Tykes win at Scarborough to boost title bid

Wright’s 113 guided the visitors to 230 which left Yorkshire to make 106 off 39 overs and they got there with 18.5 overs in hand.

The maximum 24 points that Yorkshire took out of the game gave them a six-point lead over nearest rivals Nottinghamshire - one point more than before the match began, with three games to play.

The target was not large enough to pose any undue problems for former Scarborough batsman Adam Lyth and Alex Lees as they set about their task and with Lees leading the way the openers had 50 up by the 12th over.

Lyth hoisted James Tredwell for a straight six, surprisingly only the second of the match, before both batsmen cleared the rope again against the off-spinner.

But in attempting one big hit too many, Lees smeared Matthew Hobden to Lewis Hatchett with the total on 88 and departed for 46 from 50 balls with four fours and a six.

Kane Williamson made sure the momentum was maintained with three consecutive boundaries off Hobden and at the close Lyth had made 39 and Williamson 15.

A wet ground from earlier showers caused a 20-minute delay to the start of the final day which saw Sussex resume on 98-4 and trailing by 25.

Wright was on 56 and Piolet 10 and Yorkshire’s hopes of wrapping things up early on were soon dealt a setback as Piolet was dropped by Adil Rashid at fourth slip off Jack Brooks.

There was nothing shaky about Wright, however, and he took two boundaries through the off-side in one over from Ryan Sidebottom although he would have been run out if Sidebottom, fielding at wide mid-on, had hit the stumps with a direct hit at the bowler’s end after Wright had been sent back.

Sussex soon moved out of the red and Tim Bresnan returned for a fresh spell to be cut and cover driven for boundaries in his first over by the unstoppable Wright.

A pulled four by Piolet at Brooks’ expense took the burgeoning stand into three figures in 28 overs while Wright worked his way steadily through the 90s and reached his century from 115 balls by driving Rashid for his 16th boundary.

Piolet moved beyond his previous best Championship score of 30 but five minutes before lunch, just when it appeared as if Yorkshire were going to have to endure a wicketless session, Steven Patterson had him caught low down at third slip by Williamson for 32, the stand being worth 127.

The score was still on 175 soon after the interval when Patterson struck again by pinning Ben Brown lbw with a full delivery but the most important wicket from Yorkshire’s perspective was claimed by Bresnan who dismissed Wright lbw for a sparkling 113 from 155 balls with 17 fours.

Yorkshire were able to breathe more easily at last and after Tredwell top-edged a pull at Bresnan to Sidebottom the end came quickly as Rashid got rid of Hatchett and Magoffin in consecutive overs.

The leg-spinner emerged with the best figures of 3-32 but Patterson was the pick of the attack.

Quotes from Tim Bresnan and Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie, plus more photographs, in Thursday’s Scarborough News