Harry Brook played his first game since a T20 international in India, helping Yorkshire dominate Warwickshire on the opening day of their County Championship match.
Yorkshire's seamers made the most of the favourable conditions to bowl their side into the ascendancy over Warwickshire on the opening day of their County Championship match at Edgbaston. The home side were bowled out for 147 by an excellent collective seam bowling display led by Jack White (4-49), supported by George Hill (2-27) and Ben Cliff and Logan van Beek (both 2-33). Sam Hain's skilful 57 from 97 balls was the only score of note, but Yorkshire also found batting tricky and dipped to 38-3 before James Wharton (40) and Harry Brook (29 not out) added 63, much the biggest partnership of the day.
Encouraged by some grass on the pitch, Yorkshire chose to bowl and took out Warwickshire's top three batters in the first nine overs. Adam Lyth pouched Alex Davies at second slip off White, wicketkeeper Johnny Bairstow accepted Rob Yates' nick off Cliff, and Brook collected when Dan Mousley edged a big drive at White to first slip. Beau Webster then drove at Hill and played on, and captain Ed Barnard perished to a huge drive at a wide ball from van Beek which ended in the gloves of Bairstow.
Hain alone, of the top six, reached double figures, but his resistance was ended by a fine ball from White which was edged to first slip. Zen Malik dug in for 67 minutes but then edged Cliff to third slip, and Yorkshire maintained the pressure as Michael Booth nicked Hill behind and Jordan Thompson, facing his former team-mates, was pinned lbw by van Beek. The 10th wicket brought the biggest partnership of the innings - 30 – between Ethan Bamber (28) and Olly Hannon-Dalby, with Bamber twice striking van Beek into the Hollies Stand before falling lbw to a swinging yorker from White.
Bamber and Hannon-Dalby then got busy with the ball. The latter, recalled from his loan spell at Worcestershire in light of injuries to Chris Woakes and Keith Barker, unfurled a peach of an off-cutter which Lyth edged to the 'keeper. Bamber trapped Finlay Bean lbw, and Matt Revis fell in similar fashion to Hannon-Dalby. That brought in Brook for his first Championship innings for a year, and under thick cloud, in moderate light, and with the pitch offering plenty, conditions could not have been much more testing, but Brook and James Wharton batted positively in their 12 overs together.
Wharton was caught by Yates in the cordon off Thompson, having been dropped before he had scored by the same player off Hannon-Dalby, but Brook and Bairstow avoided further damage. Brook sliced Booth for six over third man and blended play-and-misses with sweet strokes to remain unbeaten and complete a strong day for Yorkshire as they seek to continue the momentum from last week's win over Somerset.