YORKSHIRE’S opening partnership between Alex Lees and Adam Lyth has been compared to one of the all-time great alliances by their captain Andrew Gale.
Left-handers Lees and Lyth have turned heads with their performances at the top of the order in both the LV= County Championship and, most recently, the Royal London one-day Cup.
They have shared partnerships of 375 and 270 in four-day matches against Northamptonshire and Durham and on Tuesday, they put on 195 in the oneday win against Northants at Wantage Road - the scene of that 375.
Lees scored his maiden List A century, 102 off 92 balls, and Lyth added 84 off 88 as the Vikings secured a second Group A win out of three with ease.
In all first-team cricket this summer, they have scored 2,841 runs between them.
Ahead of today’s clash with Worcestershire at Headingley, Gale said: “They are almost cementing a Matthew Hayden- Justin Langer type partnership.
“We call Alex Haydos!
He’s a real bully the way he hits the ball, stands tall and hits the ball bloody hard when he hits it right.
“They are free-flowing players, although I think they are both very different.
They are both very driven, and I think they complement each other really well.
“In Championship cricket, a lot of teams tend to bowl quite short at us because they drive the ball so well. They then pull their lengths back, and when I go in at four or five they are still bowling short, which is nice.
“They drive so well and put the bowlers under pressure a lot early on in their innings without really having to try. You saw against Northants that after ten overs we were 50- 60 for none without really playing a shot in anger.
“Lees has come into his own this year off the pitch and become a vital part of the dressing room, becoming a voice, and Lyth has matured a lot.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here