Lyth is the country's leading runs scorer this season

Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon believes that Adam Lyth's early season top form is down to the player's hard work and developing maturity.

The 22-year-old opener is the country's top first-class run scorer, having now reached 853 for the season.

And another 147 in the first three days of this weekend's Roses match would make him the first since Graeme Hick to hit 1,000 runs before the end of May.

"We've seen a growing maturity from Adam this season," said Moxon.

"In the past he has got a nice 20 or 30 and then played a bad shot to get out," he told BBC Radio Leeds. "But he's cut the errors out now."

Lyth was close to making two centuries in the match in this week's draw against Hampshire at The Rose Bowl, as he extended his run of scores in his last seven County Championship innings to 84, 85, 47, 142, 93, 133 and 98.

After making the long trek back from Southampton, Yorkshire will go into this summer's first Roses match at Headingley back on top of the County Championship table.

The draw against Hampshire took them two points ahead of Nottinghamshire, who, admittedly have two games in hand, and nine clear of third-placed Lancashire.

Yorkshire (expected): A W Gale (capt), A Lyth, J J Sayers, A McGrath, J A Rudolph, J M Bairstow (wk), R M Pyrah, A U Rashid, S A Patterson, T L Best, O J Hannon-Dalby.

Lancashire (from): G Chapple (capt), M J Chilton, S J Croft, K W Hogg, P J Horton, S C Kerrigan, Sajid Mahmood, S C Moore, A G Prince, D B L Powell, L A Procter, T C Smith, L D Sutton (wk).

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