London: England captain Joe Root again fell cheaply with the bat but struck with the ball as his Yorkshire side ended the second day of their Roses match in a commanding position on Monday.
One consolation for Root, who fell for three in the second innings of Yorkshire’s County Championship clash away to arch-rivals Lancashire, was that he was caught behind off England spearhead James Anderson at Old Trafford.
In a Roses match where bowlers have been on top, Adam Lyth had earlier fallen for four with Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, out for just one as ex-England paceman Graham Onions struck twice.
But Jonny Bairstow, Root’s Yorkshire and England colleague, made 82 in the visitors’ second-innings 239.
Yorkshire then took six wickets after tea to reduce Lancashire to 194 for six at stumps, needing a further 129 runs to reach a victory target of 323.
And one of those was from occasional off-spinner Root, who claimed the prize scalp of England batsman Jos Buttler (59) when the Test player swept him to leg-slip.
Root had been the first of a trio of world-class batsmen involved in a hat-trick from Lancashire all-rounder Jordan Clark on Sunday when he was lbw for 22.
Next ball Clark then had Williamson lbw for a duck before England wicket-keeper Bairstow was caught in the slips.
Yorkshire, the White Rose county, were dismissed for 109 but led on first innings as hosts Lancashire, whose emblem is the Red Rose, slumped to 102 all out in reply.
England begin a five-Test series with India at Edgbaston in Birmingham on August 1.
Agence France-Presse