ANDREW GALE did not know whether to laugh or cry at the end of the second day against Somerset at Taunton, an LV= County Championship match which Yorkshire could yet lose despite posting 438.

The White Rose captain was frustrated with his side’s bowling display as Somerset were allowed to close on 309-4 from 75 overs, a deficit of 129 in good batting conditions.

They were helped along by a quartet of fifties from Marcus Trescothick, Tom Abell, James Hildreth and Tom Cooper, the latter two sharing 129 inside 23 overs for the fourth wicket.

But all of this came on a day which started in the best possible way with the news that Jason Gillespie was staying at Headingley after missing out on the England coaching job.

“It’s positive for me. I was expecting the worst really,” said Gale. “I was expecting Diz to go, but it’s worked out well for us because I think he would have done well for England.

“It’s disappointing for him because I know he would probably have liked to take that job, but he’s still young as a coach and is still learning.

“It’s good news for Yorkshire because we love him to pieces. He’s an outstanding coach, and England’s loss is our gain. I think they’ve missed a trick there, but time will tell.”

Yorkshire enjoyed a positive morning as they advanced from 345-8 overnight to claim five batting bonus points thanks in the main to Tim Bresnan’s 100 not out off 136 balls, his fourth career century and first since 2007.

He shared 92 inside 19 overs for the ninth wicket with Steve Patterson, who made 42 before the visiting bowlers toiled.

Somerset’s fourth-wicket pair Hildreth and Cooper did most of the damage with 82 off 61 balls and 55 not out. They united after tea to advance from 165-3, leading Gale to add: “We didn’t really bowl like champions.

“It started off well, but fair play to Somerset, they played really attacking cricket and put us on the back foot from the word go. We never got any consistency with our lines and lengths.”