Gale knock secures Yorkshire draw

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Scarborough:
Nottinghamshire 395 drew with Yorkshire 231 & 232-5 (Yorkshire 8pts, Notts 11pts)

Match scorecard

Gale was out one short of his second Championship ton of the summer

Andrew Gale hit 99 to help Yorkshire secure a draw from their clash with Nottinghamshire at Scarborough.

Yorkshire began the final day on 14-1 in their second innings, needing another 150 to make Notts bat again.

But after losing captain Anthony McGrath early on, Gale and Joe Sayers (36) added 86 for the third wicket.

And after Gale was out, Gerard Brophy (51no) and Tim Bresnan (16no) added an unbroken 50 for the sixth wicket as they reached 232-5 at the close.

England left-armer Ryan Sidebottom was the pick of the visitors' attack, finishing with figures of 3-66.

Notts began the day with high hopes of pushing for victory, which were only raised when Andre Adams trapped McGrath leg before to leave Yorkshire 24-2.

But left-handers Sayers and Gale averted a potential collapse, with their stand going a long way to ensure the game petered out into stalemate.

While Sayers dug in, including spending 35 minutes on 22, Gale went for his shots and brought up his 50 with six over long-on off Samit Patel before the hosts went into lunch on 115-2.

Notts made the breakthrough they wanted shortly after the restart when Sidebottom broke Sayers' resistance by enticing him to edge to Adams at third slip.

The same combination also accounted for Jonathan Bairstow, only for Gerard Brophy to provide Gale with solid support, while a burst of rain also saw Notts' chances of victory recede,

Gale drove Patel for four to take Yorkshire into the lead and him into the 90s.

But he only had himself to blame for missing out on his second Championship century of the summer, ballooning a catch to Sidebottom at mid-on in attempting to hit an off-side long-hop from Paul Franks over the leg side.

That brought to an end a partnership of 51 with Brophy, who made sure Yorkshire escaped with a draw by sharing another half-century stand with Bresnan and bringing up his own 50 just before the close.