Hampshire 160 for 5 (Stoneman 46) lead Yorkshire 121 (Dawson 3-8, Abbott 3-42) by 39 runs
When Yorkshire announced Jonny Bairstow as their new captain in red-ball cricket, the thought occurred that it could be a lively tenure. Passion and pride in the White Rose were a given. So too some potentially more combustible moments from a man who doesn't so much wear his heart on his sleeve as have his entire circulatory system tattooed across his body for all to see.
The blood would have been pumping as Bairstow walked out for the toss for only the fourth time in professional cricket - and first for Yorkshire since taking charge of a T20 Blast game against Northamptonshire in 2015. The new season, with Yorkshire back in Division One after a two-year stint in the second tier, lay waiting to be conquered. On a bright morning, with just a little high cloud cover overhead, Bairstow called correctly, opted to bat… and pretty soon, to paraphrase another famous Yorkshireman, it was all going off out there.
A little assistance for Hampshire's attack was to be expected from a fresh pitch in the opening week of April, but being bundled out within eight overs of the second session starting was clearly not in the Yorkshire masterplan. Each of the visiting top six made it into double-figures, but none managed more than Dawid Malan's 31. More pertinently, only two - Adam Lyth and George Hill - could claim to have been got out by the bowler.
Bairstow, who kept wicket and batted at No. 5 in addition to his captaincy duties, walked out to the middle at just past midday, arms windmilling energetically before scratching his mark and then turning to face Brad Wheal, bat held high in trademark style. With Malan at the other end, Yorkshire might have hoped for a partnership of Test-match pedigree to lift the innings from 56 for 3. Instead, having nudged a few singles and then carved Sonny Baker through point for his first boundary, Bairstow fell to the Hampshire new boy's second delivery, again short and wide but this time sliced straight to third.
Hampshire's batting was far sturdier in response, albeit conditions eased as the sun shone on the south coast and the temperature bobbed into the 20s C. Mark Stoneman, having earlier pulled off a direct hit aiming at one-and-a-bit stumps to run out Malan, marked his Hampshire debut by striking a crisp 46 in an opening stand worth 70. Fletcha Middleton added a more workmanlike 45 but Yorkshire grafted to prevent them from running up a more significant lead, with Hill twice plucking out leg stump in dismissing Stoneman and Tom Prest.
Bairstow the captain will have been prepared for tough times - with England, he seemed to thrive in adversity - and he did not seem unduly concerned with how his team had fared in their opening skirmish with a side that finished each of the last three seasons in Division One's top three, exchanging friendly words with the travelling Yorkshire support as he led the players back on after tea.
In the field, Bairstow's demeanour was upbeat and he marshalled his resources proactively to stymie Hampshire during the evening session. His scrambling catch to dislodge Middleton via bat and pad off the bowling of Dom Bess was the epitome of hard-won success, and he celebrated with a roaring double fist-pump reminiscent of his international days. The fire still burns brightly, if ever there was any doubt.
April is usually the month for bum pats and bobble hats, players blowing into their hands while trying to keep warm in the field. But on the first day of the season, supporters strolled around Hampshire's bucolic concrete bowl in shorts and shirt sleeves, kids playing with tennis balls on the concourse - only the occasional presence of a chilly breeze reminded you that we are still among the first stirrings of spring. The official attendance was 2,148, and there was an air of busy expectation around the ground as Hampshire began their first season under the auspices of the Indian conglomerate GMR Group.
Whatever has changed in the boardroom, the metronomic approach of Kyle Abbott - playing his ninth season of Championship cricket for Hampshire - remains reassuringly familiar. He was soon probing away around off stump, winning an lbw appeal against Lyth in the seventh over having switched to round the wicket. Brett Hampton, the New Zealand allrounder signed at short notice after Jack Edwards was forced to pull out of his overseas stint through injury, then picked up a wicket with his fifth ball as Fin Bean drive loosely to backward point. James Wharton edged to the slip cordon trying to drive Wheal down the ground before Bairstow handed Baker his first Championship wicket.
Malan's ill-judged tip-and-run to cover left Yorkshire five down at lunch, but they tumbled like a stock exchange in the face of Donald Trump's tariffs after the break, losing 4 for 2 as Liam Dawson turned one past Will Luxton's careful forward defensive to dislodge the off bail. In all, the last five wickets fell in the space of 27 balls. From there, Yorkshire and Bairstow will hope the only way is up.
