HAMPSHIRE are up against it midway through their penultimate Specsavers County Championship match against Yorkshire at Emerald Headingley.

The White Rose county claimed a first-innings lead of 27 shortly after lunch as Tim Bresnan claimed a career best 5-28 in Hampshire’s 157 all out.

They then steadily built on that lead in the remaining 47 overs of another rain-affected day before closing on 172-4 - a lead of 199.

Opener Adam Lyth’s unbeaten 60 is the highest score of the match so far, and the only fifty.

There is the prospect of further rain during the final two days, so a draw remains a distinct possibility, especially with Yorkshire still in danger of relegation.

If play is limited, it may be that they decide it is not worth risking the loss of the five points for the draw given that would likely leave them needing just a maximum of two points during next week’s final-round clash with bottom side Worcestershire at New Road.

Ex-England all-rounder Bresnan claimed three of the four wickets to fall during a morning which saw Hampshire score just 77 runs in 40 overs, having started it on 79-5, with Gareth Berg farming the strike late on from Fidel Edwards.

Bresnan had Kyle Abbott (8) lbw, Tom Alsop (24) caught at second slip and Liam Dawson superbly caught and bowled one-handed for 10 as the score fell to 110-8 in the 42nd over of the innings.

Matthew Waite then bowled Ian Holland to delay lunch with Hampshire 140-9.

Rain swept in just before the scheduled resumption, accounting for the loss of 12 overs from the day’s allotted 104. Play took place in blustery conditions throughout the day.

Berg was last man out, trapped lbw by Ben Coad for 25, the joint highest score of the innings alongside his captain James Vince.

Yorkshire lost New Zealand overseas opener Jeet Raval and Harry Brook (28) in reaching tea at 65-2, a lead of 92.

Raval was caught behind off Edwards before Brook (28) edged left-arm spinner Dawson’s first ball at the start of the session’s final over. Dawson later trapped Gary Ballance lbw as Yorkshire’s second innings slipped to 81-3 in the 21st over, a lead of 108.

Lyth and Tom Kohler-Cadmore then shared a fluent fourth-wicket partnership of 51.

Kohler-Cadmore hit three successive fours in one Abbott over before hoisting Dawson over mid-wicket for six to move to 30.

He was then caught behind off Ian Holland for 33.

Lyth’s 114-ball fifty featured six fours in the final six overs and an unbroken 40 partnership with Jonny Tattersall (14 not out).

SCORECARD
Hampshire first innings (in reply to 184, 7 9-5 overnight)
JJ Weatherley lbw b Brooks 21
OC Soames c †Tattersall b Coad 6
JHK Adams c Brook b Brooks 0
JM Vince (c) lbw b Bresnan 25
SA Northeast c Brook b Bresnan 8
TP Alsop † c Lyth b Bresnan 24
KJ Abbott lbw b Bresnan 8
LA Dawson c & b Bresnan 10
IG Holland b Waite 9
GK Berg lbw b Coad 25
FH Edwards not out 9
Extras 12 (b 4, lb 4, nb 4)
TOTAL 157 all out (66.4 overs)
Fall of wickets: 1-29 (JJ Weatherley, 3.6 ov), 2-33 (OC Soames, 4.6 ov), 3-33 (JHK Adams, 5.4 ov), 4-63 (SA Northeast, 15.2 ov), 5-68 (JM Vince, 19.3 ov), 6-96 (KJ Abbott, 35.4 ov), 7-107 (TP Alsop, 39.3 ov), 8-110 (LA Dawson, 41.4 ov), 9-140 (IG Holland, 52.6 ov), 10-157 (GK Berg, 66.4 ov)
BOWLING: Coad 16.4-7-23-2, JA Brooks 15-3-60-2, TT Bresnan 13-4-28-5, SA Patterson    16-6-20-0, A Lyth 1-0-1-0, MJ Waite 5-2-17-1.

Yorkshire second innings
A Lyth not out 60
JA Raval c †Alsop b Edwards 9
HC Brook c †Alsop b Dawson 28
GS Ballance lbw b Dawson 11
Kohler-Cadmore c Alsop b Holland 33
JA Tattersall † not out 14
Extras 17 (b 3, lb 6, nb 8)
TOTAL 172/4 (47 overs)
Yet to bat: TT Bresnan, MJ Waite, SA Patterson (c), JA Brooks, BO Coad
Fall of wickets: 1-26 (JA Raval, 9.1 ov), 2-65 (HC Brook, 16.1 ov), 3-81 (GS Ballance, 20.3 ov), 4-132 (T Kohler-Cadmore, 31.1 ov)
BOWLING: KJ Abbott 13-3-44-0, FH Edwards 8-1-30-1, GK Berg 2-0-15-0, IG Holland 10-2-25-1, LA Dawson 14-3-49-2    

Points: Yorkshire 3 Hampshire 3