Batters continue to dominate as Scarborough clash heads for inevitable draw

CIARAN MCCARTHY AT SCARBOROUGH: While the chances of this game ending as anything other than a draw are still slim, Surrey taking two late wickets puts them marginally ahead of their hosts

Scarborough (third day of four): Yorkshire 521 & 65-2, Surrey 515 - Yorkshire lead by 71 runs with eight second-innings wickets remaining

Scorecard

The day began with two set batters – Rory Burns on 94 and Hashim Amla on 45 – at the crease, as has been the story of the game so far.

Batting has largely looked easier than bowling. That is not to say that the track has not offered anything, but rather the bowlers failed to persist on the right lines and lengths, at least early on, but grew into it on day three.

Both Burns and Amla made their respective milestones early on, both from Shannon Gabriel, whose woes with the slope yesterday prompted him to bowl from the opposite end. Burns' century was his third in his last five County Championship games; he was watchful, and patient last night, and returned this morning with a renewed fluency.

Gabriel was far from angelic, bowling waywardly, throwing in short balls and, on more than one occasion, tossing them for four byes. It was he who saw the back of Burns for 132, though, beating him for pace and sending his off stump for a wander.

At the other end, both Steve Patterson and Jordan Thompson found good areas. It was nice to see Yorkshire finally attack the stumps for a prolonged period, both before and after taking the new ball – Thompson was inspiring in his first spell of the day, he got genuine movement, and challenged the edges. His first wicket was a tremendous one, as he angled the ball towards Amla, forcing him to play at it, and a thick edge was well taken by a diving Adam Lyth at second slip.

His second, not so much. The bowler offered Will Jacks a wide delivery, his eyes lit up, he went to cannon it to the boundary, and somehow chopped back onto his stumps, prompting a coy smile from Thompson.

Aaron Hardie's stay at the crease came with risk, but also some reward, he scored freely, despite some touchy moments. He faced a lot of Patterson when he was making things happen more and more often, as a man of his vintage will. Surrey's No.7 drove beautifully during his 46, but it all came tumbling down when Yorkshire's skipper bowled him through the gate, as he attempted to do so once more.

^{Dom Bess toiled away for his five wickets (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

Jamie Overton's innings looked like it could have been the straw that broke the camel's back: what was unclear was whether it was Yorkshire or Surrey who were the camel. Surrey 378 for 6 at the time; Yorkshire having taken three wickets in the previous 16 overs.

In Overton's first five balls, he had nine runs, though none were the prettiest, and he offered Yorkshire a couple of chances.

Overton's demise came as he was out-alphaed by Gabriel, the batter got one up in the first bout of the testosterone-fuelled battle, between the two biggest men on the pitch: pulling him to the fence for four. But Gabriel got back up, dusted himself off, and was brave enough to continue with his obvious short-ball ploy – with both fine leg and deep square leg back on the fence – and Overton picked out Thompson on the deep square fence two balls later.

Dom Bess had a big role today, as influential as anybody with a Rose on their cap: when utilised, he was very good, as the deck offered him rewards, which he justly took. He got rid of Jamie Smith early on; he flighted the ball beautifully, allowing for turn, but Smith succumbed to one that he fired through, taking his outside edge, welcomed into the clutches of Jonny Tattersall.

In the evening session, Bess returned to wreak more havoc, with Tom Lawes struggling to negate the turning ball. Both he and Conor McKerr fell to the spinner in the same over, the former stumped, after skipping down to drive, and the latter caught behind, Bess again using flight to his advantage.

Foakes was decidedly calm for the entire innings. He played all around the park, notching a 50 with relative ease, untroubled despite losing partners thick and fast towards the end. That was until he was left to navigate the final-wicket stand, unsure of whether to expose Worrall, who melted Bess for six from his first ball. The No.11 played with freedom, though, hitting six boundaries within his innings of 26 from 18 balls, repaying his partner’s trust in him, as they combined for 48 from 49 balls.

^{Rory Burns reached three figures for Surrey (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)}

Bess took centre stage again as the Surrey innings came to a close. He slid one past Worrall, who had walked down the track at him, and Tattersall happily flicked the bails off. Bess left with figures of 5 for 125, Tattersall helping out with three stumpings off him, and five victims overall, each of them from the bowling of the spinner.

That left Foakes 14 shy of a century - he had become more rash towards the end, but was one of the pillars of his side's performance today, playing a big part in them almost reaching parity, six runs shy of Yorkshire's first innings total.

As the end of play neared, the question of who will be the happier of the sides was not really any closer to being answered. Yorkshire will mainly have been happy that George Hill was still at the crease at the end. The fluidity that he showed in the nets before play today was nowhere to be seen when his innings was in its infancy – he edged past second slip a couple of times, and offered a regulation chance to McKerr at point, which somehow he shelled.

His partner did depart, as Overton had one to rear up off the deck and take his glove, ridding nightwatchman Bess two balls later with a ball that would have knocked all three over.

While the chances of this game ending as anything other than a draw are still slim, Surrey taking two late wickets puts them ahead of the hosts, though the safe money would still be on the spoils being shared, with Yorkshire 65 for 2, leading by 71.

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