Match report provided by the ECB Reporters Network.
Middlesex and Yorkshire, second and third in Division Two, will head into the final three games of the Vitality County Championship season separated by just one point after they put the finishing touches on a high-scoring draw on day four at Headingley.
The promotion rivals will battle it out with leaders Sussex for two top-flight places in 2025.
Middlesex started the final day on 441 for five in their first-innings reply to Yorkshire’s 601 for six declared. They reached the follow-on target of 452 comfortably but were bowled out for 522 in the closing stages of the morning.
Former England off-spinner Dom Bess finished with seven for 179 from a marathon 70.4 overs, while in-form Ryan Higgins completed an excellent 155 off 259 balls.
Yorkshire’s second innings began shortly before lunch, with a lead of 79, and they reached 150 for two from 35 overs when bad light stopped play at 4.10pm. Opener Adam Lyth made 62 and James Wharton was 50 not out.
Yorkshire took 13 points from this 11th round fixture and Middlesex 11.
Given the placid nature of the pitch - only two batters across both sides failed to reach double figures during the four days - this final day was unlikely to be one that lived long in the memory, as a crowd of only 237 indicated.
It started with no prospect of a win for either side, especially given both wouldn’t want to risk a defeat to their closest rivals in the table.
If this had been a final round dead rubber, for example, it would have been no surprise to see a contrived result. But there was absolutely no chance of that in a match with such high stakes.
Despite conceding 522, with Sam Robson’s opening 108 yesterday supporting in-form Higgins, Yorkshire bowled tidily and kept the scoring rate below three runs per over.
Of the 174.4 overs in the Middlesex innings, 143.4 of them were bowled by the spin of Bess, Dan Moriarty and Lyth.
Bess and left-armer Moriarty - nought for 174 from 61 - bowled more overs than they ever had previously done in a first-class innings.
Bess led the way impressively, while new ball seamer Ben Coad added two wickets during the fourth morning to finish with three for 54 from 14 overs.
Bess made the breakthrough in the day’s second over when he had Luke Hollman caught at second slip by Jonny Bairstow - one-handed at the third attempt, leaving Middlesex 441 for six.
Despite being 11 runs short of the follow-on, there were no alarms during the early stages of a day played out under the Headingley floodlights.
Higgins reached his 150 off 252 balls. Of his five Championship centuries this season, four have been above 150.
But he was next to go, bowled by Coad, who uprooted off and middle stumps. And when Coad bowled captain Toby Roland-Jones shortly after, Middlesex were 513 for eight in the 169th over.
Bess then wrapped up the innings, and his third career seven-wicket haul, by getting Tom Helm caught at short-leg and Noah Cornwell brilliantly caught by a diving Jordan Thompson as he ran back from mid-off.
Yorkshire started their second innings just before lunch with personal milestones and time in the middle the only targets.
Lyth needed 105 to reach 1,000 Championship runs for the season, a milestone Higgins achieved in his innings on day three.
Having shared 66 for the first wicket with Fin Bean, he reached his fifty in 63 balls after lunch in no frills fashion. But he fell short of a century and 1,000 when he drove Tom Helm’s seam to short cover on the verge of tea, leaving Yorkshire 149 for two in the 34th over.
Earlier, Bean had been trapped lbw by Hollman’s leg-spin for 30, while Wharton added the aggression, pulling two of the three sixes he hit against spin.
The latter reached his fifty just after tea, off 55 balls, but the players left the field for the light almost immediately and did not return.
DAY THREE
Centurion Ryan Higgins became this summer’s second batter to reach 1,000 runs in the Vitality County Championship as Middlesex batted themselves to an almost certain draw against Yorkshire on day three at Headingley.
Unbeaten all-rounder Higgins, who followed Glamorgan batter Colin Ingram’s lead after he achieved the feat on day two, top-scored with 117 off 210 balls in Middlesex’s 441 for five as they replied to Yorkshire’s first-innings 601 for six declared.
Higgins posted his fifth hundred of the ongoing Division Two campaign, in his 10th appearance, and was joined in posting a century by opener Sam Robson with 108 off 219 balls.
Higgins was slightly more aggressive against an accurate spin-led Yorkshire attack, as reaching his hundred with a six suggests, while Robson’s innings came on the ground where he scored his only Test century for England 10 years ago.
Another ex-England player, Dom Bess, claimed four for 168 in 64 overs of off-spin.
Robson started day three 65 not out, with Middlesex 141 for one, and he went on to record the 35th first-class century of an impressive career including seven Test appearances in 2014.
Having been trapped lbw defending against Bess, before lunch, Robson then watched Higgins build on his good work and see his side to the verge of the 452 follow-on target late in the day.
Robson’s England century - 127 - came in the first innings at Headingley against Sri Lanka, a Test the visitors won in June 2014. It was the now 35-year-old’s second of seven home appearances before being discarded.
Jonathan Trott acted as a locum opener alongside Sir Alastair Cook for a West Indies tour in early 2015 before Adam Lyth took over for that summer’s home series against New Zealand and then Australia.
Ironically, Lyth is playing in this game for Yorkshire and bowled at Robson late on day one.
Lyth also played seven home summer Tests before discarded, and his only century came at Headingley.
Robson was expertly watchful against the rare bursts of seam but mainly spin in the form of Bess, Lyth and Dan Moriarty, and he worked well off his legs.
Having shared 61 for the first wicket with Mark Stoneman either side of tea on day two, he completed a second-wicket 121 with Max Holden this morning.
Left-handed Holden made 51 before feathering behind off Bess, leaving Middlesex at 182 for two in the 64th over.
Robson was trapped lbw playing forwards at Bess with the score on 207 in the 76th, a key time with the new ball around the corner.
Leus du Plooy and Higgins negated that threat, utilised by the spinners, as they added a fourth-wicket 57 either side of lunch, where Middlesex reached at 248 for three.
Du Plooy was ousted early in the afternoon for 33, caught at short cover off a low full toss from new ball seamer Ben Coad, who was bowling only his seventh over of the innings - 263 for four in the 93rd.
While determined Middlesex will be delighted to achieve their mid-match goal of avoiding defeat, this wasn’t a day they dominated.
They weren’t able to break free and achieve a sizeable haul of batting bonus points as Bess and Moriarty have bowled 116 overs between them in the innings.
Upon reaching 321 for four after 110 overs, they claimed two batting points to Yorkshire’s one for bowling. In the match overall, Yorkshire have edged that battle five to three.
Should this contest finish in a draw, as expected, second-placed Middlesex would be one point clear of Yorkshire in third with three matches remaining in the promotion race.
Fifth wicket pair Higgins and wicketkeeper-batter Jack Davies shared 128 either side of tea, the latter adding 61 before edging a low catch to slip off Bess - 391 for five in the 133rd.
Excellent Higgins, who swept and reverse swept well, reached 1,000 Championship runs for the season upon getting to 92 and brought up his latest century with a six over long-on against Moriarty’s left-arm spin.
He got there off 185 balls amidst an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 50 with Luke Hollman, 21 not out.
DAY TWO
Jonny Bairstow completed an excellent 160, and was usurped by George Hill’s career best 169 not out, on day two at Headingley as Yorkshire topped 600 in their first innings before Middlesex responded encouragingly.
Yorkshire have the advantage at the halfway stage of this Vitality County Championship promotion battle having posted 601 for six declared during the second half of the afternoon. But, given a benign pitch, Middlesex should be confident of claiming a draw having closed on 141 for one from 50 overs.
Bairstow, with a point to prove after being dropped from all England squads this summer, advanced from 107 overnight. The 34-year-old wicketkeeper-batter shared a record-breaking 238 for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Hill, who posted a first hundred of the season.
Leg-spinner Luke Hollman was Middlesex’s standout bowler with four for 194 from 47 overs before Sam Robson, on the ground where he scored his only Test century for England - against Sri Lanka in 2014, led the way in their reply with a measured 65 not out.
The Bairstow-Hill partnership, which started during the early stages of the first evening, marks Yorkshire’s highest sixth-wicket stand in first-class matches against Middlesex, and their innings total was joint ninth highest ever on this ground in first-class cricket.
It would be no great surprise to see second-placed Middlesex go close to matching that in a battle with a Yorkshire team who started this 11th fixture of 14 three points adrift in third place in Division Two.
This was not the rampaging Bairstow Yorkshire and England fans have come to expect in recent years. While he was still positive, he was extremely responsible.
That was in part due to the fact that when he united with Hill, Yorkshire were 242 for five and by no means certain of an imposing total. This is also not a pitch with oodles of pace. Timing the ball doesn’t look to be entirely straightforwards.
And, of course, he has a point to prove to the England selectors.
Hill, who survived a missed-stumping on 64 before lunch off Hollman, has struggled with the bat this season. The ex-England Under 19 last scored a century in June of last year, for example, and this one came off 169 balls before lunch.
He was also calm and controlled, though did loft Hollman over long-on for six before lunch, where Yorkshire reached at 485 for six having started the day on 372 for five.
The hosts secured four batting bonus points, narrowly missing out on the maximum of five. But they did gain the second prize of limiting Middlesex to only one bowling point for taking five wickets inside the 110-over cut off.
With the gap between the two counties only three points coming into this game, that indicates that every point could be crucial in the promotion race.
Bairstow, who is not keeping wicket in this game, was bowled off an under-edge as he attempted to pull Hollman - the only Yorkshire wicket to fall on day two.
Hill and Dom Bess then shared an unbroken 121 for the seventh wicket, the latter contributing an unbeaten 60 in the sunshine.
Yorkshire’s innings lasted 144 overs, and it was clear their first priority was not to lose the game, knowing a defeat would hand Middlesex a potentially defining result in the promotion race.
While Middlesex picked Hollman as their only frontline spinner, Yorkshire picked two in off-spinner Bess and left-armer Dan Moriarty.
After a short burst from new ball seamers Ben Coad and Jordan Thompson, they got to work and wheeled away through the majority of the evening.
Bess claimed the only wicket to fall when Mark Stoneman edged to slip for 27, leaving Middlesex 61 for one in the 19th over.
But Stoneman’s opening partner Robson calmly saw his side through to close without further alarm, reaching his fifty off 105 balls.
He shared an unbroken second-wicket stand of 80 with Max Holden, who has 39 not out.
DAY ONE
England’s Jonny Bairstow scored his first first-class century in a little over two years as Yorkshire had much the better of the opening day of their Vitality County Championship promotion battle with Middlesex at Headingley.
Bairstow, 34, has struggled for form of late and, within the last two months, has been dropped from all England sides. But he refuses to be written off, as this excellent 107 not out off 130 balls suggests.
He underpinned Yorkshire’s 372 for five from 96 overs and was supported by half-centuries for Adam Lyth and George Hill. Impressive Luke Hollman returned three for 99 from 27 overs of leg-spin.
Yorkshire started this game, the 11th of 14, in third-place in Division Two - three points behind Middlesex in second. Both won their respective fixtures last week.
Having won the reverse fixture at Lord’s in April, Middlesex knew that completing the double would give them a stranglehold on the race for a return to the top flight. But they have significant work to do.
Most cricket lovers will know that when Bairstow has a point to prove, he’s at his most dangerous.
And, having been discarded by England, he had some reminding to do.
This was his also first first-class century for Yorkshire since May 2016.
Yorkshire started nicely, with first-class debutant Noah Cornwell, Middlesex’s England Under 19s left-arm seamer, and Toby Roland-Jones put under early pressure.
Lyth and Fin Bean shared 68 inside 16 overs and found the boundary regularly. Bean hit two, for example, off Roland-Jones in the first over after the hosts had elected to bat on a hybrid pitch with two frontline spinners in their side.
By the time Lyth reached his fifty off 56 balls, Bean had been removed for 27 - bowled by Henry Brookes having dragged on attempting to pull.
And when Lyth was lbw for 61 playing back to Luke Hollman’s leg-spin, Yorkshire were 105 for two after 26 overs.
By now, it was clear this pitch was a good one despite being used during the Hundred.
After lunch, Luxton swept Hollman and James Wharton pulled the same bowler for sixes over midwicket.
But Middlesex, now bowling with the older Kookaburra ball, were tighter than they had been early on.
And that brought reward, as Hollman - bowling from the Howard Stand End - prised out James Wharton and Will Luxton as the pair failed to make the most of starts.
Wharton fell caught at slip for 40 trying to cut a ball too close to him before Luxton pulled to short midwicket as two wickets fell inside six overs, leaving Yorkshire 185 for four in the 52nd over. They had shared 67 for the third wicket.
Yorkshire’s third half-century partnership came via Bairstow and captain Jonny Tattersall through to tea, where the score was 240 for four.
Bairstow was proactive rather than destructive - less than half of his runs came in boundaries - though he nailed a pull shot off Brookes for six over to the Western Terrace side of this ground.
But the stand - on 57 - was broken in the opening over of the evening when Tattersall top-edged a sweep against Leus du Plooy’s left-arm and was caught for 26 by slip running around behind the wicketkeeper - 242 for five in the 65th.
Bairstow went on to reach his fifty off 63 balls and shared in Yorkshire’s fourth half-century partnership of the innings, this time with sixth-wicket partner Hill.
Hill got in on the six-hitting act by lofting du Plooy down the ground, but Bairstow was starting to show signs of his belligerent best.
He fiercely cut Hollman for four in front of square and drilled him over mid-off’s head for another boundary in the same over, the 74th, as the score moved to 283 for five.
Like Bairstow, who pulled Roland-Jones for his second six, Hill - 58 not out - has had his recent troubles with the bat. But he looked in excellent order as they shared an unbroken 130.
He reached his fifty off 77 balls late in the day before Bairstow reached three figures off 122 and bowed to the home dressing room in celebration.
Yorkshire
Middlesex
