Yorkshire v Somerset: Sidebottom at his best but victory only delays inevitable

Yorkshire ended their season in style with a six-wicket victory against Somerset, but it is extremely unlikely to save them from relegation.

The harsh reality is that Yorkshire will go down if Worcestershire take just one point from their final game against Durham at Chester-le-Street, starting today.

Barring a miracle, Yorkshire are doomed.

For those unaware of the Championship points system, a club can claim one point simply by scoring 200 runs in their first innings or by taking three wickets in their opponents’ first innings – provided they do so within 110 overs.

If Worcestershire achieve that, it is academic whether they win, lose or draw in the north-east.

Unfortunately for Yorkshire, instances of sides taking no points from Championship fixtures are about as rare as disappointing copies of Sports Monday.

So rare, in fact, that no county has suffered the fate in Division One this summer, while it has only happened to hapless wooden spoonists Leicestershire in Division Two, who contrived to draw a blank against Middlesex at Lord’s.

But even should the remarkable happen and Worcestershire gain no points, Yorkshire would still be relegated if bottom club Hampshire managed 18 points from their final fixture against Warwickshire at the Rose Bowl, which also starts today.

In reality, Yorkshire’s first Championship victory at Headingley for 14 months merely served as a stay of execution.

To add to the nagging frustration of it all, their performance on Saturday was as good as any they had summoned all season.

After Somerset resumed on 124-6 in their second innings, a lead of 194, Yorkshire claimed the final four wickets inside 15 minutes, Ryan Sidebottom taking three of them on his way to a career-best 7-37, which gave him 62 wickets for the season at 22.00.

Yorkshire then made light work of a target of 203 as Jonny Bairstow (53), Joe Root (46), Anthony McGrath (44) and Joe Sayers (35) saw their side home.

It was only Yorkshire’s third Championship win of the season – the other two came against Worcestershire – and left them with a final total of 138 points from 16 games.

Although victory was of little more than statistical significance, it at least put a smile on the faces of Yorkshire’s supporters – not to mention the players themselves, who backed up a similarly impressive display in their previous game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Sayers, who presided over the last two Championship matches as acting captain, said: “The last two weeks were a lot of fun on a personal level, and it’s a relief to be able to send a positive message to members who’ve stood by us through thick and thin this summer.

“Hopefully, during the last two weeks, we’ve shown some indication of the character and fight in the squad and what we can do. I think we can reflect on two weeks where we’ve had a really strong togetherness in the camp and we’ve played as a team.

“I think the second innings batting performance against Somerset showed that, and that is the template we can take forward, whatever division we are playing in next year.”

Yorkshire, who would still have been relegated on Saturday had Worcestershire held on for a draw against Sussex, signed off with a performance more reminiscent of last season, when a young squad surpassed expectations and nearly won the title.

It was Somerset who held the edge when play began beneath leaden skies, but that advantage was ruthlessly wrenched away by Sidebottom, who blew away the lower-order in devastating style.

First, the former England pace bowler had Alfonso Thomas well-caught low at first slip by Adam Lyth, the Somerset captain failing to add to his overnight 25.

Ajmal Shahzad bowled Craig Meschede with a delivery that kept low before Sidebottom rounded off the innings by having Murali Kartik caught behind and Steve Kirby lbw.

The wicket-to-wicket collapse was 4-2 in 12 balls, while Sidebottom’s analysis eclipsed his previous best of 7-47 for England against New Zealand at Napier in 2008. Somerset’s bowlers were not nearly so penetrative.

Thomas and Kirby fought hard and without much luck at times, but they failed to recreate the damage they caused in the first innings, when Yorkshire failed to collect a single batting point.

Sayers and Joe Root laid a solid foundation second time around by adding 85 for the first wicket, Root moving to within four runs of a half-century before Thomas trapped him lbw.

It triggered a mini-wobble as Lyth followed to a brilliant diving catch by Arul Suppiah at mid-on off Kartik, who then had Sayers caught at slip.

The scoreboard, at that point, read 103-3, and no one who has watched Yorkshire this summer thought for one moment the task had been done.

But McGrath and Bairstow slammed shut Somerset’s window of opportunity in a match-sealing stand, digging in to display precisely the determination and quality required.

They added 98 before McGrath was caught behind off Kirby with two runs needed for victory, Gary Ballance emerging to strike the winning runs with an uppercut to the boundary off Kirby.

[email protected]