A solid half-century from veteran batsman Henderson Jordan and a bold declaration by Yorkshire set up the prospect of an intriguing finish when the BCA Division 2 final enters the final day today.
Set 188 for victory when Yorkshire declared at 198 for six, BWU closed on 26 without loss off 16 overs. Michael Bramble is unbeaten on 11 and Wayne Farley not out on 13.
Resuming on 16 without loss, Yorkshire’s opening pair put together a stand of 54 that ended when Ricardo Chase was lbw to Joseph Bishop for 19.
Deighton Jackman fell cheaply, caught at point by Carlton Collymore off left-arm spinner Damien Best but Henderson Jordan and Julian Belgrave took Yorkshire to tea at 116 for two.
The pre-tea session that produced exactly 100 runs in 140 minutes was dominated by opener Jordan who resumed on seven and went to tea on 68.
Consolidated
The former Spartan wicketkeeper/batsman who last played Division 1 cricket in 1982, struck a six and seven fours in this period as Yorkshire built on the lifeline they created after dismissing BWU for 96, having being bowled out for 85 on the first day.
Jordan was dismissed shortly after tea when he played an aerial stroke that ended in the hands of Dario Browne at deep mid-on off the bowling of Collymore.
His innings of 69 spanned 167 minutes during which time he faced 173 balls.
Belgrave, who helped Jordan add 42 for the third wicket, continued to bat cautiously as Kwesi Perry (16), Timothy Legall (21) and Ian Hall (27) went in search of quick runs.
Hall smacked two sixes as the tempo was raised and when he lifted a catch to Bramble on the mid-wicket boundary Yorkshire declared, leaving BWU with a tricky period of 52 minutes to bat.
Bramble and Farley negotiated it well as Yorkshire used fours bowlers in an effort to break the opening stand.
Surprisingly, first innings bowling hero Gilbert Rock was not one of them but he could feature prominently today as Yorkshire seek an outright win with BWU having secured the first innings advantage that would give them the championship in the unlikely event of a draw.
