LV= COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Edgbaston:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY ONE: Warwickshire 217 v Yorkshire 128-3
Yorkshire 3pts, Warwicks 2pts
Match scorecard

Sayers was only of two Tykes players to reach 1000 runs last summer

Joe Sayers hit Edgbaston's first half century of the summer as Yorkshire ended on top in a wicket-strewn first day of the Championship season.

Sayers went for 50 not long before the close, backed by Jacques Rudolph (43no), as Yorkshire reached 128-3 in reply to Warwickshire's 217 all out.

Earlier, Neil Carter had top scored for the Bears with 41, backed by 39 apiece from Ian Westwood and Jim Troughton.

But, while Ian Bell made 31, fellow winter tourist Jonathan Trott failed.

Yorkshire's best two bowlers were Ajmal Shahzad and Steven Patterson, who took three wickets apiece.

They backed Andrew Gale's first decision as the Tykes' new captain as Yorkshire secured maximum bowling points by tea.

On a pitch offering some movement, Warwickshire lost seven wickets in 30 overs in the afternoon session. And, on three occasions Gale was rewarded for his bowling changes as a wicket went down in the first over of a new spell.

With the old pavilion and three stands demolished in a re-development project, Edgbaston presented a strange backdrop when Gale, at 26 Yorkshire's youngest post-war captain, celebrated a wicket in the fourth over.

Former Essex opener Varun Chopra, having faced only nine balls on his debut, was lbw to Shazhad, but skipper Ian Westwood kept Warwickshire on a steady course by batting beyond lunch for his workmanlike 39.

Only 16 days after finishing a Test match in Bangladesh, Bell and Trott found themselves batting for their county on a bright spring morning, but the two England players were dismissed in the space of 17 balls.

Bell looked in good touch, with six boundaries, three of these in four balls. But, on reaching 31, he was surprised by Bresnan's lift from a good length.

Jonathan Bairstow held this chance and another that came his way from Trott (7) in a carbon-copy dismissal by Patterson.

Warwickshire's seamers also took their chance to exploit the early-season conditions.

Adam Lyth fell at third slip in Chris Woakes' third over and former captain Anthony McGrath, on one of his favourite grounds, came up short this time when caught behind off Naqaash Tahir.

Imran Tahir then dislodged Sayers when the opener lifted his back foot and was stumped by Ambrose.

BBC Sport's Clive Eakin offers his first day of the season verdict:

After all the talk of the Championship starting far too early in the year, lo and behold we've opened the season in glorious Spring sunshine with some fielders even foregoing a sweater!

And, after a couple of years of watching dull draws at Edgbaston, the pitch is proving rather more lively than usual.

As many as 13 of the 16 Championship matches in the last two seasons here have been drawn here. This one looks certain to be one of the exceptions.

There's some lift and lateral movement which is making it difficult for the batsmen to settle.

Ian Bell, who had looked imperious, was the victim of an unplayable ball from his England colleague Tim Bresnan.

If Warwickshire had held their catches, the day may have finished looking more even. At least three slip chances were spilled.

Keeper Tim Ambrose was alert enough to take a smart stumping but Yorkshire can still be considered to be ahead.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version