Yorkshire v Sussex: Heroic run chase narrowly fails as survival battle goes to wire

Sussex, 335-5 after the opening day, were bowled out for 398 in their first innings after failing to make the most of that platform.

Yorkshire, at one stage 345-4 in reply, missed a chance to establish a lead as they were dismissed for 388.

On a featherbed pitch, Sussex followed up with 333-6 declared to set Yorkshire 344 from a minimum of 51 overs.

The contest appeared to be drifting to a draw before Yorkshire – encouraged by a splendid opening stand between Jacques Rudolph and Joe Sayers – suddenly decided to go for the target.

Moments after Rudolph had fallen for 120, Yorkshire opted to take the final hour needing 162 from 16 overs with nine wickets in hand.

Despite an audacious attempt to chase down the runs, they finished agonisingly short on 312-6.

The decision to go for the runs was made at 4.50pm – just 10 minutes before the expected early finish at 5.00pm.

As injured captain Andrew Gale and director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon watched from the pavilion, they determined Yorkshire had enough of a base to give it a go.

A message went out to Rudolph and Sayers, with Rudolph rubber-stamping the plan as the Sussex attack were put to the sword.

Sayers played his part with a splendid 84 that included four sixes, but Yorkshire just failed to pull the rabbit from the hat.

The nine points gained took them out of the relegation zone – one point above a Worcestershire side who have a match in hand.

But Yorkshire still have plenty to do to get out of trouble; they play Warwickshire at Headingley Carnegie starting tomorrow before concluding their campaign with a trip to Warwickshire and a further home game against Somerset.

In a further twist, bottom-club Hampshire closed to within 22 points of Yorkshire with a thumping win against Warwickshire on Saturday.

Hampshire, too, have a game in hand as the relegation dogfight goes to the wire.

After Yorkshire’s valiant attempt to force victory in Scarborough, Rudolph insisted there were plenty of positives.

“I think we can take the momentum of that run-chase into the Warwickshire match,” said Rudolph, who scored his runs from 125 balls and hit 12 fours and five sixes.

“We’ve just got to keep playing that same brand of positive cricket.

“It was a great attempt to force the win and I was very proud of the character we showed.”

Rudolph’s hundred was his 18th in just 67 first-class appearances for Yorkshire and his sixth in all cricket at North Marine Road.Having failed by one run to score a century at Hampshire in the previous Championship match, he was in no mood to miss out on this occasion.

“It was one of my most enjoyable hundreds,” he added.

“Technically, it was one of my soundest knocks.

“I was disappointed to miss out at Hampshire so it was nice to get a century this time.

“I always like batting at Scarborough.”

A draw seemed the likeliest outcome when the final day began in glorious sunshine.

Sussex were 126-3, a lead of 136, and there was precious little to encourage the bowlers.

Yorkshire managed only one wicket during the morning session – Murray Goodwin caught behind off Adil Rashid for 35 as he tried to cut a ball too close to his body.

Otherwise, runs proceeded at a fair old lick as Sussex captain Michael Yardy and nightwatchman James Anyon found conditions much to their liking.

Yardy offered a half-chance on 92 when he cut a ball from Steve Patterson hard to point, where a leaping Sayers almost clung on.

But Yardy’s second century of the game arrived five minutes after lunch as he became the first man to hit two hundreds in a match against Yorkshire in Yorkshire since Alan Jones made 132 and 156 not out for Glamorgan at Middlesbrough in 1976.

Yardy and Anyon added 153 for the fifth wicket in 33 overs before Anyon was bowled by Rashid for a career-best 53.

The leg-spinner also removed Yardy for 122 when the left-hander picked out substitute David Wainwright at long-on.

Following the declaration, Rudolph went to a sublime half-century from 66 balls and needed only 42 more deliveries to bring up his hundred before falling to a catch at deep mid-wicket off Chris Nash.

Bairstow hit successive leg-side sixes off Nash before being caught at long-off by Wayne Parnell off Monty Panesar after flaying 26 from 13 balls.

Parnell had Gary Ballance lbw and Anthony McGrath caught at long-on, the equation boiling down to 44 wanted from the last four overs with six wickets in hand.

But Amjad Khan then bowled a decisive over in which he conceded only three runs and had Rich Pyrah caught at long-on and Sayers held at deep point.