Dom Bess dented the Rothesay County Championship title hopes of old club Somerset after he struck 77 for Yorkshire to set a tricky final-day victory target of 287.
Spinner Bess walked to the crease with Yorkshire on 54-6 and after he joined forces with George Hill to take the hosts up to 128 at the end of day two, the duo kicked on during the morning session and put on 166 for the seventh wicket.
Hill narrowly missed out on a century with 89 before Bess was out for 77, which helped Yorkshire up to 275 before Somerset were reduced to 73-3 during a rain-affected chase, with a further 214 runs required to reclaim top spot.
Somerset have lots of work to do to keep their County Championship hopes alive on Friday (SWpix)
Warwickshire’s two-day triumph over Essex has sent them to the Division One summit, but the three-way title race may become a two-horse race after Nottinghamshire collapsed in their second innings at Hove.
After Nottinghamshire dismissed Sussex for 358 and crucially claimed a third bowling point off the last ball of the 110th over, Haseeb Hameed’s team were undone by the bowling of Aristides Karvelas and Jaydev Unadkhat.
Nottinghamshire captain Hameed initially led from the front with 44, but his dismissal left his side on 86-2 and sparked a collapse, with Karvelas able to claim 4-34 before a stunning three-wicket spell by Unadkhat reduced the visitors to 149-7 – a paltry lead of 31 going into day four.
Down the other end of the table, the relegation-decider between Leicestershire and Hampshire remains in the balance.
After Leicestershire were rocked on Wednesday by a 27-point deduction, the bottom-of-the-table hosts at Grace Road came out swinging with Ajaz Patel taking 4-103 to dismiss Hampshire for 363 after they had resumed on 255-3.
Set 334 for victory, England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed struck 55 before teenage prospect Manny Lumsden dismissed him and Leicestershire finished Thursday on 156-3 with a further 178 runs required for a win that would keep alive their faint survival hopes and send Hampshire down to Division Two.
Elsewhere in Division One, Surrey made a strong start to an improbable chase of 612, with Ollie Pope unbeaten on 58 and the hosts on 177-2 at Kia Oval after Mason Crane hit 114 not out earlier in the day to guide Glamorgan up to 594.
Stokes takes six but Worcestershire fight back
Kent kept their promotion bid alive by seeing off Lancashire, who slumped to an eighth defeat of a demoralising Division Two season at Old Trafford.
Resuming with eight wickets in hand and needing another 56 runs, they eased to a target of 140 after a delayed start. Tawanda Muyeye fell along the way but Sam Northeast’s 48 not out made things safe.
Ben Stokes completed his best bowling figures in nine years (PA Images)
Ben Stokes claimed a first five-wicket haul at Chester-le-Street since 2014 but champions Durham endured a tough day three.
Stokes’ figures of 6-94 could not stop Worcestershire from making 448 before the hosts finished on 161-6 – a slender lead of 178.
Sam Robson’s top score of 92 got Middlesex up to 298-6 at Gloucestershire and a 328-run advantage, while Northamptonshire require 312 runs for a final-day win after Derbyshire were dismissed for 286.