Championship Essentials: Yorkshire v Northamptonshire

Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the County Championship...

Fixture: Yorkshire v Northamptonshire

Venue: Emerald Headingley, Leeds

Dates: Thursday, April 29, 2021 - Sunday, May 2, 2021

Start time: 11am 

What's the lowdown?

Momentum is with both these sides after each burgled a win having been outplayed for most of their respective round three fixtures. 

Northamptonshire's extraordinary final day chase against Glamorgan will live long in the memory, as centuries from Ricardo Vasconcelos and Rob Keogh enabled their side to chase down a target 355 in just 79 overs, the third-highest successful run chase in their history. It was David Ripley's side first win of the season after a draw at home against Kent and a loss on the road to Lancashire. 

Yorkshire bounced back from being bowled out for 150 on the first day at Hove to register a 48-run victory over Sussex, with spinner Dom Bess taking a vindicatory six-for. 

Who's in form?

South African-born Vasconcelos, who plays for Northamptonshire as a non-overseas player by dint of a Portuguese passport, has flayed two big hundreds this season; 154 from 209 against Kent in the season curtain-raiser to go with his match-winning 185 against Glamorgan.

For Yorkshire, opener Adam Lyth is approaching 500 runs for the season and has two centuries and three 50s to his name having scaled back his technique. Skipper Steve Patterson is the White Rose's leading bowler, with 11 wickets from his three outings and Bess found his feet spectacularly to bowl Sussex out. 

Last five first-class matches (most recent first)

Yorkshire: WWDLL

Northamptonshire: WLDDW

Head-to-head first-class record

Total matches: 142

Yorkshire wins: 67

Northamptonshire wins: 26

Draws: 49

Abandoned: 2

What's the team news?

Yorkshire: Joe Root sits out the visit of Northamptonshire while Matthew Waite has been ruled out for an additional three-four weeks due to a side strain. Matt Fisher will play for the second XI against Surrey as he continues his recovery from an abdominal injury while Ben Coad remains sidelined by a long-term shoulder issue.

Yorkshire squad: Gary Ballance, Dom Bess, Harry Brook, Will Fraine, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Adam Lyth, Duanne Olivier, Steve Patterson (c), Mat Pillans, Jonny Tattersall (wk), Jordan Thompson, David Willey

Northamptonshire: Red-ball captain Adam Rossington has been ruled out due to a finger injury suffered during the win over Glamorgan. Ricardo Vasconcelos will take the gloves and skipper the side, in his absence.

Northamptonshire squad: Ricardo Vasconcelos (c/wk), Gareth Berg, Ben Curran, Emilio Gay, Brandon Glover, Rob Keogh, Simon Kerrigan, Wayne Parnell, Luke Procter, Ben Sanderson, Tom Taylor, Charlie Thurston, Saif Zaib

Latest Yorkshire news: Click here

Latest Northamptonshire news: Click here

Who's said what?

After a match-winning display against Sussex, Bess is confident something special is brewing at Headingley.

"We have the squad to do it,” the England spinner said on the prospect of completing the County Championship-Bob Willis Trophy double, which would mean a return to Lord's.

"It would be lovely to get there, and it would be very nice to be a part of that because I missed out on quite a lot at Somerset.

"I see this changing room as a really exciting one. You look at the senior players we’ve got and the young players we’ve got, I think it’s a great blend."

Though the injury sustained by Rossington is not thought to be serious, he has been sidelined as a precaution to avoid any further damage.

"It’s always a tough call to make, but we advised him that if he was to play with this kind of this type of finger joint ligament injury he could aggravate it to the extent he’d miss considerably longer than just one game," said head physiotherapist Barry Goudriaan.

"Adam’s the type of player that will never stay down and a really proud captain of this team too. He’s disappointed to not be playing but he understands that longer-term it’s better for him to sit one out over maybe being hit in the same place again and being out a lot longer."

What's the weather forecast?

Though the afternoon of day two is scheduled be a washout, the rain is set to be kept at bay for most of this fixture. With highs of 11 degrees and overcast conditions throughout, it's going to be a rather miserable few days in God's Own County.

Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Headingley: Click here

How do I follow the match?

TV/stream: Yorkshire will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here

All County Championship matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here

The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.

Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game. 

Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more. 

Going to the game?

Tickets: This match is to be played behind closed doors owing to Covid-19 restrictions. 

Travel: Not applicable owing to Covid-19 restrictions.

Prediction?

A shootout between Lyth and Vasconcelos beckons – if day one centuries before lunch are your bag, then this is probably the fixture for you. Though Yorkshire have endured a couple of wobbles they remain a fine outfit and even without England's captain the White Rose should have too much for a Northants side whose sole victory owes much to a sporting declaration from Glamorgan skipper Chris Cooke. Home win.

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