Ashraf burst offers Yorkshire hope in race for championship

"Somerset have lost another wicket at Durham," announced another fellow in a lime-green pullover.

Updates were shared among spectators yesterday like football scores on the last day of the season.

It reflected the anxiety felt by all concerned as Yorkshire pursue the Championship title.

In the end, Yorkshire can do no more than concentrate on their own fixture against Kent and hope other results go their way.

Nottinghamshire's match at Lancashire has been severely hit by the weather, meaning it will be difficult for the visitors to claim the prize, while Somerset's fixture at Chester-le-Street is hanging in the balance, if slightly weighted in their favour.

All Yorkshire know at the halfway stage of their final match of the season is that they need to win to stay in the hunt.

Going into day three, the contest is too close to call as Kent replied to Yorkshire's 261 all out with 216-6, a first innings deficit of 46.

With Kent needing a win to avoid relegation, there is likely to be a positive outcome one way or the other.

Comfortably the worst of all scenarios for Yorkshire would be if Nottinghamshire and Somerset failed to win and they missed out by losing to Kent.

That prospect is not out of the question as Martin van Jaarsveld (89) led a gutsy fightback after Kent slipped to 142-5 on a pitch that eased considerably after day one.

Kent, however, face having to bat last and could have done without losing van Jaarsveld just before the close, one of three wickets for 18-year-old pace bowler Moin Ashraf, who returned 3-16 from nine overs.

The only certainty is that nothing is certain as the title race nears a thrilling climax.

Yorkshire's priority yesterday was to build on a middling total of 205-7 after they were put into bat on the opening day.

Play did not start until 12.40pm after morning rain, and Yorkshire began poorly as they fell to 209-9 inside the first five overs.

Jonathan Bairstow, chasing a maiden first-class hundred, added only two to his overnight 62 before edging to second slip to give seamer Dewald Nel his fifth wicket.

Bairstow drove at a wide delivery and was visibly annoyed with himself as he returned to the pavilion.

Nel had Oliver Hannon-Dalby lbw in his next over but Kent's hopes of a quick kill were dashed by Steve Patterson and Ashraf.

The last-wicket pair added 52 in 14 overs to help Yorkshire to an improbable second batting point.

Ashraf was dropped by Joe Denly off Nel at mid-off with the total on 227 and by van Jaarsveld at second slip off Simon Cook when the score was 250.

But Patterson biffed his way to an unbeaten 39, his highest score of the summer, before Ashraf was caught behind off James Tredwell's third ball.

Nel's 6-62 was a career-best performance, while Yorkshire were disappointed that eight batsmen reached double-figures but only Bairstow passed 50.

Kent made a confident start in reply as Sam Northeast punched Ajmal Shahzad for four through mid-on and then whipped him stylishly to the mid-wicket boundary.

But his opening partner Denly, who went into the match on the back of 583 runs in 27 Championship innings at 21.59, never hinted at permanency and was dropped on 15 by Bairstow at second slip off Shahzad.

His reprieve was short-lived as Hannon-Dalby had him caught at third slip by Rashid for 26 and, moments later, Northeast was brilliantly caught by Gerard Brophy off Shahzad, the wicketkeeper diving to his right in spectacular style.

Van Jaarsveld and Robert Key steadied the innings with a partnership of 83 in 18 overs, the latter making 25 before being flummoxed by Rashid's googly, which pinned him lbw.

Ashraf, who impressed on his Championship bow against Nottinghamshire last week, removed Darren Stevens lbw first ball as Kent slipped to 132-4.

When the teenager followed up by yorking Geraint Jones, Kent were in danger of falling in a heap but van Jaarsveld and Alex Blake (40no) rebuilt in determined fashion, van Jaarsveld striking Shahzad and Rashid for sixes over mid-wicket on his way to an attractive half-century that showed why Yorkshire were so keen to sign him last summer.

Nottinghamshire will not know whether to laugh or cry.

For a day and two sessions their match at Old Trafford has been ravaged by rain.

But during the second evening, it was halted by sun for 25 minutes. Play started at 4pm, and Notts reached 85-2 in 24.2 overs before sun shining off the Media Centre roof at the Stretford End hampered the sight of the players. Notts closed on 89-2 after another 3.4 overs of play.

Yorkshire v Kent

Headingley Carnegie: Kent (3pts) trail Yorkshire (2pts) by 46 runs with four 1st inns wkts standing.

Yorkshire First Innings

A Lyth c Tredwell b Cook 17

J A Rudolph b Nel 25

A McGrath c van Jaarsveld b Coles 1

A W Gale lbw b Nel 39

J M Bairstow c van Jaarsveld b Nel 64

G L Brophy b Coles 1

A U Rashid c G O Jones b Nel 29

A Shahzad lbw b Nel 21

S A Patterson not out 39

O J Hannon-Dalby lbw b Nel 1

Ashraf c G O Jones b Tredwell 10

Extras b4 lb9 w1 14

Total (76.3 overs) 261

Fall: 1-30 2-31 3-81 4-92 5-93 6-158

7-200 8-207 9-209

Bowling: Stevens 17 4 51 0; Coles 19 3 68 2; Cook 15 2 67 1; Nel 25 9 62 6; Tredwell 0.3 0 0 1.

Kent First Innings

S A Northeast c Brophy b Shahzad 20

J L Denly c A U Rashid b Hannon-Dalby 26

R W T Key lbw b A U Rashid 24

M van Jaarsveld c Brophy b Ashraf 89

D I Stevens lbw b Ashraf 0

G O Jones b Ashraf 6

A J Blake not out 40

J C Tredwell not out 0

Extras lb7 w3 10

Total 6 wkts (57 overs) 215

Fall: 1-44 2-46 3-128 4-131 5-141 6-209

To bat: M T Coles, S J Cook.

Bowling: Shahzad 16 4 64 1; Patterson 9 1 29 0; Hannon-Dalby 7 1 35 1; Ashraf 9 4 16 3; A U Rashid 16 0 64 1.