Adam Lyth bookends brilliant campaign as Yorkshire CCC clinches promotion

It rained down from The Howard Stand, where perhaps 100 spectators made themselves sound like 1,000 spectators.

It resonated from the East and North-East Stands, where several hundred members and supporters were situated, from the Trueman Enclosure and inside the Long Room.

They were paying tribute to a man who, as much as anyone, has put Yorkshire cricket back where it belongs, back in the First Division of the County Championship, a return clinched in the closing session of day three on the penultimate day of the county season.

Lyth’s 147, out of a total of 371-2, to which James Wharton top-scored with a superb, unbeaten 162, the pair sharing 260 for the second wicket, helped Yorkshire into a strong position in reply to Northamptonshire’s first innings 147.

More importantly, it helped Yorkshire towards a sixth bonus point in the match which, allied to Middlesex managing just one batting point against Sussex at Hove, after that rain-hit game finally got going on day three, meant that it was mathematically impossible for Yorkshire to be caught once they had reached 350.

The hosts had gone into the fixture in second position, 15 points above third-placed Middlesex, who will reflect with some disappointment on a costly four-wicket defeat to Gloucestershire earlier this month when the pendulum swung emphatically towards Yorkshire.

It was a proud evening for Jonny Tattersall and the players, the Yorkshire captain having done so much to galvanise the squad during a run of five wins in six going into this fixture.

“It’s class and amazing to get over the line,” said Tattersall.

I don’t think we were looking at sealing promotion today. You never know what’s going to happen in the other game (Sussex versus Middlesex).

"When we realised that hadn’t started until after lunch, we thought it was going to be pretty tough for Middlesex to get a result.

“We’ve had a pretty strong feeling for most of this game, but we’ve still got to go out there and do it, and we did just that.”

On a crisp and sunny autumnal morning, with white saucer clouds in clear blue skies, Yorkshire made efficient work of ending the Northamptonshire innings.

After the visitors resumed on 117-6, Ben Coad had Lewis McManus caught at leg slip before Matty Fisher nipped in with the last three wickets, bowling Justin Broad and Ben Sanderson with in-swingers, and then having Jack White caught behind, George Bartlett left stranded on 64.

Fin Bean was an early casualty in the Yorkshire response, caught behind pushing forward at Sanderson, but Lyth and Wharton played beautifully from the start, driving, pulling and cutting the ball cleanly, the master and the apprentice entirely dominant.

Lyth went to his fifty from 67 balls and needed only another 44 to reach three figures, while Wharton reached his half-century from 81 deliveries and then his hundred from 154 balls, a milestone greeted with similar applause to that Lyth had received as the 23-year-old achieved his second century at first-class level.

Lyth, who further passed 14,000 first-class runs for Yorkshire during his innings, eclipsing the tally of his old friend Anthony McGrath, was eventually lbw trying to sweep the spinner Fateh Singh.

He left with yet another standing ovation in his ears, his tally for the season having climbed to 1,215 runs at 57.85.

Only the light seemed likely to derail Yorkshire in their quest to seal the deal before stumps, which they did when Wharton pushed the left-arm spin of Saif Zaib up to long-off for a single, the cue for loud celebrations on the Yorkshire balcony, followed by one or two quiet ones afterwards before the inevitable skinful on Sunday evening.

It meant that ‘old man’ Lyth will have another crack at the Championship next year - and don’t he and his team-mates deserve it.