Bairstow leads from front as Yorkshire battle hard for Durham draw

YORKSHIRE battled back from a precarious position to secure a draw in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship yesterday. Rain stopped play just before 3pm on the final day at the Riverside, but Yorkshire looked likely to hold on regardless. Despite James Wharton hitting 13 fours in his 69 on the opening day on Good Friday, Yorkshire looked in trouble at 190-6.

None of the star trio of Adam Lyth, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow had passed 30, as Brendon Doggett ran through the top order. But George Hill and Dom Bess showed their all-rounder qualities by putting on 105 for the seventh wicket. The former made 64 and the latter struck 66, as Yorkshire reached a respectable 307 all out, with Doggett and Ben Raine taking four wickets apiece.



Hill quickly got rid of Durham opener Ben McKinney in the home side’s reply, but then the game began to get away from Yorkshire. George Hill removed Ben McKinney early on in Durham's first innings, but then Yorkshire were made to toil for hours by Alex Lees and Emilio Gay. (Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.

com) Skipper Alex Lees (172) and Emilio Gay (152) put on a mammoth 279 for the second wicket, taking their side to 302-1, just five runs behind Yorkshire. But Jack White (3-76) spearheaded a fine fightback from the visitors, while Ben Sears, playing in place of the rested Ben Coad, claimed his maiden wicket for the county. Durham lost their last nine wickets for 126 runs, as Yorkshire eventually dismissed them for 427.

That still left the away side facing a chunky deficit, and though Lyth (53) and Malan (37) ate into that well, both were dismissed in the space of two overs. That left Yorkshire on 117-4, still three runs in arrears and mired in trouble. They had edged into the lead by the close on the third day, but a bad start to the final morning would have left defeat a near-certainty.

But a superb captain’s knock of 86 not out from Bairstow, alongside a valuable 40 from Matthew Revis, saw Yorkshire to 277-6 and safety, before the mid-afternoon rain brought a premature end to proceedings. Yorkshire, who have begun the season with a win, a draw and a defeat, took 13 points from the fixture, while Durham accrued 15 for themselves..