Yorkshire close in on title after making Nottinghamshire follow on
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Version 0 of 1. There has been no doubting Yorkshire’s supremacy here, or over the course of the season, and barring plague, pestilence or Gary Keedy’s maiden first-class century, they will surely seal their first championship since 2001, and extend their record number of titles to 32, on Friday. For Nottinghamshire’s captain, Chris Read, however, the second-innings dismissal of Samit Patel by Jonny Bairstow left a slightly sour taste, and he even compared it to the sharp practice of Mankading that caused so much controversy when Sri Lanka caught Jos Buttler napping earlier in the summer. Patel, having suffered five ducks in his previous seven innings against Yorkshire, including in the first innings here, was starting to frustrate the champions elect in a fourth-wicket stand of 53 with James Taylor, and had they batted to the close it would have left at least a little doubt about the result going into the fourth day. There did not seem any danger when Bairstow, standing up to the medium pace of Steven Patterson, collected a ball down the legside. The England wicketkeeping hopeful held the ball in his gloves for a second or so, spotted that Patel had fractionally lifted his back foot, whipped off the bails and appealed to Rob Bailey, the square-leg umpire. Unusually for a championship match, Bailey was able to call for assistance from a third umpire, Mark Benson, with access to replays courtesy of Sky’s live coverage, and he sent Patel on his way. “Average sportsmanship,” tweeted Alex Hales, the England opener who had already gone for 43 from 45 balls to an uppish drive smartly caught by Jack Brooks in his follow-through – although his tweet was quickly deleted. Read, an outstanding wicketkeeper himself who made an unbeaten 83 in Nottinghamshire’s first innings in a familiar role on the burning deck, was more diplomatic, but said: “It’s not something I’ve ever done in 16 years of first-class cricket. It’s always a questionable one – how long should you hold the ball before it’s dead? I wouldn’t necessarily be too comfortable with it but each to their own; it’s not against the laws of the game. “People will say that if Samit hadn’t lifted his foot he wouldn’t have been out, and Samit will learn from that and make sure his foot is always planted in the crease. You can probably liken it to the whole Mankading situation. It’s within the laws of the game but people have a different opinion on it – it’s pretty subjective.” For anyone tempted to accuse Read of sour grapes, it is worth noting that he refused the opportunity to complain about a couple of horrendous umpiring decisions that undermined Nottinghamshire’s quest to save the game. Michael Lumb, a member of Yorkshire’s last title-winning squad 13 years ago, was understandably stunned to be given out lbw by Martin Saggers in the fifth over of the day. The former Kent and England seamer had also bemused Yorkshire by sending back their acting captain Joe Root, and Sky replays also confirmed that Bailey erred badly when giving Nottinghamshire’s No11 Harry Gurney out to end a last-wicket stand of 63 with Read. This has not been a good game for those who extol the virtues of English umpires, although the surprised reaction to such blatant errors could be seen as reassuring evidence that they are the exceptions that prove a much happier rule. The umpires could certainly respond that the players have been far from faultless themselves. Nottinghamshire’s England hopefuls again started loosely when Root enforced the follow-on midway through the afternoon session, but Hales was dropped by Adam Lyth at second slip, and Taylor by Gary Ballance at third, in consecutive overs from Ryan Sidebottom, not a bowler renowned for his phlegm. “I thought I was pretty calm – I’m very mellowed,” smiled the 36-year-old, who planned a quiet glass of Merlot as he relished the prospect of sharing in a fourth championship triumph – two in seven seasons at Trent Bridge from 2004-10, after taking 27 wickets as a straggly-haired youth in Yorkshire’s 2001 title side. This season he has 42 as a straggly-haired veteran, at an outstanding average of less than 19. “Since I’ve got past 30 I’m probably bowling as well as I’ve ever done,” he said. “I do a lot of yoga, a lot of weights in the off-season. I’d like two or three more years if I can.” Jason Gillespie believes Sidebottom will become a fine bowling coach. He and Brooks have shared 11 wickets so far. “We’ve both got dodgy long hair and we do complement each other really well,” Sidebottom said. Adil Rashid took three of the others as he mixed leg-spin and googlies in a 22-over spell from the Radcliffe Road end. |