County Championship: Adam Lyth's 153 sees Yorkshire set Notts 174 to win
- Published
Adam Lyth batted for more than eight hours for his 153
LV= County Championship Division One, Trent Bridge, Nottingham (day three): |
Nottinghamshire 296: Clarke 109; Coad 3-75 & 42-1: Duckett 23* |
Yorkshire 73: Evison 4-13, Fletcher 3-31 & 396 (f/o): Lyth 153; Paterson 3-39 |
Notts (5 pts) need 132 more runs to beat Yorkshire (3 pts) with nine wickets in hand |
Adam Lyth gave Yorkshire a slim chance of victory against Nottinghamshire with a superb 153 in his side's follow-on.
The White Rose made 396 in their second innings to set Nottinghamshire 174 to win and the hosts closed on 42-1, needing 132 more for victory.
Lyth pressed on from his overnight 74 not out to push Yorkshire into the lead and record his 27th first-class century with support from Harry Brook (42).
But Notts chipped away with regular wickets to keep the lead to 173.
They lost the wicket of Haseeb Hameed for just four early in their second innings before stumps, but Ben Slater (15 not out) and Ben Duckett (23 not out) will resume on the final morning with nine wickets in hand.
A win for Notts could see them finish second in Division One and qualify for the Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord's next week. But their title chances finally came to an end after Lancashire beat Hampshire by one wicket in a dramatic finish at Aigburth.
Had that match finished as a tie, they could still have had a chance of being crowned champions if Warwickshire failed to beat Somerset at Edgbaston.
Instead, Steven Mullaney's side will hope to finish as high as possible in the season where they ended a near three-year wait for a four-day victory.
Dane Paterson (3-39) and Brett Hutton (3-101) were the pick of the bowlers in a tough second innings with the ball.
Lyth recorded his third century of the season and first since mid-April with an on-drive for four and his 381-ball stay at the crease included 20 fours.
But despite sharing partnerships of 79 for the fifth wicket with Brook and 74 for the sixth with Jordan Thompson (31), he was finally dismissed by seamer Joey Evison to a fine outside edge to wicketkeeper Tom Moores.
Yorkshire opener Adam Lyth:
"I'm delighted with the way I played. It is one of the best innings I've played for Yorkshire, given the circumstances of the game, following on against a very good side on a pretty sporting wicket. And obviously the last couple of months haven't gone well for me, runs wise, which is the way the game sometimes goes.
"I knew I wasn't going to be playing in this game but then Gary (Ballance) wasn't very well and so I played. So there was almost nothing to lose, really and I'm really pleased I was able to kick on today and make a hundred.
"It has given us a chance, too. We would have liked a couple more wickets tonight but if we can be as relentless as their bowlers are on the top of off stump there are going to be some wickets out there for us tomorrow."
Nottinghamshire assistant head coach Paul Franks:
"We've given ourselves an opportunity to win, which is what we wanted. We knew we had to take care of our business and we fully expected Yorkshire to bounce back after what was a tough first innings for them. We were excellent in that first innings and managed to get ourselves in the ascendancy in the game.
"It was agonising not to get that extra bonus point after a decision that on another day maybe goes your way but that is the game we play unfortunately. The players have handled that really well and the mood in the camp is strong. Beating Yorkshire is always a benchmark and we have a chance to get into the Bob Willis Trophy final and so it is a game we want to win."