Yorkshire have moved to the top of the LV= Insurance County Championship’s Group Three table, but with a draw against Glamorgan in Cardiff instead of victory.
The win they were pursuing eluded them as showers throughout the final day meant no play until 4.15pm, leaving the unbeaten White Rose with a 12-point haul.
Glamorgan started the final day on 108-3 from 27 overs in their second innings, leading by 27 runs in challenging batting conditions, and advanced to 164-4 from 40 with a lead of 83 when the players shook hands at 5.10pm.
Kiran Carlson finished unbeaten with an excellent 88 off 84 balls on his 23rd birthday.
Yorkshire are now five points clear of Lancashire after three wins and three draws.
The Red Rose have a game in hand in the 10-game group phase, with the top two sides qualifying for the Championship’s top group in the latter stages of the competition in late August and through September.
Steve Patterson and co were by no means in control of the fixture, but they certainly had a realistic victory chance had a full fourth day’s play been possible.
Including the full washout on day one in the Welsh capital, the equivalent of two full days were lost in a fixture which saw interruptions on each of the four days.
When play did begin at 4.15pm, a maximum of 28 overs remained, giving Yorkshire a last gasp chance to pursue a fourth win of 2021.
Ben Coad struck in the fourth over of the day, trapping opener David Lloyd lbw for his overnight score of 40 to leave Glamorgan at 117-4 in the 31st over. That represented a lead of 36 with just under 25 overs remaining.
Impressive Carlson, who started the day on 44, was clearly the thorn in Yorkshire’s side.
He shared 74 for the fourth wicket with Lloyd and brought up his second fifty against the White Rose this season off 46 balls during the opening few overs.
In keeping the scoreboard ticking over, he ensured the task was quickly beyond Yorkshire.
At the start of the final hour – 16 overs remaining – Glamorgan were 163-4 with a lead of 82. Carlson was unbeaten on 87.
It looked as if play would continue until he reached his third Championship century of the season. But he was happy with a not out score in the eighties and a job well done.
Carlson and England Test captain Joe Root were the standout performers in a seam bowler-friendly fixture. Off-spinner Dom Bess did not bowl an over in the match.
Root’s first-innings 99 was superb with conditions at their most challenging for batting.
Root is not due to play again for Yorkshire ahead of England’s early June Test series against New Zealand.
They now have a week off from action, with their next match the Sky Sports televised Roses clash at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday May 27.
That will be the first first-team match Yorkshire play with a crowd present since the end of 2019. Before then, Lancashire face Northamptonshire at Wantage Road this week – also a fixture with a crowd following the easing of Coronavirus restrictions.
