Ali Martin’s report from New Road
Tanya Aldred's roundup
Jonny bounced and Jonny jumped. Jonny ushered his slips into place, Jonny jogged from one end of the wicket to the other in his tight, short-sleeved gansie, Jonny rugby-tackled a flying piece of advertising hoarding and pleased the crowd. Jonny took three smart catches, one a cartwheeling effort to his left to scoop up Kiran Carlson. Jonny looked pleased.
It was just over eight months ago that Bairstow slipped walking to the third tee of a Harrogate golf course, breaking his left fibular in three places and dislocating his ankle. A horror injury, in the midst of a golden run of form: four Test hundreds in five Test innings: 136, 162, 106 and 114. The path back has been long and arduous. As the man himself said in an Instagram post from Wednesday: “36 weeks of pain, 36 week of emotional rollercoaster, 36 weeks of asking questions you may not get answered. The road hasn’t been straight forward nor easy, but hey it’s me, why would it be.”
Despite the best efforts of two Yorkshire nightwatchman in the Leeds gloom, Bairstow did have to bat under lights with slips salivating, as Yorkshire tripped to 62 for 5, with three wickets for Michael Neser. Bairstow survived seven balls, jogged two runs, with power to add if the weather is forgiving in the morning. Yorkshire had earlier bowled Glamorgan out for 245, Marnus Labuschagne top-scoring with a knock of 65 that creaked into action but gradually oiled itself in all the right places. There were three wickets apiece for George Hill and Erling Haaland-lookalike Micky Edwards.
The catch of the day went to a sun-hatted Rory Burns at Chelmsford who powered upwards, left and round the corner at slip to poach Matthew Critchley off Will Jacks for 60. Surrey pulled back the curtains on Essex, with Gus Atkinson taking a career-best 6 for 68.
It was a day for bowlers everywhere, as Hampshire’s James Vince (75 not out) watched his teammates fall about him at the Rose Bowl; and Lancashire slipped from 109 for two to 214 all out; before reducing Notts to 119 for five; Haseeb Hameed surveying the wreckage on 57.
At the County Ground, Henry Brookes, on loan to Derbyshire from Warwickshire, took six for 20 to help bowl out Leicestershire for 122. And Northamptonshire’s Ricardo Vasconcelos nipped along to 70 at Taunton where rain curtailed play. Somerset’s Craig Overton, returning from injury, snaffled a couple of catches and a wicket against Northants.
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