Gary Ballance guides Yorkshire to strong position over Nottinghamshire

After seven successive days of washed-out cricket at Headingley to start the summer this was the kind of contest they had been waiting to see in the Broad Acres. It was nip and tuck from the off but Yorkshire are now in pole position to win following an impressive first-innings bowling display and Gary Ballance’s unbeaten 76 in the second.

Nottinghamshire gained the upper hand early, reducing Yorkshire to 93 for five before lunch on day one, only to lose their grip. After an encouraging opening 45 minutes on day two, the visitors slipped from 100 for four to 130 for eight in reply to 256 against accurate bowling from Ben Coad and Tim Bresnan, who shared the wickets equally, and some excellent slip catching.

The new-ball seamer Coad finished with four wickets in Nottinghamshire’s 188 all out, a total reached only after some meaty tail-end hitting from Jake Ball. He struck four successive boundaries in one Jack Brooks over on the way to an unbeaten 44.

Yorkshire’s second innings was far from plain sailing but, with a lead of 68, it did not need to be for them to stay ahead, with the lead now built to 257 and six wickets in hand. They slipped to 37 for three, including an early strike for Ball, who trapped Alex Lees lbw with an in-ducker as he offered no stroke. Che Pujara was run out and Adam Lyth caught behind down the leg side, pulling at Luke Wood’s left-arm seam.

Pujara has had a problem with run-outs throughout his career, something which flies in the face of his calm demeanour at the crease. Here he hurtled down the track towards the striker Lyth, who had dropped a ball from Harry Gurney at his feet. He got so far down he could have shaken hands with Lyth, who sent him back to no avail.

It was left to Ballance to maintain the whip hand. Although replays suggest Gurney could have had him lbw first ball, he reached tea unbeaten on 40 having shared a half-century stand with the highly rated teenager Harry Brook, a prolific run-scorer in his role as England Under-19s captain. Brook added 36 before having his middle stump uprooted just before the break.

Ballance reached his fifty off 90 balls and shared an unbroken stand of 94 with Jack Leaning (37 not out) for the fifth wicket, the highest partnership of the match so far.

James Hildreth, whose hundred at the end of last season against Middlesex was critical to Somerset’s survival in the first division, hit another vital one in this new campaign against Worcestershire. The 42nd first-class century of arguably the best current county batsman never to play for England gives Somerset a chance of victory in a captivating contest.

It was an innings that grew in authority but, as in the first innings, he needed some reprieves. He was dropped in the slip cordon on 0 and 54, after which he struck the ball with increasing certainty.

This match has ebbed and flowed at speed. As the pitch lost some of its green sheen the batsmen began to sense there were some runs out there after all. But then came another intervention by Worcestershire’s irrepressible Ed Barnard, who has had a brilliant match with 10 wickets and a half-century. At the close of a truncated day Somerset lead by 278 runs with one wicket remaining.