had ever been made before. Cloud-puffball, torn tufts, tossed pillows, as the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins had it, and many more shapes besides.It was as if the Yorksh

Yorkshire 291 for 5 (Balance 106*, Lees 63, Bresnan 63) v MiddlesexScorecard Scarboroughs restorative properties have long been proclaimed by many who love nothing better than to holiday in this grand old seaside town. Considering the state of the pound, they might soon be joined by a few more converts. Certainly there is a good case for Welcome to Yorkshire using Gary Ballance on their advertising material after he reacquainted himself with the form that has largely eluded him since he was dropped by England.Ballance is habitually listed as those in the running to replace Nick Compton as Englands No. 3 in the first Test against Pakistan. That he is on the shortlist - albeit a little lower down at the moment - owes as much to his Test average of 48 as much as recent form, but his unbeaten 106 against a reputable Middlesex attack, his first of the season, will do him no harm.It has been a long time coming, this century, and it was a great feeling, Ballance said. I have felt it good nick this season but have not been getting the big scores. It was not so much the nervous 90s as the nervous 80s where I was stuck for about half an hour and thinking about a century but I eased my nerves by getting through the 90s quickly.I would love to get back into the England team but every cricketer will tell you that you start struggling if you start thinking about it. At the moment I am just concentrating on playing for Yorkshire and not worrying about England: the rest will happenHistorians might feel this latest Scarborough miracle was appropriate. Scarboroughs claim to be the worlds first seaside spa report goes back as far as 1626 when it was affimed that the towns spring water possessed medicinal properties. Such optimism was badly needed at the time because in June of that year King Charles I dissolved the English parliament. These days, parliament is not dissolved, merely in chaos. You dont know youve been born.Scarboroughs effect was far from instantaneous - they even use Harrogate Spa bottled water in the dressing room - and Ballances hundred was hard earned, more a statement of determination and desire than an immediate clicking of form.He confessed in April to undergoing a mental battle after his back-foot technique was analysed and this innings seemed to illustrate that. Like a well-done steak, his presence was forever imposing, but not easily digestible. He was rewarded for his determination, beginning with conscientious leg-side tucks, reaching a sedate half-century in the last over before tea and interspersing some more confident cuts as life became a little easier under blue skies in the final session.Two successive clipped boundaries off Tim Murtagh brought up his first Championship century since his 165 against Sussex at Hove last August - his only Championship hundred last season.Scarborough, holiday town or not, knew the importance of that. Like an annual elephant gathering at a favourite water hole, Yorkshire cricket fans are drawn to North Marine Road by faith and tradition, watching intently, whether the cricket is grim or adventurous, sitting in familiar seats, resuming conversations, warily looking around for signs of change and grateful not to find evidence of many - apart from the seaside landladies, who reputedly are far more genial these days.This is the chattiest of county crowds, social mistrust broken down by the sense that everybody is on vacation for an identical purpose. There was a stall here promoting the good work done by the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, but a brief walk along the popular banking is enough to soak up the essence of cricket throughout the county.Ive retired. They asked me back but my knees are knackered.Youve not got more than six all season? Youre kidding.Cant believe they called it off - it stopped raining at one oclock.It is a soulless cricketer who does not love the chance to play at Scarborough. Strange things can happen on this intimate patch of green. Mike Selvey, the Guardian correspondent, watching his beloved Middlesex on a ground he had not visited for many years, recalled dismissing Geoffrey Boycott first ball as the old curmudgeon charged and slogged him to mid-on. Research revealed it to be a 10-over Fenner Trophy match in 1979, but it sounded outlandish all the same.The sun beamed down at the start of play, but this has been the grouchiest of summers and nobody was about to be fooled. All season, coats have been donned as automatically as shoes. For everybody braving a t-shirt, there were half a dozen protected in three or four layers. The Championship table, at the mid-point of the season, remains sketchy and unformed: Yorkshire nine points behind Lancashire with a game in hand, Middlesex in third, a further two points behind.Yorkshire lost two wickets to attempted leave-alones in the morning, both of them bringing catches to the wicketkeeper, John Simpson. Adam Lyth fell first ball of the day to a seemingly innocent, wideish delivery from Tim Murtagh, the home-club boy out before many spectators had adjusted their cushions. Kane Williamson, who needed 36 balls for his first run, erred in similar fashion to James Franklin, although on this occasion against a ball of tighter line.Alex Lees brought up an attractive half-century with a six over long-off against Ollie Rayner which was confidently caught by a spectator with enough theatrical aplomb to win a walk-on part in a holiday show. Remarkably, it was his best score on home soil since September 2014.Batting first was not entirely automatic. A sluggish pitch possessed just enough encouragement for the Middlesex seamers and there was some swing, too, whenever the cloud thickened. Murtagh made best use of that in a probing post-lunch spell, having Lees caught at second slip for 63, and when Andrew Gale followed lbw to a fullish lbw from Toby Roland-Jones, Yorkshire were anxiously placed 131 for 4. Its Not Very Promising, said one woman peering out of the Ladies Toilet, although she could have been talking about the weather. People usually are.Ballance rediscovered that promise, as did the day itself. Tim Bresnan helped him shore up the innings with a sturdy half-century in a partnership that reclaimned Yorkshires authority before Murtagh, the pick of Middlesexs attack, bowled him with a decent delivery.Driving back from Scarborough across the Yorkshire Wolds on a glorious evening - and there have not been many - the landscape beyond Garrowby Hill was dazzling, and bright white clouds were interspersed so gloriously across a fresh blue sky that it was possible to imagine that no clouds of quite that form had ever been made before. Cloud-puffball, torn tufts, tossed pillows, as the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins had it, and many more shapes besides.It was as if the Yorkshire landscape had turned on a show to mark the end of some difficult times.Ballances time will come again. But perhaps not quite yet. Ecco Shoes Wholesale . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Ecco Shoes Australia Sale . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments. http://www.cheapeccoaustralia.com/ . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Ecco Shoes On Sale Australia . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. Cheap Ecco Shoes Australia .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. MINNEAPOLIS -- Coming off a disappointing homestand, and on the edge of the AL wild-card race, the Kansas City Royals cant afford to let too many more opportunities slip away.The defending World Series champions regained their winning touch Monday, despite Brian Dozier hitting three home runs for Minnesota. The Royals got homers from Kendrys Morales and Eric Hosmer to pull away from the Twins 11-5.Jarrod Dyson had three hits and scored three times for Kansas City, which won for the second time in six games.We put ourselves in a tough position, but we still believe that we can pull this thing off, Hosmer said.Kansas City started the day four games out of the second wild-card spot.The Royals went 2-4 in their last six games with New York and Detroit, with each of the losses a close one.We could be talking about a major run right here. We quite possibly could have been 6-0 at home, manager Ned Yost said. We still feel that were not out of this thing by any stretch of the imagination.Dozier homered on the first pitch from Ian Kennedy (10-9), then hit a two-run shot in the third and a solo drive into the upper deck in the eighth. Dozier became the sixth Minnesota player to hit three home runs in a game, and the first to do it at home.Dozier has eight home runs in seven games and 38 this season, the most by a Twins player since Harmon Killebrew hit 41 in 1970. Doziers 10 home runs against Kansas City this year are the most ever by a Royals opponent.It would be better to be on the winning side of it, Dozier said.Kennedy struggled with command, allowing four earned runs in 5 1/3 innings but is 4-0 in his past five starts.Morales hit a three-run drive off Jose Berrios (2-5) in the fifth for a 5-4 lead.dddddddddddd Hosmer, who had four RBI, hit a three-run homer in the eighth.Berrios was called up from Triple-A to start. The Royals tagged him for five earned runs on nine hits in five innings.Considered the Twins top pitching prospect, Berrios allowed 21 earned runs in 22 innings over five August starts before being sent down.Dozier has hit a majors-most 24 home runs since the All-Star break. Hes connected 36 times as a second baseman and twice as a designated hitter. The AL record for homers in a season by a second baseman is 39 by Alfonso Soriano in 2002 for the Yankees.The best way to (get him out) is dont throw fastballs down the middle and thats what we did, Yost said.Dozier became the second Twins player with a three-homer game this year. Rookie Max Kepler did it at Cleveland.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: OF Lorenzo Cain missed his fifth straight game because of left wrist inflammation. He was allowed to swing a bat Monday and remains day to day.Twins: Kepler got the day off. Kepler, who leads AL rookies in home runs (16), RBI (59) and walks (37), has played in all but one game since July 28. He struck out five times Sunday. We talk about young players and the challenge of playing September baseball for the first time, said manager Paul Molitor. Well try to keep them fresh as we can.UP NEXTDillon Gee (6-7, 4.33) is scheduled to start for Kansas City on Tuesday against Ervin Santana (7-10, 3.54). Gee was 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA in five August starts and pitched an inning of relief Friday. Santana is 3-1 in his last five starts with a 3.09 ERA. ' ' '