Live: Sussex v Yorkshire Men, Rothesay CC, Day Four

Here’s the all important picture in Division One

5th: Sussex, 150 points

6th: Essex 150 points

7th: Yorkshire 146 points

8th: Hampshire 142 points

9th: Durham 140 points (Durham hold second relegation place, Worcestershire below them are relegated).

Yorkshire will be safe if they win next week, while a draw may be enough. There’s also the possibility a defeat would see them safe if Hampshire lost to Surrey at the Utilita Bowl. Yorkshire need 10 more points.

Durham and Hampshire have drawn their matches with Worcestershire and Somerset in the last hour.

That’s it. No more play.

Yorkshire have drawn their sixth match of the season, taking 11 points.

We await news from elsewhere to see exactly where we stand in the Division One table ahead of next week’s final round game against Durham at Headingley.

Yorkshire’s lead is 53, and the White Rose are safe now.

Jonny Bairstow 64 and James Wharton 23. These two have shared an excellent unbroken 103 for the fourth wicket.

Yorkshire will take 11 points and Sussex 12 from this draw.

We await news from elsewhere before knowing exactly what Yorkshire will need to do against Durham next week to seal safety.

Durham are 312-4 in their first innings against Worcestershire at the Riverside and are chasing batting points. Hampshire are 163-5 and clinging on against Somerset at Taunton, still 119 behind.

Jonny Bairstow reaches his fifty in the opening over of the evening, off 78 balls.

Excellent.

Yorkshire 85-3, leading by 29.

Picture by John Heald.

Yorkshire 81-3, 30 overs, leading by 25.

We’re up and running after tea.

Jonny Bairstow 46 and James Wharton 14.

Durham are 277-3 at tea and chasing bonus points against Worcestershire at the Riverside.

Hampshire are 129-5 at Taunton, still trailing by 153.

And Nottinghamshire have just beaten Surrey at the Oval by 20 runs to go a long way to winning the County Championship title.

Jonny Bairstow 46 and James Wharton 14 have shared 75 for the fourth wicket to take Yorkshire to a lead of 25 at tea.

We have a minimum of 30 overs remaining in the game.

These two have done really well to take the sting out of things.

James Wharton has 8 and Jonny Bairstow 29. These two have shared a determined 52-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

James Wharton 7 and Jonny Bairstow 23 have shared 44 for the fourth wicket to ease any nerves building in the Yorkshire dressing room and within the supporters.

The county are back into safe waters again.

We have a minimum of 39 overs remaining, but the light isn’t crash hot.

Yorkshire 37-3, 17th over, trailing by 19.

Sussex are now attacking with spin from both ends, Jack Carson having joined James Coles in the attack.

The sun mentioned earlier has now disappeared, and the sky has gone back to overcast.

Yorkshire would have the advantage of being able to bowl seam at the start of their second innings should they be bowled out from here. If that was the case, the chances are we wouldn’t be on for long given the light.

No doubt, Sussex have kicked the door ajar here. But things have to happen very quickly for them. They have little room for manoeuvre.

You would think that as long as one Yorkshire pair bat for 20-25 overs, that will secure the draw.

Fingers crossed that pair is James Wharton and Jonny Bairstow. They have taken the score to 16-3 in the ninth over. The White Rose are 40 behind.

It’s a lovely afternoon now weather wise here on the South Coast.

Yorkshire 14-3 in the seventh over, trailing by 42.

Jonny Bairstow 2, James Wharton 1.

Fin Bean caught Oli Carter bowled James Coles, 1.

Caught by short-leg diving into the middle of the pitch after Bean edges onto his thigh pad and the ball loops up.

Captain Jonny Bairstow in now alongside James Wharton.

Quite a remarkable start to Yorkshire’s second innings.

Mayank Agarwal caught Tom Haines bowled James Coles, 0.

Caught at slip pushing forwards.

James Wharton in alongside Fin Bean.

Adam Lyth caught Fynn Hudson-Prentice bowled James Coles, 4.

Lyth chips the left-arm spin of Coles to mid-wicket, bringing Mayank Agarwal to the crease.

Yorkshire trail by 51.

The White Rose are 56 runs in arrears with 60 overs remaining in the day.

Adam Lyth and Fin Bean are facing the new ball, as per usual.

Jaydev Unadkat caught Dom Bess bowled George Hill, 4.

Caught high to his right at first slip.

Hill finishes with 4-43, and Sussex lead by 56.

Sean Hunt caught behind Jonny Bairstow bowled George Hill, 5.

Pushing forwards, Bairstow takes a low catch.

Yorkshire have the third bowling point.

They could now do with preventing Sussex from reaching 250, in an ideal world.

They lead by 38.

George Hill and Dom Bess are in operation at the start of day four.

The first task, and the day’s most important one, is to get this ninth wicket for a third batting point.

The game at Edgbaston has finished in a draw, with no play on the final day.

Elsewhere, Durham are 109-2 at lunch in reply to Worcestershire’s 591-9 declared and Hampshire are 82-3 second time around against Somerset and still 200 behind.

It’s building up to be a fascinating finish at the other end of the table between Surrey and Notts. Surrey are 163-4 at lunch, needing 152 more.

We will be starting here at Hove at 1pm.

We have some good news from Hove, where the covers are off and the umpires have given the green light to a 1pm start.

There will be a minimum of 67 overs remaining in the day. In truth, we won’t see all of those given there will almost certainly be an early handshake on the draw.

Umpires Shantry and Lungley have called for an early lunch at 12pm and an inspection after lunch.

The umpires have just been out in the middle and have called for a further inspection in half an hour.

Durham are 10-1 in reply to Worcestershire’s 591-9 declared up at the Banks Homes Riverside.

Hampshire are 37-1 in their second innings against Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground. They trail by 245.

Surrey are 74-0 chasing another 241 to beat Nottinghamshire at the Kia Oval.

The ground-staff are removing the covers at present, and the umpires are out there inspecting.

Could be one of those frustrating days. It’s very light, however, at present.

The rain has stopped, thankfully, and the ground-staff are just starting to get things ready.

Dom reflects on day three at Hove

From Hove, where it’s raining.

It falls into the steady drizzle category. Initially, I thought it was just a bit of a sea fret, but it’s more than that.

There’s plenty of time for it to clear before 10.30am, however, when we will hope to get underway for the final day.

When we do, Sussex will begin on 232-8, leading by 38 in the first innings. Both sides are chasing bonus points.

Yorkshire need a wicket for their third bowling point, while Sussex will believe that if things go well they can get two batting points for reaching 300.

With it a damp and grey day, the likelihood of overs lost is high – even if only for some bad light later in the day. With that in mind, the chances of a positive result for either side are slim to say the least.

You can recap yesterday’s play via our match report and reaction piece with two-wicket off-spinner Dom Bess, which are available via the embedded X post and link above.

Come the end of today, we will know exactly what Yorkshire will need to do going into next week’s final round clash with Durham, who will hope to pick up some batting points in a home draw with Worcestershire today.

The real intrigue elsewhere comes at Taunton, where Hampshire – just below Yorkshire in the table – are 35-1 in their second innings against Somerset, trailing by 247. A Somerset win there will be a major boost to the White Rose.

Enjoy the day.