COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Scarborough:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY TWO: Warwickshire 320, Yorkshire 100-7 (Warwicks 5pts, Yorks 3pts)
26-29 August 2009

Ambrose is the latest England wicket-keeping contender to hit form

Warwickshire's Tim Ambrose hit 113 as Yorkshire suffered a dramatic reversal in fortune on day two of their County Championship clash at Scarborough.

In this private battle of two of the relegation strugglers, Ambrose helped the Bears recover from their overnight 53-4 to reach 320 all out.

But Yorkshire slumped to 100-7 in reply and resume on day three needing another 71 to avoid being asked to follow on.

Indian Test star Sreesanth did the damage, taking 4-36 in two spells.

Sreesanth rocked the Tykes by opening up with a double-wicket maiden which sent back Jacques Rudolph and captain Anthony McGrath.

And he then returned later for good measure to pick up two more wickets, getting both Ajmal Shahzad and Richard Pyrah snapped up in the slips.

The weather-hit first day had belonged to Yorkshire's bowlers, but they were soon under the cosh from the Bears' two keepers, Ambrose and Tony Frost, the fifth-wicket pair sharing 15 boundaries in little over an hour.

Yorkshire were forced to turn to the spin of David Wainwright to break their stand of 85 in 21 overs by bowling Frost round his legs.

Rikki Clarke opened his account with a straight six off Wainwright before he was caught behind by Gerard Brophy, attempting to cut a ball too close to him.

But Ambrose eased his way to his second Championship century of the season after lunch and he entered into another sizeable stand with Neil Carter, who blitzed Wainwright out of the attack by slamming him over mid-wicket for six and then hitting him for three fours in an over.

Carter's 50 took only 40 balls and he continued his assault against Pyrah by taking four and six off his first two deliveries.

But, when the seventh-wicket stand had reached 110 in 17 overs, Ambrose went out to a smart catch by McGrath at mid-wicket.

Carter then also fell to a catch by McGrath, this time off Pyrah, for 67 from 59 balls, and the Warwickshire tail soon subsided, Shahzad bowling last man Sreesanth to end with figures of 4-78.

But Sreesanth was then soon back in the thick of the drama with the ball.

Rudolph cut his first ball straight to backward-point - his second such dismissal in consecutive innings - and McGrath moved across his stumps to edge into Ambrose's gloves.

Joe Sayers and Andrew Gale put on 47 together before both fell to Naqaash Tahir, Jonny Bairstow was picked up at first slip by Frost and then Sreesanth returned to complete the Bears' day.

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