Yorkshire’s captain, Andrew Gale, wants his side to continue their excellent record in Championship cricket at Headingley during the next fortnight as the champions aim to steal a march on Middlesex before their final-week showdown with the leaders at Lord’s.
Gale has cut a frustrated figure during the past two days as his side’s hopes of a deserved victory over relegation-threatened Hampshire were washed away by weather.
Halfway through this match, they led by 128 with nine second-innings wickets in hand. Unfortunately for them, only 62.4 overs were bowled on the final two days to leave them with 10 point from the draw.
In the grand scheme of things, this result is no disaster, given weather also frustrated Middlesex at Edgbaston. The gap is four points between the two with three matches left and Yorkshire have back-to-back games at Headingley against Durham and Somerset.
“The two games at home will be key,” he said. “The title race is wide open, but we have a fantastic home record. We must have one of the best home records in the country over the last few years. If we win our next two, we’ll be right up there.”
Yorkshire were firmly in the hunt right up until tea on the final day. Having set Hampshire a target of 298 with 70 overs to bowl, they reduced them to 74 for four thanks to three wickets in 12 balls for Jack Brooks.
His burst included James Vince caught at first slip as he played loosely outside off for 16. There were very different second-innings fortunes for Vince’s England Test colleague Gary Ballance, who compiled 72 as Yorkshire added 95 runs in 22 overs before declaring close to lunch.
Hampshire are 14 points off safety with two to play, with the possibility of catching Durham, Warwickshire and Lancashire.
