Somerset on the back foot after Fisher takes five for Yorkshire
MATTHEW Fisher claimed career-best figures before Harry Brook’s unbeaten 79 put Yorkshire in control on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Somerset in Scarborough.
Fisher cleaned up Somerset’s lower order to claim 5-41 as the visitors were dismissed for just 134 on an opening day where 15 wickets fell.
Josh Davey helped Somerset fight back with the ball, but Brook guided Yorkshire into a 25-run lead at 159-6.
Somerset won the toss and chose to bat but, after their chastening innings defeat at home to Nottinghamshire last week, were soon under immediate pressure again.
Tom Abell fell for two, edging a rising ball from Fisher through to Harry Duke before Tom Lammonby was caught by Brook off David Willey for eight.
From 14-2, Azhar Ali and James Hildreth moved the score past 50 but Yorkshire, who began the match bottom of Division One, soon produced a blistering run of four wickets for four runs in just 21 balls.
George Hill’s double started the burst as a booming Hildreth drive on 24 found Adam Lyth at second slip before George Bartlett edged behind for four.
Jordan Thompson then claimed two in two balls, with Azhar edging on to his stumps for 24 and Tom Banton nicking behind for a firstball duck.
Somerset were 77-6 at lunch and
Fisher claimed four wickets after the break to press home the hosts’ advantage.
Steven Davies flashed to first slip for 15 before Lyth took another superb slip catch to dismiss Jack Leach for four and Davey was dismissed lbw, also for four.
Marchant De Lange blasted two fours and a six but Fisher responded by scattering his stumps to seal a second career five-wicket haul.
Lyth departed for a duck as Yorkshire’s reply got off to a shaky start and there was more cause for concern when Kohler-Cadmore had to retire on one when he was struck on the arm by a Davey delivery.
Gary Ballance and opener Hill guided the hosts to 47-1 at tea but Hill soon fell to Davey for 29 and Kohler-Cadmore returned - but lasted only three balls as Davey struck again.
Ballance shared a positive 39-run stand with Brook before edging Davey to second slip for 32.
Dom Bess was stumped off Leach for 10 but Brook marched on, reaching fifty from just 51 balls before receiving a late life on 74 when he was dropped by Davies.
Jason Kerr, Somerset’s head coach, said: The first half-hour in the morning is going to be key in terms of staying in the game but it’s another frustrating day in the end.
“Whatever you do at the toss is irrelevant in some ways. It is how well you do it. Losing four wickets in the space of five overs has hurt us.
“We need to get early wickets and minimise the lead that Yorkshire have. You’ve seen that historically it is a good scoring ground, the outfield is quick and once you establish a partnership scoring becomes a lot easier.
“There’s some turn and bounce there and that was one of the reasons we batted first, but we need to put runs on the board to do that.
Yorkshire’s Fisher, who took 5-41, said: “I felt in good rhythm, there was a bit in the pitch and I got the results in the end.
“The bounce here takes a bit of getting used to as a young player, it gets the batters feeling for it a little bit and they find themselves following it with the bounce.”