Nottinghamshire fight back in title tussle

Nottinghamshire 59 and 357 for 6 v Yorkshire 264
Scorecard

Leaders Nottinghamshire produced a valiant fight back against Yorkshire but will still face an uphill task to avoid a defeat that will throw the County Championship Division One title race wide open.

After Andre Adams completed his third five-wicket haul in consecutive matches to bowl out Yorkshire for 264, half-centuries from Mark Wagh, Paul Franks and Adam Voges helped the hosts to reach 357 for 6 in their second innings.

Makeshift opener Franks combined with Alex Hales to post Nottinghamshire's first opening wicket partnership of 50 for the season on the way to 79, with Wagh hitting 90, including 14 fours and two sixes before falling to Adil Rashid (2 for 48). Ajmal Shahzad then removed Samit Patel and Ali Brown cheaply and the late wicket of Voges, caught behind off Oliver Hannon-Dalby for 72, could prove crucial, with Nottinghamshire 152 ahead at the close.

After 18 wickets had fallen on day one, it only took 13 balls for Adams to wrap up the Yorkshire innings, trapping Hannon-Dalby lbw with the fourth ball of the day and then finding the edge of Moin Ashraf's bat to be caught at third slip to finish with 6 for 82, leaving Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale undefeated on 151.

That left Nottinghamshire 205 behind but gutsy application from their top order meant they were able to go ahead of the visitors for the loss of only two wickets. While conditions did not offer the prodigious swing of day one, batting was far from easy in the early stages and both Hales and Franks had to dig deep to survive until lunch.

Hales was eventually undone by the away-swing of Ashraf, offering a thin edge to wicketkeeper Gerard Brophy for 24. Franks and Wagh then added 131 in 36 overs before the arrival of Rashid's leg-spin saw Franks caught at slip by Jacques Rudolph just before tea.

With the pitch flattening out, Wagh and Voges pushed Nottinghamshire ahead with some excellent shots either side of the wicket until Wagh, in sight of his third hundred of the season, miscued a lofted drive off Rashid to mid-on, much to his disgust.

Shahzad then produced a fiery spell to send Patel and Brown back to the pavilion, although both batsmen played loose shots outside off. When Voges fell four overs before the close to the new ball, Nottinghamshire had seen four wickets fall for 51, but Yorkshire may yet rue dropping Read on 7, with Brophy shelling the most straightforward of chances off Shahzad. Read will resume in the morning on 24, with nightwatchman Darren Pattinson on 20.