Yorkshire’s Adam Lyth impresses Alastair Cook with century against MCC

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/23/yorkshire-adam-lyth-alastair-cook-mcc

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Alastair Cook stood at slip and watched as a pink blur flashed wide of him. Adam Lyth had just leaned back and deftly dabbed the ball past him for four runs down to third man that brought up his 15th first-class century for Yorkshire on day two of the season-opening fixture with MCC.

It appears the race to become Cook’s opening partner for next month’s tour to the Caribbean has begun, with the uncapped left-hander stealing a march on his main rival in the squad, Jonathan Trott, with 113 from 190 balls in Yorkshire’s 372 all out, with MCC, 13 without loss, trailing by 138 runs when stumps were called at 10pm local time.

The ball before he raised his bat had seen Lyth thick-edge one through the same region to move to 96. That he had the confidence to play such a late cut the following delivery should not be a surprise. With eight of his hundreds coming since last April, he is in the form of his life.

As the players went off for a delayed lunch interval – the opening session had, incredibly, seen 30 minutes lost to rain in the desert – Cook congratulated Lyth, who sat unbeaten on 105. The England new boy admitted the praise was gratefully received, adding: “I wasn’t thinking about it when batting but it was probably up with one of the most important centuries of my career, with him watching.”

By the time Lyth departed – trapped lbw as the first of three wickets for the promising off-spinner Adam Riley – he had struck 12 fours, the pick of which was a drive through extra cover off the bowling of Chris Rushworth, whose county team-mate Graham Onions was again missing with a groin problem. The good news for Durham supporters is the seamer expects to be fit for the start of the championship.

A bowler light, MCC struggled for penetration as even the nightwatchman, Steven Patterson, got among the runs with 36 in an entertaining stand of 91 with Lyth. The only Yorkshire batsman to miss out was Jonny Bairstow, himself Caribbean-bound, after a sixth-ball duck, trapped lbw by Rushworth. Adil Rashid, another England tourist in April, made 42 before a shock dismissal lbw to the very part-time off breaks of Michael Carberry.

With six first-team players away for the start of their title defence, the head coach, Jason Gillespie, will have been delighted to see Will Rhodes, one of the next generation, shine. Rhodes added 104 for the sixth-wicket with Andrew Hodd, who made 57. Rhodes, the former England Under-19s captain, looks an all-rounder of promise and can add a patient 149-ball 61 to his two for 10 with the ball in the first innings on his first-class debut.

Cook, who held two catches, will resume on day three with two to his name after surviving five tricky overs under lights – which included a full-blooded lbw appeal from Jack Brooks – with his partner Nick Compton on seven.