SECOND XI REPORT: Lancs bowlers hit back after Luxton Roses record
Yorkshire captain Will Luxton set a new Second Eleven Roses record when play resumed on the third day of this Second Eleven Championship clash at Headingley.
Lancashire’s spinners hit back by taking six wickets before the hosts eventually declared on 430-8, with the Red Rose side on 54-0 in reply before bad light brought an early close to the day with 14 overs remaining.
Luxton, who resumed his innings on 62, batted beautifully through the first half the day, reaching his century from just 107 balls and looked set to become the first batter to make a double century in ‘Roses’ Second Eleven Championship history. He fell just short on 188, four runs after breaking the previous record of 184 set by Lancashire’s Cian Dickinson at York only last season.
With Vitality County Championship matches starting tomorrow, both sides had made changes to their line-ups at the start of the day, with brothers Corey and Rocky Flintoff joining Charlie Parkinson in making their Lancashire second team debuts.
Matt Revis, 31 not out overnight, was replaced by spinner Jawad Akhtar with Harry Duke partnering Luxton at the start of the day.
A fine pre-lunch 15-over spell by left arm spinner Charlie Barnard that yielded only 30 runs brought some control back on a slow wicket – that had been used in the preceding County Championship match – as Luxton and Duke steadily built on the position of 115-1 that Yorkshire had quickly compiled on the truncated second day.
Appropriately it was Barnard who was rewarded with the breakthrough when Luxton edged a cut to wicketkeeper George Lavelle after the second wicket had added a total of 272 runs, with Duke helping Luxton compile 205 of them after taking over from Revis.
Dom Bess (10) next paddled Barnard into the hands of Harry Singh who showed great anticipation in making a running catch while Duke, who reached his half century from 81 balls, fell for an excellent 93 after top edging leg spinner Haider Hussain to Singh at midwicket.
Both Will Bennison (9) and Dom Leech (1) drove Hussain (3-33) into the hands of Rocky Flintoff with five wickets having fallen for 54 runs before some late order hitting by Michael Edwards with 24 off 22 balls took the hosts past 400.
Edwards became Barnard’s third wicket (3-104 from 35 overs) when caught at long-on by Singh and Alex Wade was run out for 1 before Yorkshire declared.
Singh (19 not out) and Kesh Fonseka (31 not out) responded with a positive opening partnership in the Lancashire reply that had taken 54 runs from 9 overs before bad light ended proceedings at 6.15pm.
TEAMS
Lancashire: Harry Singh, Kesh Fonseka, George Lavelle (capt), George Bell (wkt), Tom Aspinwall, Cian Dickinson, Josh Boyden, Joe Chapple, Charlie Barnard, Haider Hussain, Charlie Parkinson, Dominic Hayes.
Substitutes: Corey Flintoff and Rocky Flintoff replaced Tom Aspinwall and George Bell at the end of day 2. Wicketkeeping change: George Lavelle for George Bell at the end of day 2.
Yorkshire: Will Luxton (capt), James Wharton, Matt Revis, Noah Kelly, Harry Duke (wkt), Dom Bess, Will Bennison, Dom Leech, Michael Edwards, Ben Cliff, Alex Wade.
Substitute: Jawad Akhtar for Matt Revis at the end of day 2
Ken Grime