Key puts onus on Yorkshire to go for title glory

Whatever the outcome at Headingley Carnegie, Andrew Gale's Yorkshire have surpassed expectations.

Gale's men go into the final day of the Championship season still with a chance of claiming the prize.

That in itself is a terrific achievement by a side who were widely tipped to be relegated.

If a magnificent summer is to end momentously, several things need to happen today.

First, Yorkshire must beat Kent – otherwise Gale and his players cannot win the crown.

Following a rain-hit third day in Leeds, where just 40 overs were possible, Yorkshire are 51-1 in their second innings, a lead of 10.

After Kent resumed on 216-6 in reply to Yorkshire's 261, the visitors extended their total to 302, 18-year-old pace bowler Moin Ashraf returning 5-32 – Yorkshire's best Championship figures of the season.

With Kent needing a win to retain their slender hopes of remaining in Division One, the onus is on Gale and Kent captain Robert Key to contrive a positive result.

Yorkshire's need, however, is more pressing than Kent's, who also require Warwickshire to lose at Hampshire, which is highly unlikely.

After three days at the Rose Bowl, Warwickshire have scored 303 in reply to Hampshire's first innings 218, and that game appears to be going nowhere.

"I will have a chat with Rob (Key) about setting up a game and we'll take it from there," said Gale.

"But if we don't have a game, I think it would be a sorry state for English cricket. The way the Championship has been this year, people have set up games left, right and centre.

"From a development point of view for some of their players, if nothing else, I think it would be in their interests to set up a game."

Key, however, is not going to bend over backwards.

"No-one wants to see a dull game of cricket, but, at the same time, we don't want to set up a ridiculous run chase," he commented.

"We're not in the business of handing the Championship to other teams, and Yorkshire have got to make the running."

The second requirement if Yorkshire are to land their first title since 2001 is that Somerset do not beat Durham at Chester-le-Street.

Marcus Trescothick's team gained a first innings lead of 140 but Durham fought back in yesterday's final session, closing on 171-2 – effectively 31-2 – to leave that contest intriguingly poised.

The third necessity from Yorkshire's perspective is that Nottinghamshire do not beat Lancashire at Old Trafford.

Only 28 overs have been possible during the first three days, rendering Nottinghamshire's chances of victory remote, although today's weather forecast is good for all three venues.

Rain prevented any action at Headingley before 1.40pm yesterday, and only four overs were possible before another deluge drove the players from the field.

That was time enough for Kent's Alex Blake, a Leeds Met student, to progress from 40 overnight to his maiden first-class fifty, made from 80 balls with nine fours.

When play resumed again at 3.40pm, Kent lost two wickets on 240 as Ashraf had James Tredwell caught behind before claiming his fifth victim by bowling Matt Coles with a full-length ball.

Simon Cook was ninth out on 261, lbw to Adil Rashid, but Blake added 41 for the last wicket with Dewald Nel, who contributed just two to their partnership before falling lbw to Steve Patterson.

Blake progressed to a fine hundred with three successive off-side fours off Rashid, the last of which brought up a third batting point that ensured Kent would not be relegated yesterday.

Yorkshire accumulated steadily in their second innings as Adam Lyth and Jacques Rudolph added 40 for the first wicket in 12 overs.

When Rudolph went lbw to Tredwell for 13, the South African raised his bat as he left the field while Lyth applauded him in animated fashion from the centre of the pitch.

It was a clear indication Rudolph will not be back next year, his final innings for the county leaving him with a record of 5,111 first-class runs at 52.69 to go with 2,808 one-day runs at 57.30 – statistics that put him in the highest echelon of Yorkshire players.

Notts would still win the title by gaining nine points from their match in Manchester if Somerset and Yorkshire do not claim wins and their director of cricket, Mick Newell, said: "We need nine points, which we could get in bonus points. Or we could have some sort of run chase with Lancashire."

Nottinghamshire could get nine points by scoring 400 – they are 89-2 – and then taking three Lancashire wickets and drawing the match.

That would be a breakdown of five batting bonus points, one bowling bonus point and three for the draw.

The other way is more unconventional but Newell plans talks with Red Rose officials over a run chase. The teams have form in that department with Lancashire setting Nottinghamshire a contrived 260 in 64 overs on the final day at Trent Bridge last month in a match they had to win to keep their hopes alive. The hosts, however, won by three wickets.

Yorkshire v Kent

Headingley Carnegie: Yorkshire (5pts) lead Kent (6pts) by 10 runs with nine 2nd inns wkts standing.

Overnight: Yorkshire 261, Kent 216-6.

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 25

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 105

J C Tredwell c Brophy b Ashraf 8

M T Coles b Ashraf 0

S J Cook lbw b A U Rashid 5

J D Nel lbw b Patterson 2

Extras lb7 w3 nb6 16

Total (81.5 overs) 302

Fall: 1-44 2-46 3-129 4-132 5-142 6-210 7-240 8-240 9-261

Bowling: Shahzad 25 4 102 1; Patterson 10.5 1 42 1; Hannon-Dalby 7 0 36 1; Ashraf 18 7 32 5; A U Rashid 21 2 83 2.

Yorkshire Second Innings

A Lyth not out 26

J A Rudolph lbw b Tredwell 13

A McGrath not out 4

Extras b4 lb4 8

Total 1 wkt (15 overs) 51

Fall: 1-40

To bat: A W Gale, J M Bairstow, G L Brophy, A U Rashid, A Shahzad, S A Patterson, O J Hannon-Dalby, Moin Ashraf.

Bowling: Nel 4 0 14 0; Stevens 5 1 12 0; Cook 3 0 15 0; Tredwell 2 1 2 1; Coles 1 1 0 0.