[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

County Championship, Division One

vs Yorkshire

Day One

Morning: The Pears put Yorkshire straight in to bat on a cloudy day in Scarborough with occasional sunny spells. They were rewarded with the early wicket of Harry Brook, followed an hour later by Adam Lyth, but the home side's stubborn resistance continued until Dillon Pennington had both Ballance and Kohler-Cadmore caught at point in a single over; the latter gone for a satisfying duck in his first red-ball game against his former county. At 63-4 those wickets made it indisputably Worcestershire's morning, though a simple chance dropped at slip granted the dangerous Kane Williamson a life on 18 and denied us the icing on the cake.

Afternoon: Williamson did his utmost to punish the Pears for the drop, forging a productive fifth-wicket partnership with Jonny Tattersall and making a fine 87. When the floodgates broke, it precipitated a middle-order collapse from Yorkshire with four wickets in four overs. Skipper Moeen Ali - captaining Worcestershire for the first time in seven years - bowled Williamson and had David Willey caught for a duck, while Pennington completed a four-wicket haul with the scalps of Tattersall and Bresnan. At 155-8 Worcs were well in control, but there was a frustrating wag of the tail before Ed Barnard mopped up the last two wickets, leaving the White Rose 216 all out at tea.

Evening: Any demons in the pitch had vacated the premises by the time Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell came out to bat after tea, and the opening pair put on a pretty comfortable 39-0 before bad light and rain forced an early close at five o'clock. Worcestershire will be disappointed not to have had the extra hour with two set batsmen on a placid pitch, but it remains very much their day. Monday morning's session will now be crucial: if overcast conditions and sea air get the ball moving, the Pears could well face the same baptism of fire as the Yorkshiremen on Sunday.