Young opener Alex Lees confirmed his exciting promise by making his maiden LV= County Championship hundred at the home of cricket today, helping Yorkshire dominate the opening exchanges of their Division One match against Middlesex.

At the end of a first day in which 19 overs were lost to rain, Lees was exactly 100 not out and Andrew Gale's side were 215-2, having battled through early sessions at Lord's in which conditions favoured the bowlers.

The rookie opener, who was playing only his third Championship match, showed both patience and a tight defence in defying Chris Rogers's attack during a truncated morning's cricket in which the visitors scored 52 runs in 20 overs for the loss of Adam Lyth, who edged Tim Murtagh to Neil Dexter at slip when he had made 11.

But Murtagh and fellow seamer Corey Collymore made good use of early moisture and a heavy atmosphere, and the pair could have enjoyed more success had it not been for the watchfulness of Lees and Phil Jaques, who guided their side to 52-1 at lunch.

Jaques' innings ended three overs after the resumption when he could do little with a delivery from Gareth Berg which caught his outside edge en route to wicketkeeper John Simpson, and the departure of the experienced Australian left Yorkshire on 70-2.

However, it was fortunate for Lees that he was joined by his skipper Gale, who was fresh from his epic 272 against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough, and the pair guided Yorkshire through the remainder of the day's play.

Lees reached his first half-century in County Championship cricket off 116 balls with an edge for four off Dexter, and the 20-year-old Halifax-born batsman was already well placed to go on to three figures when bad light stopped play.

By that stage, batting was a much easier proposition that it had been earlier in the day, and both Gale and Lees were able to profit from their vigilance in the afternoon.

Gale reached his fifty off 135 balls and was able to look back with satisfaction on his decision to bat first on a morning when he knew his openers for probably have to weather a probing examination by the Middlesex seamers.

Lees survived that test and reached his century off 221 balls with his 11th boundary - a sweep off the bowling of spinner Ollie Rayner.