Yorkshire’s bowlers, led by the spinners, worked tirelessly for reward during the third day of their Vitality Championship clash with Middlesex at Headingley, the match now looking likely to finish in a draw tomorrow evening after visiting centuries for Sam Robson and Ryan Higgins.
Middlesex started day three on 141-1 in their first-innings reply to 601-6 declared, and they also dug in and returned an attritional batting performance against superb four-wicket off-spinner Dom Bess and company.
They closed on 441-5 from 151 overs, moving close to avoiding the follow-on. They need to reach 452 to achieve that feat first thing tomorrow.
This was never likely to be the kind of day where wickets fell in a hurry given the tranquil nature of the pitch added to the fact the Kookaburra ball is in use.
After all, at close last night, George Hill likened it to bowling with an orange.
But Yorkshire kept things tight, chipped away at the wickets and, just as importantly given how tight the promotion race is between these two sides, put a squeeze on the scoring rate and limited Middlesex’s haul of batting bonus points.
Middlesex, for whom opener Robson contributed a determined 108 off 219 balls and Higgins with 117 not out off 210, only managed to achieve two batting bonus points as they reached the 110-over cut-off mark at 321-4 during the latter stages of the afternoon.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Dom Bess was excellent for his four wickets.
Yorkshire may have only claimed one bowling bonus point themselves, but in that battle throughout the match, they have won it five points to three and will – assuming this match is drawn – cut the gap between the two sides to just one point with three rounds remaining.
Yorkshire are third in Division Two and Middlesex second in the race for a top-two finish.
Middlesex’s main task was to avoid falling short of the follow-on target and leaving themselves open to a damaging defeat.
It was pretty clear they would when they reached tea at 349-4, still 252 behind but only 103 runs shy of making sure Yorkshire would have to bat again.
During the morning session, batting looked trickier than it has done at any other stage of the match.
Bess and Dan Moriarty were always in the game, with plenty of close calls.
The pair have bowled 116 overs between them in the innings, added to 12 from Adam Lyth.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Conditions and the ball have made Ben Coad a peripheral figure in this fixture.
Bess struck twice before lunch, leaving Middlesex at 207-3 in the 76th over, and he has finished with figures of 4-168 from 64 overs.
Having shared 61 for the first wicket with Mark Stoneman either side of tea on day two, Robson completed a second-wicket 121 with Max Holden this morning.
Left-handed Holden made 51 before feeling for one outside off-stump and feathering behind off Bess, leaving Middlesex at 182-2 in the 64th over.
Robson, leg-side dominant in hitting 15 boundaries, reached his century in 195 balls. But he was trapped lbw playing forwards at Bess – a key time (207-3 in the 76th) with the new ball just around the corner.
In 2014, against Sri Lanka on this ground, Robson scored his only Test century for England. So there are clearly happy memories.
Leus du Plooy and Higgins nullified the danger of the new ball, taken by Bess and Moriarty, as they added a fourth-wicket 57 either side of lunch, where Middlesex reached at 248-3.
But Du Plooy was removed early in the afternoon for 33, caught at short cover by Bess off a low full toss from new ball seamer Ben Coad, who was bowling only his seventh over of the innings – 263-4 in the 93rd.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Yorkshire players take to the field at Headingley against Middlesex.
Fifth wicket pair Higgins and wicketkeeper-batter Jack Davies shared 128 either side of tea, the latter adding 61 before edging a low catch to slip off Bess – 391-5 in the 133rd.
Higgins was strong on the sweep and utilised the reverse too, and he went beyond 1,000 shortly before posting a fifth century of the season off 185 balls.
He got there with a six over long-on off Moriarty, indicating a more aggressive approach to things than Robson earlier.
But, despite the Bess wicket and with Middlesex still short of the follow-on target, the game was drifting by now.
Every batter who has come to the crease in this fixture – 15 across both sides – has reached at least 21.
Higgins and Luke Hollman ended the day at the crease, the latter unbeaten on 21 in an unbroken 50 stand.
