Yorkshire beat Leicestershire by an innings and 22 runs as Steve Patterson claimed the last wicket of Claude Henderson to claim career bestmatch figures of 8-94. It was a day of patience and good cricket all round as Leicestershire fought hard, but the Tykes were worthy winners and take 23 points to Leicestershire's 1.

It was fine and bright, but still cold, at North Marine Road in Scarborough this morning as Yorkshire sought the seven wickets they require to win this LV= County Championship match against Leicestershire.

Matt Boyce was the first to fifty as Leicestershire continued to frustrate Andrew Gale's men. It came in 111 balls and had included 5 fours as he and Josh Cobb continued their fourth wicket partnership. It was Cobb's turn to reach his half century when he lofted Rashid for four. Slightly slower in 127 balls with 7 fours it was no less important in the Foxes bid for survival.

Cobb went over the top again in Rashid's next over and after 12 overs of McGrath and Rashid the former was replaced by Tim Bresnan from the Pavilion End who saw his sixth ball whipped beautifully through mid-wicket by Cobb for four.

It was always going to be a day where patience was a virtue and Yorkshire stuck to their task for 63 minutes before Patterson took his fourth wicket when he trapped Cobb lbw for 69 and Leicestershire were 142-4 and still 189 runs behind.

Ned Eckersley edged Bresnan short of McGrath at second slip, the ball going for four, but next ball Bresnan bowled him off his pad and the score was 149-5.

Root bowled his off-spin from the Pavilion End after lunch and showed control and no little turn. Rashid had bowled good spells too, but one felt that spin wasn't the most dangerous weapon, but with the new ball looming seam would have to wait.

White began to look dangerous when he belted Root for a straight six, but it was time for the new cherry for Patterson from the Trafalgar Square End and Ryan Sidebottom from the Pavilion End. Leicestershire were 229-5 and 102 runs adrift. Yorkshire needed a breakthrough with the 6th wicket worth an unbroken 80 runs.

Boyce had played with a good compact technique, a counter attacking intent and with good concentration. He drove Sidebottom through the covers to move to 97 and survived a hefty lbw appeal next ball.

Wayne White cut Patterson to reach fifty in 76 balls with 8 fours and a six. Then Boyce leg glanced Sidebottom for four to reach his fourth first-clas century in 250 balls with 11 fours. A wicket was needed as the sixth wicket stand also reached three figures and Leicestershire moved within 80 runs of making the Tykes bat again.

I did a lap of the ground to see if it would bring a change of fortune, and as I rounded the top end of the ground it worked.

McGrath took an excellent low return catch to get rid of White for 67. In the next over Sidebottom bowled Boyce for a career best 120 and had Robbie Joseph trapped in front straight after. The hat-trick ball to Nadeem Malik just missed everything, but the Tykes were back in control. We'd seen three wickets fall in eight balls and I should go for a walk more often! 

Rashid had Nadeem Malik lbw for 1 and despite some tailend flamboyance from Cluade Henderson (17), when he edged Patterson to Ballance at first slip the job was done. After a wicket drought the patience shown had paid off with the last five wickets falling for 27 runs.

It's been an excellent all-round performance from Yorkshire. They've posted a big score, bowled disciplined spells and once again enjoyed their time on the east coast.

Just one last plea from me to the ECB. Can we have Scarborough in July and August where it belongs - this ground deserves better than icy winds and thermals. It may be a while before I can feel my feet again!

JAMES BUTTLER in SCARBOROUGH

MATCH ZONE

MATCH SCORECARD	CLICK HERE
STEVE PATTERSON INTERVIEW AFTER DAY TWO	CLICK HERE
ANTHONY McGRATH INTERVIEW AFTER DAY THREE	CLICK HERE
ANDREW GALE INTERVIEW AFTER DAY FOUR	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
LVCC Div 2 Points Table	CLICK HERE
YCCC Twitter Feed	CLICK HERE
YCCC first-class batting averages 2012	CLICK HERE
YCCC first-class bowling averages 2012	CLICK HERE

 DAY THREE MATCH REPORT

Rain and sleet has frustrated the Yorkshire team in Scarborough today as they bid to end Leicestershire's second innings resistence. With only 37 overs bowled on Day 3 Leicestershire ended on 102-3 thanks to a fourth wicket stand of 88 between Josh Cobb (45*) and Matt Boyce (46*). Yorkshire need 7 wickets tomorrow with Leicestershire 229 runs away from makiing them bat again.

Only 4.1 overs were possible before the rain delay this morning in which time Leicestershire progressed their overnight score to 12-2. The wicket was taken by Steve Patterson, his second in four balls, to dismiss Jacques du Toit for 1 when he drove to Sayers at cover.

With Saturday to come the wait hadn't felt urgent, but the Tykes will have wanted to resume play quickly as they bid to secure their first win of this Championship summer.

Play resumed at 3.30pm with 48.5 overs still to play and Patterson got the prized scalp of Ramnaresh Sarwan, who has had a terrible game littered with dropped catches and low scores, as he was lbw for 5. But then Cobb and Boyce applied themselves to add an unbroken stand of 88 for the fourth wicket before the weather won the day.

You had to feel for the Yorkshire team in the field. Hand warmers in pockets, beany hats on the majority of heads, it was tough going against a strong wind and low temperatures meant even Ryan Sidebottom called for a woolly hat to cover his woolly hair before giving bowler Patterson a warming hug.

Attendances at North Marine Road have been 1593 (Wed), 1667 (Thu) and 1210 (Fri) and the hearty folk that have braved the conditions deserve a medal. At 5.40pm there was definitely snow in the rain that stopped play. We shivered through 37 overs in the day and therefore lost 59 overs to the elements.

Hopefully we'll have better luck tomorrow!

JAMES BUTTLER in SCARBOROUGH

DAY TWO MATCH REPORT

After reaching 12 without loss, Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Patterson put the skids under Leicestershire's reply to Yorkshire's 447 all out.

Sidebottom, operating from the Peasholme Park End, was the epitomy of Jason Gillespie's much coined phrase of 'owning the zone.' He trapped Matt Boyce lbw and Jacques du Toit caught behind by Bairstow, both for ducks. Steve Patterson replaced Tim Bresnan from the Trafalgar Square End and got one to nip away from Josh Cobb (12) which found the edge and was well caught in front of the slips by the diving Bairstow.

Leicestershire had lost 3 wickets amdist 7 runless overs and the Yorkshire public would have been jumping for joy if they had not been frozen to their seats. 

Anthony McGrath was introduced to bowl the 21st over and immediately found conditions to his liking. An unsuccessful lbw shout against Ramnaresh Sarwan (11) from his first ball was followed immediately with an affirmative decision. Ned Eckersley then pushed forward to final final ball of McGrath's second over and was lbw for 4.

By tea Leicestershire were 50-5.

Two wickets in six balls immediately after the interval further reduced Foxes hopes of a recovery. McGrath picked up his third wicket when he had Josh Cobb caught behind by Bairstow, standing up and taking a smart chance. Then Patterson had White lbw and Leicestershire were 64-5.

When Robbie Joseph edged to Bairstow behind for a duck Patterson had grabbed a third wicket to notch his 100th wicket in first-class cricket.

McGrath had Malik dropped by Bresnan ad second slip diving to his left. The ninth wicket stand threatened to wag the tail in customary fashion, but Henderson (15) edged Bresnan to Jaques at third slip and Wyatt (8) repeated the same formula off McGrath.

McGrath finished with 4-21 and Patterson 3-17 as Leicestershire were dismissed for 116. They were asked to follow on 331 runs adrift. It would get worse for the visitors when Smith was lbw to Patterson to the final ball of the day to leave Leicestershire 328 runs behind with 9 second innings wickets remaining.

Yorkshire had earlier resumed on 329-5 with 71 runs required inside 14 overs to claim maximum batting points. It wasn't to be as the ball moved for Leicestershire's seamers and the Yorkshire batsmen fought to bed themselves back in. Jonny Bairstow hit Wyatt for four in the second over and McGrath reached his fifty, off 102 balls with 9 fours, in the fourth over of the day's play.

There seemed an inevitability that Bairstow, 141 not out, would reach his double century, but on 182 he drove Wayne White to Du Toit at cover and his innings was over after 6 hours and 13 minutes and 259 balls which included 19 fours and 4 sixes.

Tim Bresnan (1) was run out by a throw from White at third man and Rashid (4) shouldered arms and was bowled to one that nipped back from White.

Anthony McGrath's best innings of the summer so far was ended on 90 when he edged behind off Claude Henderson. The veteran has booked his place on the coach for Bristol. Ryan Sidebottom became the last victim in White's 5-90 when he skied a top edge to short third man where Eckersley ran 'round with the gloves to catch the skier.

Yorkshire were 447 all out and the quest for 20 wickets began. 

JAMES BUTTLER in SCARBOROUGH 

DAY ONE MATCH REPORT

Jonny Bairstow ended Scarborough's first day of Yorkshire cricket this year on an unbeaten 141 after entering the game with the Tykes teetering at 33-3. He shared a fourth wicket stand of 160 with skipper Andrew Gale and an unbroken 6th wicket stand of 112 with Anthony McGrath as Yorkshire ended the day in a strong position.

Losing the toss is not always fatal, but when Leicestershire’s acting captain Ramnaresh Sarwan called correctly and asked Andrew Gale’s side to bat first on a damp Scarborough wicket the task for survival on a damp surface began.

Joe Sayers had two escapes before falling for 8. He was dropped on 1 by Claude Henderson at mid-on when trying to pull Wyatt, the ball falling out low from the fielder’s fingers. He then edged Joseph to Sarwan at slip, but again the chance went begging, although next ball the bowler struck back to trap the left-hander lbw.

Joe Root made a solid start. He played a straight drive off Wyatt which was as pure a shot as you’ll see, but Phil Jaques had managed a single when he tried to sweep the spin of Henderson (introduced for the 12^th over) and was leg before. Root had scored 19 when he edged Wayne White’s first delivery to Max Boyce. Yorkshire were 33-3 and had lost 3 wickets for 5 runs in 23 balls.

The task to rebuild was handed to Andrew Gale and Jonny Bairstow. Gale leaned back and creamed White for four off the back foot through cover. If there’s one thing the skipper revels in it’s a challenge. Bairstow was more proddy and tentative until his eleventh ball which he straight drove for three runs and then came into his own.

Gale met the introduction of Madeem Malik with consecutive cover driven fours. Gale was dropped at first slip by Sarwan of Henderson when on 32 in the penultimate over before lunch.

If Leicestershire had taken their chances the lunchtime score would have looked very bleak. As it is Gale on 32 and Bairstow on 16 have battled hard and resurrected Yorkshire's hopes.

Gale continued to counter-attack post break while Bairstow aimed a flick through mid-wicket and watched the top-edge evade mid-on and go for two runs. In the next over he aimed a backfoot drive off Wyatt and turned to see the edge spilled by Du Toit and escape again for two more.

Bairstow is not a man you give chances to. He whipped Wyatt off his legs for six and hooked Joseph over backward square for six more as the Tykes went past three figures. Joseph tried the short ball a few overs later and found Bairstow's top-edge which sailed for four more. The luck was with him, although it had not been an assured start.

Gale won the race to fifty from 80 balls with 6 fours and two balls later Bairstow matched him in 82 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes. Neither fifty was announced to the crowd as Tony Lofil's microphone had run out of battery. The pair had also passed the hundred stand for the 4th wicket.

Progress was serene as Gale inparticular played immaculate cricket. He will be furious with himself that he darted a drive at a wide delivery from White and edged to Eckersley for 80 when there was a century for the taking. That wicket ended a fourth wicket stand of 160 in 40.2 overs that rested the initiative back in Yorkshire's favour.

Bairstow has not been at his best today but often the mark of a good player is scoring runs when the going is tougher. He was 80 not out at tea and Gary Ballance unbeaten on 8. Progress was slow after ther resumption before Ballance top-edged a catch to Boyce at square led after Malik dropped short. Bairstow was much more circumspect but moved into the nineties when he chipped Malik through midwicket. He repeated the stroke to move to 99.

Henderson dropped short, Bairstow leaned back and stroked through point for four to bring up his fifth first-class ton, his fourth for Yorkshire, in 172 balls which included 7 fours and 3 sixes. It was his second century at Scarborough, the other made when playing for England Lions against Sri Lanka A last summer. In doing so he equalled his father David's two first-class centuries at North Marine Road.

Moments later he nudged a single to take Yorkshire to 250-5 and secure a second batting point. Yorkshire would need to push on at 5 an over to secure maximum batting points and when Bairstow glided Henderson over long-on it seemed the intent was there. Whether it would be successful would depend on whether they could bypass the new ball which Leicestershire took in the 84th over.

Joseph overpitched to Bairstow and he nonchalently tucked him through wide midwicket. Wyatt dropped short to McGrath and the right-hander cut him like a tracer bullet through cover. Bairstow whipped Wyatt off his thigh through square blef for a high class four. McGrath glanced and guided successive fours off Wyatt and creamed a cover drive to the fence as the scored progressed to 303-5 inside 90 overs.

McGrath pulled Joseph for four to bring up the hundred stand for the sixth wicket in 22 overs and by the close the pair were still together to close on 329-5. An excellent recovery from 33-3.

JAMES BUTTLER in SCARBOROUGH

MATCH PREVIEW

Yorkshire take their first trip of the summer to North Marine Road, Scarborough this week as we welcome Leicestershire to the east coast. With rain interruptions making it feel like the season hasn’t properly started yet, hopefully Scarborough can kick start the summer.

Three draws against Kent (twice) and Essex certainly aren’t the end of the world. Both sides will be contesting the promotion places, but Andrew Gale’s side will be wanting to boost their promotion campaign with a win this week.

Form, momentum and that promotion charge have been hard to find with the rain falling every time matches have started to take shape. The 2^nd XI have found life watching the covers even more frustrating on outgrounds less equipped to deal with the deluges we’ve seen in April. The ideal healthy situation where the 1^st XI are being pressured by runs and wickets from the 2^nd XI hasn’t happened as the 2^nd XI have hardly set foot on the green stuff yet. Let’s hope May brings bluer skies!

Scarborough is a favourite haunt of the Yorkshire side and a place where the Tykes have prospered. Leicestershire, who finished bottom of the pile last summer, are led by West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan in the absence of Matthew Hoggard (hand injury). Hoggy will be frustrated at his inability to take the field at Scarborough. It was a match he was looking forward to!

The Foxes started their Championship campaign with a 52 run win over Glamorgan at Grace Road thanks largely to 6-47 and 6-64 from Robbie Joseph who joined on a contract until the end of May after being released by Kent last November. Away draws followed against Derbyshire, where Sarwan and Josh Cobb both hit centuries and Wayne White bagged 5-54, and against Hampshire where the rain halted proceedings early.

JAMES BUTTLER

TICKETS

Yorkshire and Scarborough CC Members can gain admission on production of their membership cards.

Tickets are priced as per Headingley - £15 adults and £10 concessions. Their is a £1 extra charge for admission to the Trafalgar Square entrance. 

YORKSHIRE SQUAD

Andrew GALE (capt), Joe SAYERS, Joe ROOT, Phil JAQUES, Jonny BAIRSTOW (wk), Gary BALLANCE, Tim BRESNAN, Adil RASHID, Anthony McGRATH, Ryan SIDEBOTTOM, Steve PATTERSON and Iain WARDLAW.

With the news today that Ajmal Shahzad is leaving the Club, he is replaced in the squad by Anthony McGrath. That is the only change from the squad that travelled to Canterbury last week.

LEICESTERSHIRE SQUAD

Matthew Boyce, Greg Smith, Jacques Du Toit, Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), Josh Cobb, Ned Eckersley (wk), Wayne White, Kadeer Ali, Robbie Joseph, Nadeem Malik, Alex Wyatt and Claude Henderson.

Will Jefferson and Nathan Buck are continuing to recover from back injuries picked up before the season got underway and Matthew Hoggard misses a return to Scarborough with a hand injury.