Yorkshire 298 (Carson 5-79) and 138 for 3 (Lyth 69*, Hope 53*) need a further 63 to beat Sussex 361 and 137 (Bess 3-36)

While the final session was punctuated by cries of "Yorkshire! Yorkshire!" from the scattering of visiting support, there had been a good deal of chirping from Sussex as they strove to stay in contention. Home irritation centred on a moment in the 18th over when Hope was given not out despite having wandered out of his crease before wicketkeeper Oli Carter threw down the stumps. Hope had clearly tapped his bat before the bails fell and square leg umpire Neil Pratt declined the appeal - presumably having decided that the ball was already dead.

Grant Flower, Sussex's batting coach, was in no doubt after play about the "average umpiring" that led to Hope's reprieve. "We noticed that he had left his crease once or twice in the first innings and in the second, so we thought if he did it again, we'd run him out. Which was the case, his bat wasn't in the ground and he hadn't got permission from our fielders to leave the crease so the ball wasn't dead."

"It's annoying. The score was 54 for 3, the game was totally in the balance. [He's their] overseas player, it could have turned the match."

That the first of ten wickets to fall for the addition of 96 runs was via a run-out perhaps added to the sense of foreboding. There was certainly ill luck about Ali Orr's dismissal for 26, as Coad got fingertips to a Tom Haines drive - that is until you consider that Orr has now been run out backing up in identical fashion in each of his last three Championship appearances. It won't be long before the opposition analysts start claiming them.

Haines was caught behind driving on the up, before Thompson removed Pujara in much the same fashion as the first innings - beating him on the inside with a straight one. Tom Clark's poor start to the season - he has scores of 4, 22, 1 and 4 - continued when he was hit on the pads by Bess, and by now Yorkshire had more than a sniff, despite Hudson-Prentice counterattacking effectively with 30 out of a stand of 39 for the sixth wicket.

On the Sussex livestream, thoughts were already turning to the chase: "175 will be hard to get," was the view of one sage, while a follower of the home side averred that "another 100 should do it". But on the field, their chances of even getting to 200 in front were quickly dwindling, as Matthew Fisher won lbw decisions against Hudson-Prentice and Nathan McAndrew, and at the other end Carson was winkled out by Bess.

Ollie Robinson fell to a sharp catch at slip by Lyth, giving Edwards a first Yorkshire wicket, although there was still time for the visitors to make life harder for themselves by missing two chances to take the last wicket, both off Bess - a low edge from Henry Crocombe put down by Lyth and Hope unable to complete the stumping of Carter. Shakeel had also shelled a straightforward catch off Orr at the start of the innings - but it was Sussex who had dropped the ball by the close.