Centurion Gary Ballance saved Yorkshire from embarrassment with the bat on the opening day of their county summer as Cleckheaton’s James Lee also starred with seven wickets for Leeds/Bradford MCC Universities.

Lee was released by Yorkshire midway through 2011 when Iain Wardlaw was offered a contract but he made a memorable return to Headingley by taking 7-45 from 14.3 overs as the hosts were bowled out for 244 inside 85 overs.

It could have been a whole lot worse after they had been tottering at 10-4 and 65-7 before Ballance and Ryan Sidebottom (40) shared 156 for the eighth wicket.

Jack Brooks later took two wickets in the eighth over of the students’ reply as they closed on 40-3 from 17.

Ballance celebrated his call-up to England’s provisional squad for the Champions Trophy on Thursday with 112 off 227 balls, including 14 fours and a six after his top order colleagues had struggled early on against Lee in particular.

He even got opener Alex Lees and captain Andrew Gale for ducks in the third over before adding the scalps of Joe Sayers, Azeem Rafiq, Liam Plunkett for a duck, Ballance and Steve Patterson.

England’s Jonny Bairstow made 20 before being caught behind off Ivan Thomas before lunch.

Brooks later had Nick Gubbins caught behind and bowled Jonathan Webb in the space of three balls. Sidebottom also struck.