ASHINGTON paceman Mark Wood admitted he had found his injuries “hugely frustrating” after producing a lethal spell for Durham at Headingley yesterday, writes TIM WELLOCK.

Unfortunately for the visitors, his burst of four for four in 11 balls came after Adam Lyth and Alex Lees had put on 270 for the first wicket.

“I’m sick of being on the sidelines,” said Wood, who missed the start of the season with a side injury and was making his second comeback yesterday after having a cyst removed from an ankle.

“It’s hard to get your rhythm when you don’t play a lot, but I improved as the day went on. I’d bowled a lot round the wicket at the lefthanders and had tried everything, so I thought I’d go over the wicket and suddenly found some swing.

“Mark Stoneman had looked after the ball really well, so it was conventional rather than reverse swing.

Once we got a wicket the confidence grew and we managed to put some pressure on.

“We just didn’t bowl well enough earlier on and coming off four Twenty20 matches is definitely a factor. But Geoff Cook always said the stumps never move and we should aim for the top of off whatever format we’re playing.” Lyth said Yorkshire would have batted had they won the toss, but they weren’t unduly surprised when Paul Collingwood put them in, while Wood added: “We weren’t sure what the pitch would do. “It looked to have some muddy spots so we thought we might get the best use of it.”

Lyth, whose century was his first in the championship at Headingley, said: “The ball seamed around a bit but we rode our luck early on and cashed in.

“They bowled a bit too short and wide and did better at the back end of the day.

“Alex and I have been going well at the top of the order. We are good friends and we seem to complement each other.”

  • Mitchell Claydon claimed his best figures for Kent as Leicestershire were bowled out for 217 on a day when 15 wickets fell in the Division Two game at Grace Road.

Bottom-of-the-table Leicestershire hit back by taking five wickets in the final session to leave Kent on 106 for five at the close, still 111 runs behind.

It was certainly a day for the seam bowlers, with former Durham man Claydon taking five for 77 in 21 overs.