Struggling Leicestershire enjoyed one of the better days in what has to date been a tough return to Division One cricket as Yorkshire were bowled out for 185 in their Rothesay County Championship clash at Uptonsteel Grace Road.

In reply, the Foxes closed on 177 for 3, trailing by eight runs after Rishi Patel made an assertive 67 and Rehan Ahmed impressed with an unbeaten 62. Slow left-armer Dan Moriarty took two of the wickets to fall on a pitch on which spin may play an increasing role.

Earlier, James Wharton had top-scored with 56 for Yorkshire, with Foxes skipper Ben Green taking three for 27, namesake Alex picking up his maiden Championship wickets and legspinner Rehan finishing the innings with two in two balls.

Conditions favoured seamers at the start of the day, on a pitch grassed in the middle and cut short at both sharply defined ends. Yorkshire chose to bat first but lost five wickets for 89 before lunch. Wharton batted nicely, playing some pleasing shots through the off side in particular, but others perished at regular intervals.

Will Luxton, who arrived in fine form, was trapped on the crease by Ben Green, who also removed his opening partner, Adam Lyth, via a feathered edge in a 10-over spell that yielded 2 for 23. Josh Davey took a good, low catch when Sam Whiteman chipped back down the pitch.

Matthew Revis nicked behind as 19-year-old Alex Green celebrated his first first-class wicket in his third appearance before on-loan Joey Evison finished the session with an excellent ball to take Jonny Bairstow’s off stump, after the Yorkshire captain had helped Wharton add 43.

Wharton looked relatively comfortable, tucking away his eighth boundary to complete a 106-ball half-century, his second of the season, but he couldn’t progress much beyond it, nibbling at a ball that surprised him with extra bounce. He had added 42 with George Hill, who promptly lost another partner when Dom Bess, having confidently sent his first two balls faced to the boundary, was bowled off an inside edge.

Hasan Ali attacked, picking up four quick boundaries to keep the scoreboard moving, but the innings fell away rapidly, the last three wickets disappearing in the space of six balls as spin played its part.

Hill, who struck seven boundaries, departed when Ben Cox took his fourth catch behind the stumps to remove him via a thin edge off left-armer Ajaz Patel before Rehan finished off by dismissing Hasan and Jack White with the last two balls of the innings.

If Yorkshire’s batters had found the pitch challenging, it did not noticeably inhibit their Leicestershire counterparts, not Patel and Rehan at any rate.

Patel had some luck. On 30, he fell into a trap by hooking a short delivery by Hasan but Jack White, who had been moved to fine leg for that eventuality, dropped the chance.

Having pinged White over the leg-side boundary for six in the previous over, Patel raced to fifty from 49 balls. He had lost his opening partner when Hasan dismissed the more tentative Sheridon Gumbs leg before offering no shot but Rehan was more attuned to Patel’s tempo as Yorkshire struggled to deny them boundaries.

They had added 96 at a run-a-ball when left-arm spinner Moriarty, who had taken some punishment from Rehan, changed his angle enough to beat Patel’s advance down the pitch and allow Bairstow to make a stumping.

Moriarty struck again in a spell that improved with age, bowling Lewis Hill off his pads, but Rehan and Nick Kelly guided Leicestershire to the close with no further alarms.