Cricket: Byas' batting lifts Yorkshire gloom

Yorkshire 149-5 v Leicestershire

For a side who have been hit harder by the weather than most, Leicestershire bowled with encouraging accuracy yesterday. No doubt it helped that Yorkshire had not held a bat in their hands for a fortnight, which certainly showed, and overall both sides made the best of another rain-hit day.

Leicestershire have lost some 1,200 overs (or 90 hours) to the weather. Another 56 disappeared yesterday and it would have been more but for the keenness of the captains to start while the run-ups were in need of ample supplies of sawdust.

But there was nothing wrong with a pitch that had been under cover, on and off, for a week or so; the quicker bowlers could get the odd ball through at a healthy pace and it came readily on to the bat, as David Byas illustrated by passing 50 from 49 balls with 10 fours.

The Yorkshire captain's crisp, well-timed strokes compensated for a series of unsurprising errors which started when Martyn Moxon played on to one slanted into him by Alan Mullally and Anthony McGrath was palpably late on a ball full length from the talented James Ormond which had him leg before.