5.21pm – YORKSHIRE WIN!!!! What a way to end the season. We win by six wickets with three overs remaining. Tattersall 44 and Hill 38. We win for the third time this season and jump up a place in the table to second bottom. Congratulations to Worcestershire again on their promotion.
5.19pm – SIX! Tattersall lofts Baker down the ground and we only need five. It’s 355-4. He has 36.
5.13pm – We need 23 off five overs at 337-6. Hill 32 and Tattersall 26. They’ve been superb in building on the work of Masood and Wharton earlier.
5.10pm – Half-century stand between Hill 31 and Tattersall 19. It’s 329-4. We need 31 inside six overs.
4.57pm – Right, final 10 overs of the summer and we need 54 at 306-4.
4.43pm – WICKET! Masood caught at deep mid-wicket off Baker for a superb 123. It’s 279-4 in the 57th over. 81 needed in 13.4 overs. Jonny Tattersall in now to join Hill.
4.35pm – WICKET! Wharton bowled for a superb careerist 89 by Baker, ending a stand of 164 with Masood 122. George Hill in now at 274-3 after 55. We need 86 more off 15 overs.
4.16pm – We require 123 in the final 20 overs, at 237-2. Masood 107 and Wharton 67. They have shared 127.
4pm – HUNDRED! Masood reaches his second Yorkshire century off 107 balls with 12x4s. Outstanding. 221-2 in the 47th over. The target is 139 inside 24 overs. He has shared 113 with Wharton (60).
3.54pm – Wharton reaches his fifty off 71 balls. Excellent. 209-2. Masood 97.
3.50pm – SIX! Wharton hammers Pennington away over square-leg to move to 48. It’s 204-2 in the 44th. 156 more to win in 26 and a bit overs. Masood 93.
3.35pm – A final waltz this season for the lads. The last session of 2023 is underway. We’re 180-2 in the evening’s opening over. The target is 360, and we have just over 30 overs to get them. Masood 88 and Wharton 30.
3.15pm – Tea Report Shan Masood is carrying Yorkshire towards a target of 360 in 70 overs to beat Worcestershire on day four at Headingley.
The skipper is unbeaten on a fluent 84, underpinning their tea-time score of 175-2 from 39 overs.
In the final session, Yorkshire will require 185 more in a minimum of 31 overs to win for the third time this season.
Adam Lyth posted 51 and was the only wicket to fall after lunch, caught at mid-wicket off left-arm spinner Josh Baker as he tried to loft him over cover and miscued. That left the score at 110-2 in the 25th over, ending an 88-run partnership with Masood.
Lyth, upon reaching 32, posted 1,000 Championship runs in a season for the fourth time in his career.
The Pakistan international then played some eye-catching strokes on both sides of the wicket – drives and steers – and also lofted Baker down the ground for a straight six en-route to a 57-ball fifty.
He has shared an unbroken 65 with James Wharton in excellent batting conditions. The latter is unbeaten on 29.
3.05pm – Yorkshire going along really nicely as we approach tea. It’s 168-2 after 37 overs. We need 192 more in 33. Masood 79 and Wharton 27. They’ve shared 58.
2.47pm – We’ve moved to 147-2 after 33 overs. Masood 67 and Wharton 18. We need 213 more in a minimum of 37. Tea at 3.10pm.
2.19pm – Masood reaches his fifty off 57 balls. 117-2 in the 28th.
2.11pm – WICKET! Lyth caught mid-wicket having miscued Baker’s left-arm spin. He falls for 51, bringing to an end an excellent 1,000-run campaign. 110-2 in the 25th over. James Wharton in now to join Masood.
1.56pm – Lyth reaches his fifty off 57 balls. Excellent. It’s 98-1.
1.56pm – Yorkshire have got a platform now at 94-1 after 22 overs. The target is 360 in 70. Lyth 46 and Masood 37. They have shared 72 unbroken.
1.44pm – Adam Lyth has reached 1,000 Championship runs for the summer, for the fourth time in his career. He achieved the same feat in 2010, 2014 and 2016. What a player! He has 32 out of 73-1 as we chase 360 to beat Worcestershire.
1.37pm – We have moved to 65-1 in the 18th over, chasing 360 in 70. Lyth 30 and Masood 24.
1.10pm – Play is about to resume after lunch.
1.09pm – During his interview for the club website to talk about his award, Bean was asked about this fixture and the contrivance……
“People don’t come to watch draws, so it’s nice to set up a result,” he said.
1.07pm – For the full story on Fin Bean’s Members’ Player of the Year award, it’s available via the link below.
12.37pm – Fin Bean has just been awarded the Members’ Player of the Year for 2023. Richly deserved.
12.35pm – Lunch Report Yorkshire are chasing 360 in a minimum of 70 overs as they bid to sign off 2023 with a victory over Worcestershire.
The two counties agreed the target this morning, with Fin Bean and James Wharton bowling 19.1 overs of lob-ups between them to accelerate Worcestershire’s second innings to a declaration at 232-2.
Worcestershire started the day on 18-2 after seven overs and scored 214 in 23.1 overs. Bean and Wharton both conceded more than 100 runs apiece, while Jake Libby and Jack Haynes both scored centuries which weren’t celebrated.
Yorkshire have made a cautious start, reaching 26-1 from 11 overs.
Bean was the man to go, caught and bowled by Dillon Pennington.
Adam Lyth, 12, and Shan Masood on three not out will begin the afternoon.
12.26pm – WICKET! Bean caught and bowled by Pennington for 11, and it’s 22-1 in the 10th over. What a season that man’s had. Just short of 1,000 Championship runs. Shan Masood in now. 360 target in 70 overs.
12.20pm – Ten minutes until lunch, and we’re 20-0 in the ninth over.
11.53am – We are 3-0 after one over of our chase. It’s 360 in a minimum of 70. Joe Leach and Dillon Pennington sharing the new ball against Adam Lyth and Fin Bean.
11.38am – Worcestershire have declared on 232-2, setting Yorkshire 360 in 70 overs to win. We may get a couple more overs in with the over-rate having been so good. Game On!
11.29am – Libby is first to his century.
11.28am – Worcestershire are 197-2 with a lead of 324 with just under 77 overs remaining in the day. Libby and Haynes are both in the nineties.
11.22am – Worcestershire’s lead is now 312.
11.09am – Jack Haynes has also reached his fifty. 125-2 – a lead of 252.
11.05am – Libby has just reached a fifty and didn’t acknowledge it. 114-2 and the lead is 241.
10.48am – Right, here we go. Fin Bean is on to bowl some lob ups. The contrivance begins. Worcestershire are 30-2 with a lead of 157. Mind you, the type of season Bean’s had, you wouldn’t put it past him taking 5-20 from four overs and throwing the cat amongst the pigeons!! Now James Wharton.
10.42am – Quiet start to the morning. Worcestershire are 22-2 in the 11th over with a lead 149. It’s not a surprise that we’re playing things normally early doors. It could be a case of Yorkshire wanting to see if they can pick up a few wickets and win this game naturally. If they can’t, things could be set up from there.
10.30am – The players are out in the middle. Matt Milnes will bowl to Jake Libby to get us underway. Worcestershire are 18-2, leading by 145.
10.06am – We will be starting on time at 10.30am, with a minimum of 96 overs in the day.
8.50am – Good morning from Headingley for the final time this summer. The sun is shining, and all is set for an entertaining finish to the LV= Insurance County Championship campaign.
It’s difficult to say for certain that we will start on time at 10.30am given we had similar conditions yesterday morning and the umpires delayed us for 45 minutes because of a wet outfield. But the chances of a start on time are high.
We are also hopeful of seeing an exciting finish today rather than the course of the fixture just drifting towards a draw.
Both sides have made their intentions clear. Yorkshire declared at tea yesterday with a deficit of 127, while Worcestershire’s Joe Leach said at close they would be keen to set something up today. Fingers crossed, we can finish the season with a bang.
Worcestershire will start the day on 18-2 in their second innings, leading by 145.
If you want to recap yesterday’s action, you can do so via our match report and reaction piece with Shan Masood. They are both linked below.
There will be a live stream available via the Match Centre tab at the top of the page shortly before we get going. Enjoy the day.