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| LV= County Championship Division One, The Ageas Bowl (Day 1) |
| Yorkshire 324-5: hill 131, stream 76; Netherlands 2-46 |
| Hampshire: Still to beat |
| Yorkshire 3 pts, Hampshire 1 pts |
| scorecard |
Harry Brook continued his exceptional county championship season with his ninth score over 50 as Yorkshire piled on the runs on a flat Ageas Bowl course.
Brook, released from the England Test squad for that game, has played 10 red-ball innings in 2022 with a lowest score of 41 and three centuries.
Against Hampshire he showed his class at 76 but it was George Hill who spent most of the day grinding down a 220-ball century, the second of his career, before finally leaving for 131. Yorkshire came close with 324-5.
It was Hill who caught the eye early on after his skipper Steven Patterson opted to bat first. His straight runs were a particular highlight in a slow morning session. He preferred to scrape one past Kyle Abbott before opening the face on the next ball, and would later gloriously drive Keith Barker through the middle as well.
The straight drives were joined by a series of pull shots through the middle of the wicket, including to improve his half-century in 131 deliveries.
The 21-year-old lost Adam Lyth, who drove the accurate Ian Holland to the third slip in the morning after a 51-run opening partnership, and Will Fraine – a victim of Hill’s driving – ran out while resetting at the end of the non-striker.
Hill showed patience to see off the new ball and when Brook joined him the pair reached a score of 100 in 154 balls, Hill accelerating to add 41 of them in time. Two sixes behind Liam Dawson’s head proved his quality against spin bowling, along with his pace control which he displayed throughout.
On the other end, Brook hit like a man who knows he’s at the top of his game. Its high back lift, small backward step trigger and punchy flourishes were all perfectly matched and timed. He hit a total of 11 boundaries – 10 fours and one six – with his cartwheel, which was pretty much the same on all counts.
He fell into James Vince’s leg slip trap to end the 141-run streak, but that couldn’t stop Hill from getting his three pieces to the limit with a guided cut shot. The second new ball ended his 257-ball vigil when Abbott snuck one through the gate to pin the bail between the center and the butt.
Harry Duke was kissed by Holland as the shadows lengthened and the blue sky of the day was broken only by the rare cloud.
Report provided by the ECB Reporters Network.