Picture by John Mallett/Leicestershire CCC. James Wharton en-route to his 56 today.
James Wharton admitted his frustration as Yorkshire ended day one behind the eight-ball against Leicestershire at the Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road.
The Foxes claimed the early initiative at 177-3 in reply to Yorkshire’s 185 all out, with England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed enjoying an impressive day with two wickets and an unbeaten 62 to his name.
Wharton was Yorkshire’s standout performer with the bat as he posted 56. Unfortunately, though, things just didn’t pan out on a pitch which started bowler-friendly and eased as the day progressed.
A lot has been spoken about the pitch, especially given it’s appearance of green in the middle and bare at both ends.
Wharton said: “It’s obviously an interesting looking wicket.
“There’s been a bit of seam movement, a little bit up and down but not a lot of turn.
“Obviously it looks a bit different. But, overall, it’s pretty stock-standard to what we’ve played on quite a lot already this year.”
Wharton was involved in two partnerships in the forties with captain Jonny Bairstow and George Hill, one before lunch and the other after.
“I felt like, when me and Hilly were batting, there was a period – probably just about when I got out – when it was feeling easier. That’s why I was so frustrated when I got out.
“We were just starting to build, and the pressure was back on them a little bit.
“I just got out, soft dismissal. That ball should not be getting me out. Then it just starts a bit of a snowball effect. Obviously, then you’ve got lads coming in trying to start their innings off.
“It isn’t easy to start on at all if the ball’s in the right area. So, yeah, that was pretty frustrating.
“I was in two minds. I was thinking about pulling it and then just hung my bat out. It was back-of-a-length, widish, and I could have just let it through to the keeper or defend it.”
When Wharton was dismissed, caught behind off Alex Green, Yorkshire slipped to 131-6. Leicestershire then mopped up the tail quite quickly and responded strongly with the bat to almost reach parity by close.
“They’ve batted quite nicely, and we’ve probably not quite bowled as well as we would have liked,” assessed Wharton, who can absolutely see a way back into this game.
His honesty with his own dismissal shows a maturing and developing player who will learn from today’s experience.
And, of course, tomorrow is a new day.
He added: “If we take two early wickets in the morning, then they’ll have a little panic on upstairs.
“We know…we’ve played in games like this numerous, numerous times. We know that they’re under pressure as well, because they’re wanting to set it up a little bit and get a lead.
“Yeah, it’s obviously not an ideal situation that we find ourselves in, but it’s only end of day one. There’s three more days of cricket ahead of us. We’ve just got to look to tomorrow and take some quick wickets.”