Day three: Yorkshire 350 & 91-2 trail Hants 443 by 2 runs

OLLIE Rayner grabbed his first two Hampshire wickets but Yorkshire kept the game in the balance going into the final day.

Left-arm spinner Rayner only joined Hampshire on loan at the beginning of the week- having been dropped from Middlesex’s squad to face Leicestershire - to cover injured pair Mason Crane and Brad Taylor, and England Lions’ Liam Dawson.

While Dawson impressed with 4-30 in a seven-wicket win against India A, Rayner deputised with skill during a six-over spell of two for four.

Yorkshire were given the 35-over night session to peg back Hampshire’s 93-run first-innings lead, after Gareth Berg’s 50 with the tail.

Alex Lees, having only scored ten runs in his previous five Specsavers County Championship innings, took four boundaries off Fidel Edwards’ first over.

Opening partner Adam Lyth (17) was more circumspect before becoming Rayner’s first Hampshire wicket, tentatively leaving his bat outside off stump to edge behind.

Two overs later, Rayner had Lees lbw for 39.

Yorkshire ended the day with key batsmen Gary Ballance, who scored a century in the first innings, still there on 18 with India Test star Cheteshwar Pujara on 14.

Jimmy Adams and Alsop began the day on 132 and 62, but the latter had only added a single before he was lbw to Jack Brooks in the second over, following a partnership of 179-run in 67.2 overs.

Run-scoring remained hard going throughout the first session.

Adams in particular struggled to get going, managing 15 runs in 85 minutes before he was undone by extra bounce from Tim Bresnan and caught behind for a season-high 147.

Hampshire reached 300 and a third batting point with seven balls of the 110 overs to spare before had Ian Holland (31) and Rayner (0) were caught behind.

Just as Yorkshire sniffed a first-innings lead, Kyle Abbott and Berg added 74 for the eighth wicket, accelerating the run-rate in doing so.

Lyth broke the partnership when Abbott, after an enterprising 35, charged down the wicket and slashed to sub fielder Jordan Thompson at deep cover.

Meanwhile, Berg moved to his tenth half-century for Hampshire with a delicious pull from his 89th ball.

Patterson bowled Steyn before Edwards edged Brooks behind - handing the fast bowler figures of 5-124. Berg’s unbeaten 84 ensured a lead of 93.