Lyth, Gale and Ballance

Not for the first time this season Yorkshire showed some resolute batting on the fourth day and, as at Hove three weeks ago, it was sufficient to gain a deserved draw. Whilst they can obviously take some comfort from this they should not be too jubilant about a game that netted them only five points, especially on a day when Worcestershire gained a second successive win and are now five points above Yorkshire with a game in hand. Yorkshire are not in Championship action until July 11th when they take on Worcestershire at Scarborough. Crucial or what?
I sensed from the beginning of the day's play that Durham were not quite up for the challenge of taking ten wickets and Onions' frustration boiled over in the first few overs as Root took runs off him to third man. It was three quarters of an hour before the openers were separated when Root was palpably lbw to a ball from Onions that kept low. McGrath followed soon after for a duck, brilliantly caught legside by Mustard.
Gale then joined Lyth and it was half an hour after lunch before first Lyth and twenty minutes later, Bairstow were dismissed. Enter Ballance, who with his captain saw out the day, with Gale reaching his century after tea and the captains agreeing on a draw when Yorkshire led by 57, a situation for which they must thank the well known firm of solicitors, Lyth, Gale and Ballance.
Watching the 20/20 game from Cardiff this evening I was once again struck by the rows of empty seats and somewhat surprised to find that one of the expert summarisers was Hampshire captain Dominic Cork, whose team were beaten by Worcestershire earlier today and who on midsummer's day are still without a win and 31 points adrift at the foot of the Division One table. When teased about today's result by Charles Colville, Cork was dismissive of the situation to a degree that were I am Hampshire member to whom the County Championship is of paramount importance, I might have wondered which subscription to cancel first, HCCC or SKY.