Yorkshire were able to hold off Lancashire’s final day victory pursuit at Headingley to extend their unbeaten start in this summer’s LV= Insurance County Championship to five games.
In securing a 12-point haul from their fourth successive draw, Yorkshire were given a scare or two during a fourth day which ended with Harry Brook amongst the runs again with an unbeaten 82 off 157 balls and the score on 169-6 from 78.
Yorkshire were made to follow-on with 85 overs remaining in the day and a deficit of 187, and two-post lunch wickets for Jimmy Anderson, including Joe Root bowled for four, reduced them to 45-3 inside 22.
Adam Lyth and Dawid Malan had also fallen either side of the lunch, the latter to fellow winter Ashes tourist Anderson.
But, thankfully, Yorkshire’s draw-led start to the season continued as they also prevented Lancashire from winning a Roses Championship match here for the first time since 2011.
The county have now drawn four of their five Division One games, added to the opening round win over Gloucestershire at Bristol last month.
Yorkshire first innings was replying to 566-9 declared, and it was completed for 379 in the opening 53 balls of play as Luke Wood had Steve Patterson caught in the gully fending at a short ball.
Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson then bowled last man Haris Rauf to finish with 4-90 from 38.5 overs.
Yorkshire’s second innings started 10 minutes before midday, and tensions were immediately heightened when Tom Bailey trapped Lyth lbw pushing forwards after three balls – 2-1.
George Hill and Malan steadied the ship through to lunch at 39-1, though it was back in choppy waters pretty quickly thanks to England great Anderson, bowling from the Howard Stand End of this ground.
Having bowled four maidens in an accurate six-over opening spell, he was in amongst the wickets as early as the fifth ball of the afternoon when he had Malan (23) caught behind – 39-2 with 67.1 overs remaining.
Shortly afterwards, came a moment which will get plenty of airtime and column inches over the next day or so, Anderson castling Root’s off and middle stumps.
At that stage, Yorkshire were three down with a minimum of 63.2 overs remaining.
Left-arm seamer Wood later had opener Hill caught behind for 26 as Yorkshire fell to 86-4 with 46.2 overs remaining.
But the bowler later dropped Brook, on 30, whilst fielding at square-leg just before tea off Anderson. It proved to be a huge moment in Yorkshire’s bid for survival.
By the time Brook reached his latest half-century, off 90 balls, Yorkshire were 122-4 with 31 overs remaining.
But Harry Duke edged Parkinson to slip almost immediately, leaving the score at 124-5. However, by this time, the floodlights were on and the light was fading.
Lancashire were forced to turn to double leg-spin in the form of Parkinson and Luke Wells, who had earlier taken a superb one-handed catch to dismiss Duke.
And Parkinson (2-53 from 27) had good friend Dom Bess caught at short-leg as the score fell to 147-6 with 15.1 overs remaining.
But Brook held firm, with late help from Jordan Thompson as the players shook hands on a draw at 5.50pm with seven overs still to bowl.
The day had started with the terrible news of Andrew Symonds’ passing overnight in Australia, and both sides observed a minute’s silence and wore black armbands in memory of the ex-Lancashire overseas all-rounder, who spent half a season at Old Trafford in 2005.
Yorkshire are next in action against reigning champions Warwickshire at Headingley, starting on Thursday.
