By JMB
September 15 2006

Rain frustrated Yorkshire as their Division One match at Headingley, where the match against Kent ended early in a draw. Yorkshire's disappointment was tempered by results elsewhere, which enabled them to climb to their highest position of the season. Just one over was possible on Saturday, after Friday had been washed out completely and 46 overs had been lost on Thursday, but with Durham losing to Sussex and Middlesex playing out a damp draw at Old Trafford, the nine points Yorkshire extracted from Kent elevated them to fourth-from-bottom.

Although Durham's heavy loss to Sussex means that the battle to avoid the two relegation places now involves four sides – Kent are a further 29 points ahead – David Byas's men cannot rest comfortably.

Durham are only a point-and-a-half behind with a game in hand; Nottinghamshire, the wet week's biggest beneficiaries having had the good fortune not to be playing any Championship cricket, also have an extra match left and are 10 points behind; Middlesex are within 3.5 points and are coming into form. However, Yorkshire's remaining three Championship fixtures are all against their three rivals for the drop, and all are at home, starting with Middlesex at Scarborough on Wednesday week.

"Our destiny is in our hands," said director of cricket Byas. "We have played some steady cricket against Lancashire and Kent and if we continue to do that, we should be okay. We could even move up the table. It is frustrating spending two-and-a-half days sat on your backside, because this game was well poised. With Durham slipping up, it was even more infuriating – it would have been doubly good if we could have won."

The best Yorkshire could have hoped for on Saturday was to pick up a third bowling point for taking three more Kent wickets and Byas was aware of that point's potential significance. Despite almost continual rain, he refused to concede defeat to the weather until there was absolutely no chance of further play. Byas has a couple of problems to ponder. Fast bowler Jason Gillespie will miss the Middlesex match with his pre-Ashes commitments in Australia, although his absence is expected to be countered by the return from injury of all-rounder Tim Bresnan.

With the bat, Yorkshire will have to reduce their dependence on Darren Lehmann, who bailed them out of deep holes in the last two games with first-innings centuries, and Anthony McGrath. These pillars of the middle order have between them scored 2,454 Championship runs this season; the nine team-mates on duty last week have mustered a combined total 2,460 – only six more. Overall, Lehmann and McGrath have mustered 39.61 per cent of Yorkshire's first-class runs.

With Lehmann retiring from English cricket, Byas knows that it is vital for other batsmen to follow McGrath's lead and transform themselves from occasional contributors to reliable mainstays. "We've got to have other people scoring more runs," said Byas. "But I believe we've got those players in the side – and also not in the side. I believe we have got players with the quality to go a long way towards what Darren has done for so many years. I don't think I ever played alongside anyone as good as Darren – and I don't think there will be many people who have."

Byas was encouraged by the performances of his two young leg-spinners, Mark Lawson and Adil Rashid, and he believes that Yorkshire can accommodate both of them in future seasons. Derbyshire are understood to be interested in Lawson, having failed in a bid to take him on loan earlier this season, but Yorkshire have no intention of letting him go. Byas said: "I couldn't give a damn if other counties want him. There is no question of that happening. We don't want to lose good players. It was terrific seeing two leggies on and I felt they were getting on top on Thursday. I believe we can keep them both happy, although time will tell – Adil is a skilled batter and that allows the opportunity to play both. Thursday suggested that they can play together – they are different bowlers."

RESULT: Yorkshire (9pts) drew with Kent (8pts)