Yorkshire’s Bean and Root thrash Glamorgan bowlers
Finlay Bean hit his fourth first-class century and turned it into a career-best
- Published
Vitality County Championship, Division Two, Headingley (day two)
Glamorgan 221 (79 overs): B Root 51; Bess 4-25, Moriarty 4-74
Yorkshire 295-2 (49 overs): Bean 140*, J Root 92*
Yorkshire (4 pts) lead Glamorgan (0 pts) by 74 runs with eight first-innings wickets standing
By Nick Webb, BBC Radio Wales Sport
England batter Joe Root and young opener Finlay Bean put Yorkshire in complete control as they raced to 295 for two against Glamorgan, already a lead of 74 runs.
Bean’s aggressive 140 not out is a career-best while Root looks set for a second century of the season.
The pair added 201 unbroken runs for the third wicket in style despite playing on a used pitch.
Dom Bess and Dan Moriarty claimed four wickets each as Glamorgan were bundled out for just 221, Colin Ingram’s 48 the only substantial day two contribution.
At the start of a day played entirely under floodlights, the experienced pair of Ingram and Chris Cooke had to work hard for their stand of 65.
Cooke reached 24 before slapping Moriarty to Harry Brook at cover, but Ingram launched a sudden assault on Moriarty as he tried to regain the initiative.
Bess trapped Ingram lbw on the back foot for 48, and that marked the beginning of the end for the Glamorgan effort.
James Harris (16) was given out caught at short leg off Moriarty for 16, while the inexperienced Tom Bevan was dropped twice in his 22 before Bean claimed his third catch, Bess the bowler.
Bess and Moriarty claimed a fourth wicket apiece to polish off the tail, and Yorkshire were quickly into their stride with the bat despite Bean playing out three opening maidens from Jamie McIlroy and then surviving a return chance to James Harris.
Adam Lyth hit five boundaries but was judged leg-before to Pakistan seamer Mir Hamza, but Bean and Shan Masood upped the tempo in a stylish partnership of 68 before Masood was caught at short-leg off Mason Crane for 34.
Devastating Root
Yorkshire were in complete control for the final session and as they took the attack to Glamorgan with once-capped leg-spinner Crane suffering horribly.
Left-hander Bean hit his stride as he played some brutal shots, reaching three figures off just 111 balls despite his cautious start, his fourth first-class century in only 35 first-class innings.
Meanwhile Root found gaps all around the ground, sweeping to devastating effect and going at a run a ball without apparent effort as the partnership took the home side into the lead in only the 36th over.
Bean had time to pass his previous career-best score of 135 before bad light saved Glamorgan from further punishment, the umpires taking the players off 12 overs before the scheduled close with the out-fielders unable to pick up the ball in the gloom.
It looks like only a temporary reprieve for the shell-shocked visitors, with Yorkshire looking well-set for maximum batting points before turning the pressure back on the Welsh side’s batters.
Yorkshire batter Finlay Bean said: “It’s gone exactly how we wanted, on that pitch one of the big things was for the spinners to play a big part, then with the bat, it was pleasing to build big partnerships and not lose many wickets.
“It’s always nice to get a career-best and get a first (hundred) of the season, to set up the game and go at the rate we did puts us in the driving seat.
“I had the mindset to go out and put them under a bit more pressure, put them off their lines and lengths. We’ll aim for full batting points and take it from there.
“Joe is just so busy, you look up and he’s on 30 off 20 balls, it’s remarkable how he goes about it. It’s something to learn from because he’s just so aggressive and positive.”
Glamorgan assistant coach David Harrison said: “When very good players get in on a good wicket, we couldn’t control the scoreboard like we wanted to and we’re behind a bit, we’ve got to come back better.
“We’ve got to bowl better as a group, bowl one side of the wicket and try to be more consistent since there’s a bit of spin there.”