Bat will not do for Tykes (From York Press)

Bat will not do for Tykes

8:19am Saturday 21st July 2007 in Sport By David Warner

A disappointing batting display by Yorkshire, who need every point they can muster to stay top of the Championship, left them on 203-8 against Surrey when play ended after 63 overs of the first day of the match at Headingley.

Only Anthony McGrath and Adil Rashid got on top of the bowling, McGrath continuing his good form with a confident 72, and Rashid ending unbeaten on 42 with six wristy fours.

Australian-born pace bowler Matt Nicholson and spin wizard Harbhajan Singh both posed plenty of problems and each picked up three wickets.

There was early assistance for the seamers when Yorkshire won the toss and decided to bat, and it did not take Nicholson long to send back both openers, Joe Sayers losing his leg-stump and Craig White falling lbw.

Sayers has hit three centuries this season but has gone through a lean time recently and since receiving his first-team cap has made only 26 runs in five Championship innings.

Younus Khan helped McGrath repair some of the damage, quickly striking five boundaries, but the Pakistani became too impatient and, after making 29 from 30 balls, he cut Rikki Clarke straight to Scott Newman at point.

Eight runs later, Clarke struck again by trapping Jacques Rudolph lbw to leave Yorkshire on 75-4.

Gerard Brophy, who came through a fitness test on his left hand, stayed with McGrath until lunch arrived at 124-4, and the score was unchanged when the wicketkeeper-batsman was pinned lbw by Nicholson for 22.

As at Surrey in the opening match of the season, Rashid helped to initiate a recovery and soon after his arrival at the crease McGrath went to his 50.

McGrath has notched two centuries and four half-centuries in his last seven innings but when he had moved on to 72, he became the first of three victims for Singh in a 24-ball spell which cost only one run.

In trying to flick a ball on the legside, McGrath gave a catch off bat and pad to Stewart Walters and the same fielder also grasped catches at silly mid-off to send back Tim Bresnan and Jason Gillespie.

Darren Gough was next in but a few balls later the light became too bad to continue and it then began to rain while an early tea was being taken.

* Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon is seething that leg-spinner Adil Rashid will miss three vital Championship matches to play for England Under-19s in two Tests and five one-day internationals against Pakistan A'.

Moxon has tried to obtain Rashid's release, but his pleas have been rejected. Rashid will be with England A' for three weeks meaning he will miss Yorkshire's Championship games against Lancashire, Worces-tershire and Warwickshire.