Bresnan epic sets up final-day drama

Middlesex 270 and 81 for 2 trail Yorkshire 390 (Bresnan 142*, Rafiq 65, Hodd 64, Roland-Jones 4-73) by 39 runsScorecard

And so, after six months and 16 games, after memorable fightbacks and outstanding performances, it goes down to the last day of the season.

There were moments on the penultimate day when it seemed both Yorkshire and Middlesex were falling back into the pack. But while Yorkshire emerged just about on top – Nick Gubbins’ sustained excellence continues to keep his side’s head above water in this game – it is not impossible to envisage a scenario whereby Middlesex could still win.

If they are able to bat until tea – and somehow score some runs against an unrelenting attack – and set a demanding target (perhaps 220 off 32 overs), Yorkshire will have little option other than to pursue it. Neither of these teams has come this far to be consoled by prize money and both these teams know that a draw is no use to either of them. It is all or nothing now.

If Yorkshire do go on to clinch their third successive title – the first team to do so since the Yorkshire team of 1968 – they will owe a huge amount to Tim Bresnan. When he walked to the crease on the second afternoon, Yorkshire were 32 for 3 with their title hopes hanging by a thread. By the time he was done – seven-and-a-half hours later – he had not only helped his side to the vital fourth batting bonus point they required to ensure they could finish ahead of Somerset, but earned them a 120-run first innings lead.

Bresnan is a pretty decent embodiment of Yorkshire Man. His batting is pragmatic rather than pretty; his bowling is relentless rather than flash. He could hardly be more no-nonsense, quietly reliable and undemonstratively excellent. In this game, when his side needed it most, he has bowled better than anyone – largely without reward – and produced the innings that could prove crucial.

It was surely fitting that it was a partnership with Ryan Sidebottom, another man steeped in Yorkshire cricket, that took their side to the crucial fourth batting point that kept their hopes alive. By the time the ninth-wicket fell – Jack Brooks chipping to mid-on – there were still 16 runs required.

But, single by single, scamper by nudge, they inched Yorkshire ever closer. There were many nervous moments. Twice Sidebottom jabbed his bat down to keep out well-directed yorkers from Tim Murtagh; twice he edged short of the cordon; twice he survived huge appeals for leg before. One of them, against Toby Roland-Jones, looked dead for all the world but replays vindicated umpire Rob Bailey’s decision by …

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