MATCH DRAWN: Kent 532-9dec; Yorkshire 364 and 146-3. Yorkshire 9 points, Kent 10 points.

(PHOTO: Richard Pyrah bats one handed but can't fend off the Kent attack)

MATCH ZONE

MATCH SCORECARD	CLICK HERE
YCCC TWITTER FEED	CLICK HERE
INTERVIEW: Andrew Gale after Day 1	CLICK HERE
INTERVIEW: Joe Sayers after Day 2	CLICK HERE
INTERVIEW: Jonny Bairstow after Day 3	CLICK HERE
INTERVIEW: Jason Gillespie after Day 4	CLICK HERE
DAY ONE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS	CLICK HERE
DAY TWO VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS	CLICK HERE
DAY THREE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS	CLICK HERE
DAY FOUR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS	CLICK HERE
DISCUSS THE GAME ON THE WHITE ROSE FORUM	CLICK HERE

DAY FOUR MATCH REPORT

MATCH DRAWN: Yorkshire battled for a hard earned draw on day four against Kent and the competitive nature of the match will do a lot to make players and spectators, if they need it, appreciate that winning promotion this summer will be hard earned.

Jason Gillespie said later: "It was a good workout and highlighted the things we've done well and things that we can improve. I've seen all the media reports about how Yorkshire are going to go straight back up and it's great to have that optimism from the media and our cricket public, but knowing cricket it's a different game to reading it in the paper. There's a lot of good division two teams and we need to be playing at our best and to be consistent. If we can be consistent throughout the season we will be in a pretty good place."

Yorkshire resumed on Day 4 with an important session ahead. Ajmal Shahzad on 17 and Adil Rashid on 40 walked to the crease at 316-6 and the Tykes required 72 more runs to ensure they avoided following on. 

Rashid and Shahzad brought up their fifty partnership, in 115 balls, shortly after Shahzad had survived a sharp caught and bowled to Shreck. The bowler claimed revenge in his next over when Shahzad was lbw and Yorkshire at 347-7 were 41 from the follow on target.

Tow overs later Shreck found Ryan Sidebottom's edge which was caught by Ben Harmison at second slip and we began to wonder whether Rich Pyrah heroics would be required.

Rashid was forced to have a swing and edged Shreck behind for 58 and at 356-9 Rich Pyrah walked to the wicket with a plaster cast on his left hand and a batting glove on his right.

Iain Wardlaw can certainly hold a bat and crashed Riley through the covers and then straight for boundaries, but couldn't steal a single off the final ball of the over.

Pyrah crouched over his bat with his left hand behind his back to see Shreck pitch the ball up and rock back his off-stump to condemn Yorkshire to following on at 364 all out, still 173 runs behind on first innings.

Full credit to Rich Pyrah - that took some bottle and epitomised the fighting spirit within this Yorkshire side!

Following on Joe Root was dropped on 6 by Geraint Jones when the score was 9-0 in the third over, but he and Joe Sayers reached lunch without further scares at 34-0. Root reached fifty in 82 balls after stroking 9 fours and the pair reached their hundred stand in 216 balls.

Root had looked in splendid touch, but at 76 he rocked back to cut the innocuous Riley, but the ball span in and took the inside edge and his off stump. Anthony McGrath pushed his second ball into the covers for 1 to avoid a pair. Sayers had reached 43 before he tried to waft a Riley full toss over the legside and missed to be adjudged lbw and Yorkshire were 124-2.

Andrew Gale was unlucky to waft an edge behind off Shreck, but Anthony McGrath (11) and Jonny Bairstow (2) saw the Tykes to tea at 135-3. Bairstow drove Shreck to the straight boundary in the second over after the break to pass 3,000 first-class runs. McGrath joined the fun with a fluent cover driven boundary off Riley.

Bairstow, on 8, then drove Shreck airily to Newman at cover and Yorkshire were 145-4, but the light was fading and play ended for the day at 4.30pm. 76 overs had been lost in the last two days.

Yorkshire play Leeds Bradford University next week with what is expected to be a near full strength side and then host Essex in the LV= County Championship on 19 April.

JAMES BUTTLER at HEADINGLEY

DAY THREE MATCH REPORT

A top class 107 from Jonny Bairstow on Day 3 enabled Yorkshire to get within range of passing the follow on target and effectively securing a high scoring draw in the season's opener against an impressive Kent at Headingley.

Yorkshire resumed on 32-0 and Joe Sayers guided the second ball of the morning to the third man fence. After pushing a quick single off the final ball edged Mark Davies to Riley at third slip and was on his way for 24.

Anthony McGrath was lbw first ball and Davies had two wickets with his first two balls of the morning. Andrew Gale survived the hat-trick ball, but Yorkshire were 37-2 and still 500 runs behind.

Joe Root and Andrew Gale added 42 for the 3rd wicket and seemed to have got over the worst. Gale hit 12 from an over from Charlie Shreck, but then Root flicked at one down the legside and was adjudged to have nicked behind to Jones for 25. We weren't convinced in the press box.

In the 28th over Gale drove Coles through the covers to take Yorkshire to 100-3, but midway through the 30th over the play was halted by rain and an early lunch was taken.

Upon the resumption Gale was lbw to Davies without adding to his score of 44. Bairstow was playing a typically clean innings but edged Davies to Ben Harmison at second slip when on 24 and the score 132-4, but a regulation chance was missed and it was potentially a big moment in the game.

Ballance and Bairstow recorded a fifty partnership for the 5th wicket in 12.5 overs as the pair sought to recover a precarious position and permeated their stand with some terrfiic counter attacking strokeplay.

The pair have added 80 for the 5th wicket when Bairstow reached a well earned fifty in 82 balls with 7 fours. Passing the milestone freed the keeper to attack Riley with a whip through square leg, a cover drive and a straight driven boundary to pass the hundred stand as the score reached 211-4 in the 56th over.

Ballance had made 45 when he aimed a slog sweep at a Riley delivery and missed to be given lbw. The 5th wicket stand had been worth 115 runs in 27.2 overs. Bairstow continued and stroked Riley over wide mid-on for his first six to bring up the second bonus point. He then launched a full toss well into the East Stand to move to 99 and nudged a single to reach his first Championship hundred at Headingley in 129 balls and including 13 fours and 2 sixes.

There were 36 overs left in the evening session for Yorkshire to build their first innings and reach safety in the match. Bairstow and Rashid brought up their fifty stand in 84 balls dominated by the flame haired number 5 who would have learned of his inclusion in a 26-man England Performance Squad during the tea interval. He looks every inch a man destined to play a lot of international cricket.

Rashid was growing into his innings. He rocked back and stroked Stevens through the covers for four, but survived a chance when on 23 he edged the same bowler to Geraint Jones who missed a comfortable chance moving to his right. A full flow of the bat rubbed salt into the wounds a couple of balls later as Rashid powered to the cover fence once more.

Bairstow though edged Stevens to Jones and was on his way for 107 to end his innings of 147 balls and Kent had hope again.

Bairstow later said: "I was really pleased with the way that it went and it's the first Championship century I've got at Headingley as well. Hopefully it gets us into a bit of a stronger position for tomorrow. It was good to score a hundred in front of the home crowd here at Headingley and it was something I was wanting to do early on in the season and to get it in the first game is really pleasing."

Bairstow added: "We had to graft a little bit and it wasn't easy. The pitch did do quite a bit this morning. It was quite noticeable that it did a bit more, whether that was them putting it in better areas or hitting the seam a bit more than us. We were pretty pleased with the way that we bowled and credit to them for playing well and also taking there chances this morning."

Rashid and Ajmal Shahzad came together at 290-6 with 98 runs required to avoid the follow on and with Richard Pyrah unable to bat due to the broken left hand he had sustained fielding the previous day. The pair added 26 before bad light forced the players off at 5.30pm with 18 overs still to bowl.

JAMES BUTTLER at HEADINGLEY

DAY TWO MATCH REPORT

Yorkshire started brightly, endured a couple of hours of chasing leather due to a record 9th wicket stand for Kent against the White Rose county, survived unscathed until close, 35 overs were lost to rain, but the Tykes lost all-round Richard Pyrah with a broken left hand. 

There is every chance this game will end a high scoring draw, but Kent managed to rub salt into a few wounds with an entertaining 9th wicket stand.  

The unbroken stand of 85 in 15 overs before lunch between big hitting left hander Matt Coles (52*) and Mark Davies (35*) had taken the morning session away from Yorkshire after a promising start on Day 2.  

Yorkshire had taken three wickets in the first 15 overs of play on Good Friday morning, but the day worsened as the lower order pair continued passed a stand of 150 from 213 balls as Coles approached a century and Davies passed fifty in 93 balls with 9 fours.  

Darren Stevens (29) is always dangerous and had just cracked a beautiful cover driven four off Shahzad, but the bowler may have taken the pace off a delivery a couple of balls later and Sayers took a simple catch as the ball lopped to mid-on. Shahzad was working up a head of steam and Sidebottom was beating the bat with regularity from the Rugby Stand End.  

Geraint Jones (2 in 16 balls) was bowled by Shahzad and nightwatchman Adam Riley (8) was bowled by Adil Rashid to give the Tykes hope that they could restrict Kent to less than 400.  

Coles reached his fifty in 47 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes and with Davies took the score on from 374-8. Shooting from the hip, Coles hit some lusty blows including a huge six off Joe Root which saw the ball lost for a while in the empty West Stand, as Kent counter attacked and were the happier of two camps munching on their lunchtime refreshments.  

Davies was approaching his career best 62 when he prodded forward to Anthony McGrath and offered an easy catch to Gary Ballance at first slip. He had faced 120 balls and hit 11 fours and with Coles added 153 for the 9th wicket which was just 1 run short of the ground record set by Pyrah and Sidebottom in the Roses match last summer. It was a 9th wicket record for Kent against Yorkshire.  

Coles was joined by Shreck and thumped Rashid skywards to Gale at deep midwicket but the chance was shelled. The next ball he reverse swept Rashid for 6 to notch his maiden hundred from 111 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes and Kent promptly declared at 537-9.

It is some time since Adil Rashid has got through over 40 overs in an innings and although he took some stick from Coles bat he looks a different man to the one that finished the 2011 season. Ajmal Shahzad too is continuing to improve and deserved more than his final analysis of 3-83.

Jason Gillespie admitted later that there were lessons to be learned, but it's too soon for the profits of doom to turn on this Yorkshire side who didn't get it entirely right with the ball, but should be judged on whether they learn from this first innings. No one ever said promotion would be easy and Kent are a much improved side who batted well on a good track!

Over to the Yorkshire batsman. Could they do the same...  

Joe Sayers (19) and Joe Root (13) saw Yorkshire through to tea unscathed at 37-0, but then a combination of bad light and rain prevented a resumption.  

But the day was tainted by the news, received in the lull in on-field activity that Richard Pyrah had returned from hospital, after damaging his hand when fielding a ball that bobbled up at him, with a broken left hand. He will not play any further part in this game and could be out for anything between 6 week to 2 months. I'm sure you will all join me in wishing Rich a very speedy recovery.

JAMES BUTTLER at HEADINGLEY

DAY ONE MATCH REPORT

Yorkshire have been given a wake-up call today as they acclimitise themselves to life in the second tier of the LV= County Championship. Kent ended Day One on 345-5 and Yorkshire will need to go hard at their rivals tomorrow morning to deny them a commanding total.

What a difference 24 hours had made to the Headingley ground as bright sunshine bathed a pristine outfield and huge credit goes to the Headingley groundstaff who had done a terrific job to ensure play commenced at 11am. Yorkshire left Steve Patterson and Adam Lyth out of their squad of 13.

I wondered whether it would prove a good toss to lose, but there were few demons in a true wicket and Kent grew to their task. Rob Key and Scott Newman added a century stand for the first wicket after Kent won the toss and elected to bat first.

Newman survived some scares early, most notably when he scooped a leading edge off Ryan Sidebottom which landed in the vacant space behind the umpire, but Kent passed fifty in the 15th over and Newman survived again when Richard Pyrah and the rest of the Yorkshire field were convinced they had him caught behind.

The seamers did not get their lines right and Adil Rashid was brought on from the Kirkstall Lane End to bowl the 24th over with half-an-hour to go until lunch.

Kent went to three figures in the 27th over and the classy Key (76 balls and 8 fours) narrowly beat Newman (87 balls and 9 fours) to his half century.

Yorkshire's bowlers upped their game in the afternoon session, particularly Ryan Sidebottom who ended Scott Newman's resistance when he removed his middle pole and Kent were 141-1.

Key and Ben Harmison had added 60 when the opener misjudged a sharp single to Andrew Gale at mid-off and the Yorkshire captain threw down the stumps to see his opposite number on his way for 97. It had been a fine innings which deserved three figures and Key's running had been exemplary for the rest of his 153 ball innings.

Brendan Nash and Ben Harmison came together at 201-2 and looked to have seen Kent through to tea just as Rashid induced a Harmison drive with a well flighted delivery and Gary Ballance took the catch at slip to see tea taken at 239-3. Harmison, fresh from a productive pre-season, had rocked back to pull Adil Rashid into the East Stand in his previous over, but the leg-spinner has been instructed to persevere with flight and spin and was rewarded.

When on 2 Mike Powell inside edged a less than amused Sidebottom to the fine leg fence passed a diving Bairstow. The 250 came up in the 66th over. Brendnan Nash looks like he could be a real asset for Kent and his fifty came in only 47 balls of punch and drive which included 9 fours.

Shahzad produced his best spell of the day with the second new ball and had found a Nash edge, when on 63, in the 84th over only to see a chest high chance spilled by Rashid. But in his next over Shahzad got one to bounce to Nash's prod and McGrath took a blinder, diving low to his right to peel the ball up just short of the surface. Make sure you watch for that McGrath effort on the highlights which will be on this sight tomorrow morning!!

Kent were 310-4 with just over 10 overs to bowl. Darren Stevens joined Powell and neither looked completely at home as the latter ensured he utilised the entire bat, edges and all in an attempt to scramble through to close, but an imploring Rashid had him lbw to make the score 344-5 with an over to go.

Andrew Gale said that his bowlers bowled too many four balls and didn't get it in the right areas often enough. He continued: "Throughout the day we didn't create enough pressure and just when I thought we were getting a few maidens together we bowled one or two bad balls an over. There were too many boundaries today, but it's not game over yet, it's a good pitch and I think we can bat well on it too."

In the long run today could be a benefit to a side and public who cannot expect to gain promotion without a fight and a number of tough sessions this summer. Teams like Kent are never going to come to Headingley and roll over and die. It's a long summer, but Day One didn't quite go to script.

JAMES BUTTLER at HEADINGLEY

MATCH PREVIEW

With a successful preseason under their belts and with silverware already in the cabinet the Yorkshire side head into the season proper with a healthy spring in their step, but knowing they are going to have to play hard and fight for every point in the LV= County Championship second tier as they welcome Kent to Headingley.

It’s going to be a different task this summer for Andrew Gale’s men, even after they've cleared the snow from the Headingley playing surface. When people said in Barbados that conditions would be a little different back in England I'm sure they didn't envisage early April snow.

Mid table obscurity in division one provides more than an element of respectability but in division two only the top two promotion spots really matter.

Consequently teams are more inclined to attack in search of 16 point victories rather than settle for 3 point draws. That positive culture should suit Andrew Gale and Jason Gillespie who have both spoken about playing attacking and entertaining cricket ahead of the season.

The time for debating team selection is also over and Gale and Gillespie have settled for the 12 men that faced Durham in the final preseason friendly earlier this week plus Adam Lyth who top scored in Saturday’s friendly in Derby.

With a fully fit squad to pick from, good form shown in preseason games and only Tim Bresnan (England duty) and Phil Jaques (not arriving in Yorkshire until 16 April) missing Jason Gillespie has described selecting the team as the ‘hardest selection he has ever had’.

Yorkshire play Kent this week at Headingley and trip to Canterbury for the return fixture at the end of the month.

YORKSHIRE SQUAD

Andrew GALE (capt), Joe SAYERS (v.capt), Joe ROOT, Anthony McGRATH, Jonny BAIRSTOW (wk), Gary BALLANCE, Adil RASHID, Ajmal SHAHZAD, Richard PYRAH, Ryan SIDEBOTTOM, Iain WARDLAW, Steve PATTERSON and Adam LYTH.

THE OPPOSITION: KENT

The St Lawrence Ground outfit have had a similar winter to Yorkshire with former West Indian international Jimmy Adams taking the helm as coach in succession to Paul Farbrace, who has since arrived at Headingley as 2nd Team Coach.

Ben Harmison (Durham), Scott Newman (Surrey), Mike Powell (Glamorgan), Charlie Shreck (Notts) and Mark Davies (Durham) have bolstered the squad after the departures of Joe Denly, James Goodman, Robbie Joseph and Martin van Jaarsveld.

Brendan Nash is their overseas signing.

Last season Kent finished eight in division two after a disappointing summer with their batting mainly responsible after reaching 300 on only three occasions. 

KENT SQUAD

Rob Key (Capt), Scott Newman, Ben Harmison, Brendan Nash, Mike Powell, Darren Stevens, Geraint Jones (wk), Matt Coles, Mark Davies, Charlie Shreck, Adam Riley, Ivan Thomas.

JAMES BUTTLER