Yorkshire v Surrey (County Championship) : Day One

A disappointing batting display by Yorkshire, who need every point they can muster in their bid to stay top of the table, left them on 203 for eight against Surrey when bad light and rain stopped play after 63 overs on the first day of the LV Championship match at Headingley Carnegie.

Only Anthony McGrath and Adil Rashid managed to get on top of the bowling, McGrath continuing his fine run of form with a confident 72, and Rashid ending unbeaten on 42 from 91 deliveries with six wristy fours.

Australian-born pace bowler Matt Nicholson and spin wizard Harbhajan Singh both posed plenty of problems and each picked up three wickets.

There was early assistance for the seamers when Yorkshire won the toss and decided to bat first and it did not take Nicholson long to send back both openers, Joe Sayers losing his leg-stump and Craig White falling lbw.

Although Sayers has hit three centuries so far this season, he has gone through a lean time recently and since receiving his cap he has made only 26 runs in five Championship innings.

Younus Khan helped McGrath repair some of the damage and Younus quickly struck five boundaries, but the Pakistani became too impatient and after making 29 from 30 balls he cut Rikki Clarke straight into the hands of Scott Newman at point.

Eight runs later, Clarke struck again by having Jacques Rudolph lbw to leave Yorkshire in trouble again on 75 for four.

Gerard Brophy, who came through a fitness test on his injured left hand, stayed with McGrath until lunch arrived at 124 for four and the score was unchanged when the wicketkeeper-batsman was pinned lbw by Nicholson for 22.

Rashid helped to initiate a recovery and soon after his arrival at the crease McGrath went to his 50 off 93 balls with eight fours.

McGrath's rich vein of form has seen him notch two centuries and four half-centuries in his last seven innings but when he had moved on to 72 with a further two fours he became the first of three victims for Harbhajan Singh in a 24-ball spell which cost him only one run.

In trying to flick a ball to the leg side, McGrath gave a catch off bat and pad to Stewart Walters and the same fielder also grasped catches at silly mid-off to send back both Tim Bresnan and Jason Gillespie.

Darren Gough was next in but a few balls later the light became too bad to continue.