Foxes on the run

posted by John Winn

96 overs were bowled at Scarborough yesterday. No rain, no bad light, just a chilling wind blowing off Peasholm Park lake that kept the flags horizontal all day. Leicestershire won the toss and I was going to say, followed what has become standard practice, by putting Yorkshire into bat. Checking the scorecards in this morning's paper, however, I see that Notts and Derbyshire had elected to bat and in Derbyshire's case the move paid off.
Yorkshire started badly, losing three wickets for five runs at one point and before twelve struck were 33 for 3, more the result of poor shots rather than demons in the wicket.The crowd who neither in quantity nor mood could be described as 'festival', pulled their anoraks, fleeces and in some cases blankets, tighter round them and perhaps wondered why they had come. Enter Gale and Bairstow who brought us to 84 for 3 by lunch with a confidence that suggested a better afternoon. I had spent the morning in the company of Tony Hutton who used the interval to move his car and returned warmed by sausage and mash. Lucky man.
In the afternoon the Leicestershire bowling was made to look ordinary. Gale looked in particularly good touch and if Bairstow lived dangerously at times it at least generated warmth. One of his sixes just escaped the clutches of long leg, another nearly nailed one of the few inhabitants of the unpopular popular side, and a third threatened the retirement flats being constructed on the site of the demolished Cricketers' pub. Sea view on one side, cricket on the other, mmmm.......
The partnership was worth 160 when Gale followed a wide delivery from White and was caught behind. Ballance was caught off a top edged pull but McGrath joined Bairstow and  their partnership was worth over a hundred when Yorkshire reached 329 for 5 at stumps. With Bresnan in next they find them selves with an opportunity to go past 400 this morning and establish a winning position.
Tony and I had kept abreast of the events at Weetwood described by Brian in his posting and when we left at tea thought it likely that we might well meet again at that venue today. Clare Frisby has just dampened my spirits with the promise of rain later but I'll go anyway.Looks as though I might pass Brian going the other way!