Dawson's turn to make an impact

Glamorgan 223 Yorkshire 33

Whenever Yorkshire have appeared likely to win the Championship in the recent lean years their last title-winning captain Brian Close would growl: "Not until they get a class spinner they won't". That spinner may have just arrived.

His name is Richard Dawson, 21, 6ft 3in, fair-haired, Doncaster-born, former Batley Grammar School and England Under-19, whose Yorkshire debut was delayed by his taking a degree at Exeter University and by a hand injury at Canterbury in April.He is now playing in his seventh Championship match and after taking 6 for 98 against Surrey at Headingley on 3 August he topped that yesterday by finishing with 6 for 82 off 30 overs.

So the talk at lunchtime, after a brilliantly sunny morning at the 115th Festival, was of Dawson. Glamorgan had batted first on a flat, slow pitch virtually without grass, to be pinned down by Dawson's flight and turn that brought him interval figures of 9.2-2-23-3.

The talk at tea-time, by which time Glamorgan had ground their way to 188 off 72 overs for the loss of five wickets, David Byas using seven bowlers, was again of Dawson: Who was the last English off-spinner to make such an auspicious start?

Thanks mainly to Dawson, Yorkshire were three points nearer the 20 they require to become champions by the close. The bookies are no longer taking bets so we have to assume they think it's all over, although Byas has spent much of this week banging it into the troops that the fat lady has yet to sing.

The captain had a chequered day. Losing the toss scuppered the plan to bag five batting points, for which this pitch was presumably designed. Glamorgan, already without Robert Croft, called to The Oval, also lost Matthew Maynard, who turned an ankle in the warm-up so, when Ian Thomas, on nought, was dropped at slip off Steve Kirby, in the third over, they probably felt they deserved a little luck.

They made it plain they had no intention of providing a holiday for 5,000 sunburned, expectant Yorkies. Five overs had passed before a run was scored by which time Jimmy Maher had set his sights on the red-haired ever-aggressive Kirby, taking 15 off his sixth over. The PA announcer, perhaps the best-informed on the circuit, boomed: "The over rate is now minus two."

Some of the crowd thought this was good news and applauded. Byas knew exactly what it meant and promptly brought on Dawson who, off his time-saving run, first bowled Maher round his legs and was then hit straight for six in the same over by Mike Powell. In turn Powell was persuaded to hit with the supposed turn and was also bowled. Then, on the stroke of lunch. Dawson trapped the obdurate Ian Thomas.

Mark Wallace was missed by Byas – a straightforward slip catch, when six, off Ryan Sidebottom, whose only reward in an excellent post-lunch spell (7-4-11-1) was to have Mike Newell caught behind when he might have had three or four similar victims. Dawson changed ends, the captain then making a dazzling low catch to remove Wallace and end a stand of 72 in 28 overs. Adrian Dale's defiant 50 took 123 balls.

Sidebottom's speed and swing, in contrast with Dawson's nagging turn, were too much for Glamorgan after tea. Three wickets went down in 19 balls, Matthew Wood enhancing his reputation as a close catcher, from short leg and slip. Glamorgan's exasperation could be sensed in the almost weary slash by Dale that brought his downfall. He hung on for three hours, faced 155 balls and hit five fours.

Wood had to retire in the penultimate over after being hit on the cheek by Simon Jones.