YORKSHIRE are within touching distance of a first Specsavers County Championship victory of the season having set Nottinghamshire a target of 403 at tea on day three before enjoying late success with the ball at Emerald Headingley.

The White Rose have put last week’s weather frustrations against Essex behind them in the ideal fashion, with the visitors closing on 181-8 from 46 overs and narrowly surviving the extra half hour. Ben Coad claimed four wickets.

Notts began their chase immediately after tea on a day which saw all but eight balls of the morning session lost to rain.

Yorkshire advanced their second innings from 189-4 overnight to 334 all out, including Gary Ballance’s 82 off 166 balls and Tim Bresnan’s unbeaten 68 off 107.

Bresnan’s effort marked his highest score since the final game of the 2016 season when he famously hit a superb 142 in Yorkshire’s title decider with Middlesex at Lord’s, which the hosts won.

He shared a last-wicket stand of 77 inside 17 overs with Coad, who hit a big six over long-off into the building site off Samit Patel’s left-arm spin in a career best 33.

Midway through his innings, Bresnan even struck a pigeon with a square drive out to deep cover, although it didn't seem to do any damage.

All through the winter, Yorkshire’s coaching staff have called for an increased determination from their batting unit to occupy the crease, something which was missing last year as they narrowly avoided relegation.

And, since slipping to 93-5 during the first morning of this clash, they have largely shown that grit, highlighted by a 103-run stand for the fifth wicket between Ballance and Jack Leaning (37) completed shortly after lunch.

Yorkshire did not have things all their own way on day three.

Harry Gurney claimed three wickets in 10 balls as the hosts fell from 198-4 to 204-7 during the early stages of the afternoon.

He trapped Leaning and Andrew Hodd lbw. Sandwiched in between, Ballance played on to his middle stump.

Wicketkeeper Tom Moores later took two stunning one-handed catches diving high to his right to help Luke Fletcher get rid of Josh Shaw and Jake Ball remove Jack Brooks, leaving the score at 257-9. By that stage, the lead was 325.

The visitors then made a fast start to their chase, with captain Steven Mullaney hitting Brooks for three fours in the first over.

Twenty runs came off the first two overs before Coad trapped Mullaney lbw at the start of the fourth, leaving the score at 21-1.

That did little to dampen their aggressive approach, with the other opener Jake Libby and Chris Nash continuing to play shots.

They reached 59-1 in the 14th over before Bresnan had Nash caught behind with a beauty - undone by extra bounce.

Libby had made his way to 38 when, in the 23rd over, Coad bowled him with an out-swinger as the score fell to 89-3.

Patel also fell to Coad in similar fashion shortly afterwards as the score fell to 101-4, the first of four late wickets to fall for 50 as the umpires opted for the extra half hour.

Brooks had Ross Taylor caught behind and Fletcher bowled inside the day’s last five overs, while Josh Shaw also had Riki Wessels caught behind.

Luke Wood was caught in the slips off Coad in the extra half hour.