea.

Ajeet Singh Dale trapped opener James Wharton lbw for a 28-ball duck before Hill chased a wide one and edged Payne behind, leaving Yorkshire 32-2 inside 16 overs of their reply.

Adam Lyth then edged Tom Price to third slip for 44 with what proved to be the day's last ball.

Yorkshire and England seamer Matthew Fisher:

"I feel like I bowled wicket balls rather than being consistent around an area. My lengths were a bit full and short. But, in between, there were some good balls. I'll take it.

"To be able to get on a roll and not let them off was pleasing. Being ultra-critical, we could have bowled them out for 150.

"It's an incredible feeling that there's been 191 players capped in the history of the club and I'm one of them. It's incredible that there's more people who've played for England than there's been caps for Yorkshire."

Gloucestershire and England's James Bracey:

"It was doing a bit for the seamers, and it was tough to get started. You had to battle through those periods. They made it tricky for us, and we started a couple of times to get out of those and put partnerships together.

"Fisher bowled well in his first game back - with good pace as well. He hammered the wicket. When he did, there was a bit there for him. It was the same with our lads at the end.

"I feel more comfortable batting at three. I like to get out there and get going. It was nice to be back up there and scoring some runs."

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.