Stubborn Yorkshire force Surrey to fight all the way

Yorkshire 172 and 446 Surrey 382 and 110-3

An unbeaten half-century from Ian Ward went a long way to snuffing out Yorkshire's faint hopes of victory over Surrey in the First Division of the County Championship here yesterday.

The former England batsman contributed 67 as Surrey, chasing 237 for victory after allowing Yorkshire to post 446 in their second innings, moved on to 110 for 3 at the close. The odds favour the hosts, but the dismissals of Jon Batty, Mark Ramprakash and Nadeem Shahid will at least give Yorkshire some encouragement going into the final day.

Batty had his defences breached by Ryan Sidebottom, Ramprakash edged past 16,000 championship runs before playing across a straight one from Chris Silverwood, and Shahid propped a bat-pad catch to Michael Lumb off Richard Dawson.

It was Lumb's batting, though, which drew most praise, the 22-year-old reproducing the form that saw him finish Thursday unbeaten on 68. His innings of 124, his highest first-class score, was all the more impressive given the early demise of Darren Lehmann, who added only six to his overnight 55 before succumbing to Ed Giddins. Gary Fellows also deserves praise for his contribution of 33 to a fourth-wicket stand worth 68, while Richard Blakey (50) shepherded the tail well enough to add 109 for the last five wickets as Giddins claimed two more scalps to finish with 4 for 113 and match figures of 7 for 161.

While Lumb's demise on the stroke of lunch – caught via bat and pad by Shahid off Ian Salisbury – reinforced Surrey's already dominant position, it was the wicket of Lehmann which was the most precious. The Australian, Yorkshire's only consistent run-scorer in a disappointing season, represented arguably their best hope of setting a challenging target.

Such is his talismanic presence in the Yorkshire side there were fears, despite the concession of a 210-run first-innings advantage, that Adam Hollioake's drop in the final session on Thursday would cost Surrey dear. However, Yorkshire had extended their overnight lead of 44 by just 15 when Lehmann played down the wrong line to Giddins.

Lumb, combining powerful cuts and drives with deft placement, watched Fellows twice demonstrate his prowess off the front foot, punishing Giddins for overpitching with thumping strokes in the arc between backward point and cover.

Fellows was undone by a modicum of lateral movement from Hollioake – Batty pouching the edge behind the stumps – although Lumb's dismissal paved the way for Blakey and Dawson to share a half-century partnership for the seventh wicket. James Ormond had Dawson (20) held at first slip by Ali Brown, who was also the grateful recipient of another outside edge, this time Chris Silverwood's, off Giddins – the Yorkshireman dismissed for six.

Sidebottom missed a straight delivery from Rikki Clarke after making one, and Yorkshire's resistance came to an end when Blakey nicked an attempted cut to Brown off the same bowler.