Duke of Yorkshire spares his side’s blushes in Roses clash

ELIZABETH BOTCHERBY AT EMIRATES OLD TRAFFORD: Playing in front of a crowd for the first time in 617 days, Lancashire had their foot of Yorkshire’s throat at 21 for 5, only for teenager Harry Duke to rescue his side with a brave maiden half-century

Emirates Old Trafford (Day one of four): Yorkshire 159, Lancashire 95-1

Scorecard

Walking up Warwick Road South with the floodlights at Emirates Old Trafford looming overhead, I was struck by an unfamiliar sensation.

It wasn’t the warm Manchester sunshine – a rare sight in May as the past few rounds of LV= Insurance County Championship action will testify – nor the throngs of fans disembarking at Old Trafford tram stop and beginning the short walk to the stadium (admittedly, another rare sight after 617 days of staring at empty seats).

It was the sound of the stadium announcer, Mike Peters, booming his cheerful welcome greeting over the PA. His message, sounding the five-minute warning before the toss, entered my ears just as I crossed the mouth of Edgbaston Drive, part of a cricket-themed housing estate built in the shadow of Lancashire’s media centre. It was a happy coincidence and one which caused me to stop and smile, the sound of a stadium tannoy an unlikely stepping stone on the road back to sporting normalcy.

Inside the stadium was a hub of activity. Underneath the pavilion, the coffee stand was doing a roaring trade; to the left of the Titanic Distillers advertising hoarding, a gentleman sat shirtless in the stand, acknowledging the mercury’s rise beyond 15 degrees Celsius in true northern fashion; and from the third floor of the hotel, a flag bearing the white rose of Yorkshire draped boldly over a balcony.

It seemed almost too good to be true that the return of fans to Old Trafford coincided with the first Roses match of 2021. And it was even more unbelievable that Harry Duke, aptly named given the occasion, should be the player to rescue the visitors from 21 for 5.

It took just 17 minutes for the first wicket to fall, the free-scoring Adam Lyth caught by Danny Lamb off the bowling of Tom Bailey just four balls after Tom Kohler-Cadmore had been dropped at second slip.  

55 minutes later, a further four wickets had fallen: Fraine caught behind for a 14-ball duck, Harry Brook comically runout by Alex Davies after hesitating in pursuit of a sneaky single, George Hill caught for two in the 11th over, and Dom Bess – perhaps the most surprised of all to be padding up before lunch -  cutting the ball to a delighted Danny Lamb at gully to depart for three.

Shortly before Bess’s dismissal, a text message did the rounds of the press box – this was the first time since June 1964 that Lancashire had taken four wickets with 11 runs on the board. As the visitors tumbled to 21 for 5, the stats boffins began beavering away once again, searching for Yorkshire’s lowest total in a Championship match in Manchester. The answer? 51. All of a sudden, the Yorkshire flag hanging out of the hotel didn’t look quite so proud.

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19-year-old Wakefield native Duke was the next man in. The teenager who, a fortnight prior, had scored a golden duck on his debut against Glamorgan was now tasked with preventing Yorkshire from making an unwanted addendum to their record books. Eyes rolled around the media centre; he’d barely have time to take his guard before walking back towards us!

Boy, did he prove us wrong.

His innings didn’t get off to the ideal start, losing experienced partner Kohler-Cadmore within a few minutes of reaching the middle, but a pair of fours in the 19th over settled his nerves and got the scorecard ticking over.

Eight overs later, he added a further 14 to Yorkshire’s total, capitalising on a flurry of loose deliveries from Luke Wood to push his side beyond their bogey score - 51 would remain a Manchester low for another season at least. Three dot balls to finish the over signalled lunch and Duke headed back to the changing room with 24 runs from 38 deliveries and his side 57 for 7. Still appalling but he had stopped the rot.

^{Tom Kohler-Cadmore (R) departed for 10 as Yorkshire slipped to 21 for 6}

The afternoon session was a stark contrast to the morning. The sun temporarily dipped behind a cloud and Duke, in partnership with captain Steven Patterson, soaked up delivery after delivery from Lancashire’s bowlers. It took the teenager 12 overs to hit his first post-lunch boundary; at the non-striker’s end, Patterson was on nine from 39 deliveries.

But after almost single-handedly dragging Yorkshire back from the brink, his maiden first-class half-century never seemed in doubt – even if he was dropped by Keaton Jennings to bring up the milestone.

Unfortunately, just as Richard Plantagenet died at the Battle of Wakefield merely weeks after being instated as the heir to Henry VI’s throne, Duke would face just three further deliveries before beginning the long walk back to the boundary. Question marks surround the former’s death, but Duke’s was clear cut – caught behind by Dane Vilas off the bowling of Bailey, the Preston-born bowler a Lancastrian through and through.

Duke spent 155 minutes at the crease, eight minutes longer than the six batsmen who walked out before him, and scored a fine 52 from 120 deliveries. In his first Roses match, he may well end up on the losing side – Yorkshire were all out for 159 while Lancashire finished day one on 95 for 1  – but he will leave Manchester with his head held high, a half-century in his kitbag, and the respect of the 2,000 or so fans who applauded begrudgingly from the stands.