Near miss for Gale but match saved

Andrew Gale fell one short of a personal landmark but his innings helped prevent Yorkshire's defeat

Andrew Gale was horrified at getting out for 99 to a poor stroke but the consolation was that his fighting innings saved Yorkshire from possible defeat at the hands of Nottinghamshire on the final day of the LV= County Championship match at Scarborough.

The game fizzled out into a draw with Yorkshire, following on, reaching 222 for five when they declared 68 ahead, but the stalemate meant that Yorkshire extended their record sequence without a first-class win to 20 matches.

The hosts required exactly 150 to avoid the innings defeat when they resumed on the final morning on 14 for one and, not for the first time in the match, Ryan Sidebottom posed plenty of problems from the Trafalgar Square end.

But it was Andre Adams who struck first at 24 when Anthony McGrath shuffled across his stumps and was lbw.

A full-scale batting collapse was averted, however, by left-handers Joe Sayers and Gale who made good progress in their contrasting styles, Sayers sticking like glue while Gale wasted little time in going for his strokes.

Gale moved to 25 and leapfrogged his partner after batting for 12 fewer overs and Sayers spent 35 minutes on 22 before driving Samit Patel for two.

The stand continued to prosper and Gale moved to his half-century with a perfectly timed pick-up over long on for six off Patel, Yorkshire going in to lunch feeling much easier at 115 for two.

But the game took a couple of turns Nottinghamshire’s way after the interval as Sayers edged Sidebottom to Adams at third slip for 36 to end a stand of 86 in 29 overs.

The left-arm paceman soon had Jonathan Bairstow reaching at a ball outside off-stump and giving another catch to the alert Adams.

Gerard Brophy immediately got off the mark with a ball from Sidebottom which flew off the shoulder of the bat to the third-man boundary but a burst of rain then caused eight overs to be lost with a further 49 remaining.

Nottinghamshire’s chances of a victory push receded again as Brophy gave solid support to Gale who straight drove Patel fiercely for four to move into the 90s, the stroke also taking Yorkshire into the lead.

The in-form Gale was looking an odds-on certainty to notch his second century of the season but he froze in horror on 99 when he got out in bizarre circumstances.

Attempting to hoist a long hop delivered well outside off-stump from Paul Franks over the legside he only succeeded in ballooning a catch to Sidebottom at mid-on.

Gale left the field to sympathetic applause after facing 143 balls and hitting 16 fours and a six, his fifth-wicket stand with Brophy putting on 51 in 18 overs.

There was no further breakthrough for Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire were able to declare to end the match soon after Brophy had completed a valuable fifty off 105 balls with 10 fours.