Five-wicket Ben Coad was a happy man as he reflected on Yorkshire’s position of strength against Sussex at Scarborough.
Coad claimed a superb second-innings 5-69 on day three to set up a victory target of 103 late in the day as the hosts pursue a third straight Championship win – one which may elevate them into the top two places in Division Two come this time tomorrow.
They have dominated this fixture against the Division Two leaders and head into tomorrow 28-2, needing 75 more to win.
Coad, now the leading wicket-taker in Division Two with 35, claimed all his wickets with either the first or second new balls. He claimed the last four in Sussex’s second innings as they were bowled out for 239.
He said: “We need 75 more, and there’s no real demons in the pitch. We’ve done really well to leave this chase.
“The new ball offers a bit, and when it gets older it’s about being disciplined in what we do. They didn’t show a lot of intent, so if we kept it in the right areas, we knew they weren’t going to get away from us.
“They stayed behind our score for a long time, and we knew that things could happen quickly, especially with the second new ball. To get two wickets just before the new ball really helped us. To get into their bowlers was big, and thankfully I managed to get a few quickly at the end.”
On his own form, he said: “I’m very happy with the way things are going.
“There’s obviously still a long way to go, but as long as I’m helping the team get promotion, that’s the main thing.”
Sussex coach Paul Farbrace, a former Yorkshire second-team coach for two years from 2012, was not quite ready to give this fixture up. But he paid tribute to his former county’s performance in this fixture.
“If you remember at Hove earlier in the season, Yorkshire needed 25 or 26 with four wickets to go and Adam Lyth going nicely on 80 and we won the game,” he said. “It’s never over.
“Look, we’ve been on the wrong end of the game.
“We didn’t bat well enough in the first innings. We batted better in the second, but if you don’t score your runs in the first innings, you’re always chasing the game.
“We dropped catches in Yorkshire’s first innings, and we weren’t as disciplined as they’ve been with the ball.
“Their bowling attack has been fantastic throughout the game.
“Their lines have been immaculate, and they’ve made sure we’ve gone nowhere. They’ve bowled very few bad balls, and the control of their line has been sensational.
“It’s caused us to play false shots and rash shots that we didn’t want to play.
“Yorkshire have driven this game, and it’s no surprise they go into day four in this position. But we’ve got to believe we can take eight more wickets before they get 75 runs. If we don’t, there’s no point in turning up tomorrow.”
