Yorkshire fall short with victory bid at Canterbury
LV COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Canterbury: CLOSE OF PLAY, FINAL DAY: Match Drawn. Kent 317 & 358-8 dec, Yorkshire 283 & 300-5 Kent 9 pts, Yorkshire 8 pts Match scorecard
Early leaders Yorkshire ran out of both steam and stroke-makers as they fell short of reaching an unlikely victory target against Kent at Canterbury.
Having been set 392 to win in a minimum of 91 overs when Kent declared on 358-8, the Tykes reached only 300-5.
Adam Lyth (84), Tim Bresnan (70), Joe Sayers (61) and Anthony McGrath (55) all made half centuries.
But Yorkshire lost their way in the final session in pursuit of a third straight Championship win.
Needing to average 4.3 an over to keep their run going after wins over Warwickshire and Somerset, Yorkshire got off to a sound start through young left-handers Lyth and Sayers.
Lyth got lucky when, on 30, Geraint Jones failed to grasp a tough chance.
But the pair kept the scoreboard ticking over steadily as they put on 155 in 49 overs until both were dismissed after lunch in the space of six balls.
Lyth unluckily nicked an attempted leg-glance at off-spinner James Hockley to Jones, who this time made no mistake.
And, without addition, Sayers' near three-hour stay ended when he followed a turning ball from James Tredwell and steered to slip.
Yorkshire steadied the ship through former captain McGrath and Bresnan, who rekindled slim hopes of victory with a third-wicket stand of 123 in 26 overs.
With 20 overs remaining, the Tykes needed a further 151 with eight wickets left, a moderate score in Twenty20 terms but a big ask without fielding restrictions and with Kent stationing sweepers back on the boundary ropes.
But McGrath holed out to wide long-on and Jacques Rudolph skied to long-off to leave Yorkshire's final chance resting with Bresnan. And, when skipper Andrew Gale ran out Bresnan, thanks to Martin Van Jaarsveld's accurate throw from cover, the game was up.
With only six scheduled overs remaining and Yorkshire still 92 short, the sides shook hands on a draw.
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