Yorkshire 425 for 8 (Malan 98, Lyth 67, Hill 63, Thompson 48*) vs Worcestershire
Former England batter Dawid Malan scored a classy 98 through the heart of the day as Yorkshire enjoyed a healthy start to their Rothesay County Championship clash with Worcestershire at Headingley.
Malan contributed 12 fours and a six in 133 balls to a close of play 425 for 8 from 96 overs. He steadied a brief home wobble after lunch which included Jonny Bairstow being unfortunate to be caught behind for 7.
An Adam Finch short ball seemed to brush Bairstow's stomach rather than his glove on its way through to wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick, though umpire Mark Newell viewed it differently. The home captain cut an astonished figure as he left the field.
At that stage, Yorkshire were 179 for 4 in the 48th over, including opener Adam Lyth's 67. Worcestershire made an errant start with the ball but improved, though not enough to turn the day in their favour. New Zealand quick Jacob Duffy mirrored his side's day. He improved markedly to finish with three wickets.
George Hill also contributed 63, while four other seamers struck once apiece.
This is a clash between a Yorkshire side who lost their opener at Hampshire last weekend and a Worcestershire side who batted out the final 200 overs for a draw at Somerset.
Worcester captain Brett D'Oliveira opted to bowl first on a green-tinged pitch with good pace and carry, but they were slow starters as the hosts reached 49 without loss after 10 overs.
Lyth shared 55 with opening partner Fin Bean, who was caught at third slip off Tom Taylor for 19.
Left-hander Lyth then shared 68 through to early afternoon with second-wicket partner James Wharton, whose eye-catching 44 saw him drive handsomely and take four fours off one Taylor over.
Worcestershire tightened up as the morning progressed and eroded Yorkshire's position of strength during the first half of the afternoon, the White Rose falling from 123 for 1 in the 35th over to 179 for 4 in the 48th.
Wharton edged Duffy (3 for 114 in 18 overs) behind - undone by extra bounce and away movement - before Lyth miscued an expansive pull at Matthew Waite's bustling seam to deep backward square-leg.
And when Bairstow fell controversially to Finch, Worcestershire had an opening.
However, they encountered Malan in dominant form, including a slog-swept six over deep midwicket off Kashif Ali's leg-spin.
By then, Malan - in only his second first-class match since July 2023 having opted to step away from the red-ball game for a year - had reached his fifty off 66 balls.
Yorkshire have some quality batters on their books, including the likes of Joe Root and Harry Brook, who will likely feature at some point during the opening two months of the county summer.
But when Malan is on song, he is a match for any of them. He just makes batting look so easy. That six came in the over before tea, where he reached at 75 not out in 270 for 4.
Hill edged a swish at Ben Allison behind in the early stages of the evening before the part-time off-spin of Jake Libby ousted Will Luxton, caught at deep midwicket on the slog sweep for 25, with the total on 339 in the 80th over.
Duffy then had Malan caught at second slip with the second ball of the 82nd over, the first with the new ball, as Yorkshire fell to 345 for 7.
The same bowler also trapped Dom Bess lbw, but Waite was still the standout Worcester bowler with figures of 1 for 53 from 15 overs.
If those late wickets provided any doubt over the direction of the day, Jordan Thompson swayed things very much in Yorkshire's favour with a quick-fire 48 not out from 43 balls. He dominated an unbroken 65 stand for the ninth wicket with Ben Coad (22).
