yorkshire 393 for 6 (Bean 114, Hill 101, Tattersall 79) vs. gloucestershire
Left-handed starter Bean faced 153 balls for his second century of the Division Two season, and the second of the 21-year-old’s fledgling career. He was the main contributor in Yorkshire’s 393 for 6 in 91 overs.
He shared a stand of 57 with Dawid Malan for the third wicket during the morning and then 153 for the fourth either side at lunch with his partner George Hill, who then faced 180 balls and shared 111 for the fifth wicket with Jonny Tattersall.
It was the first century of the Allrounder Hill summer, with Gloucestershire too loose on the Kookaburra ball and required to bowl in excellent batting condition.
Left-arm closer Taylor stood out like a sore thumb among his colleagues with three for 43 from 17 overs, including Tattersall at the end of 79. Five overs were lost to afternoon rain.
The game was watched by the new Yorkshire chairman, Harry Chathli, and also by his former county championship title-winning manager, Jason Gillespie, the Australian bowling legend who triumphed with the county in 2014 and 2015.
He returned to the UK for The Ashes, returning to Headingley for the first time since he left. Things have changed dramatically since Gillespie departed at the end of 2016, his team having just lost a third successive championship title to Middlesex.
Not only has there been turmoil off the pitch, the results have also fallen dramatically, highlighted by this being a Division Two fixture.
Only Adam Lyth and Matthew Fisher of the current team played cricket for four days during the Australian legend’s golden tenure.
But the performances of two young players who only played in the county age group during Gillespie’s tenure should serve as an indication of future promise.
Lyth’s opening partner Bean, 21, was playing for Yorkshire Under 14s during Gillespie’s last year in 2016 and Hill for Under 15s.
Bean has enjoyed an encouraging start to senior cricket life having returned to the club last summer following a short break to work as a mechanic.
He earned a rookie contract thanks to a second-team record 441 last year and made his first-team debut in August.
He played a trio of Championship games last September but was a first-choice starter in early April and scored 118 in the first round defeat here against Leicestershire.
Bean watched from the non-forwards side as three veteran partners departed before lunch, including Lyth and captain Shan Masood, four balls clear of Taylor as the score dropped to 33 for 2 in the sixth over. Lyth approached the second slip trying to go solo before Masood got pinned lbw for a three ball duck.
Bean shared 57 with another lefty, Dawid Malan, who looked good for 28 before getting caught behind the leg trying to pull on Ben Charlesworth’s seam – 90 for 3 in the 17th.
But Gloucestershire’s good early work was eroded thanks to their inability to limit all four, especially at the short limit to the eastern side of this ground.
The 22-year-old Hill is further along in his development than Bean, a particularly strong righty against spin. Hill has been frustrated by his inability to take advantage of starts the past two seasons. But he did it here. This was his best mark of four past 50 times in the Championship this season.
Bean reached his century with 140 balls in mid-afternoon. But he only faced 13 more deliveries and went down caught on a square-legged deep shot on Zaman Akhter: 243 for 4 in the 53 more.
After tea, Hill moved into the ninety and took Yorkshire past 300 by helping Tattersall take 19 from 72 against Gohar, including a six over midwicket.
He reached his century with 177 balls before getting caught behind the Ollie Price side effect. And when Taylor, now bowling the new ball, caught Tattersall at the second slip, Yorkshire were 368 for 6 after 86 overs.
