ANTHONY McGRATH expects Yorkshire to seal the LV= County Championship title in style by beating closest rivals Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, starting on Tuesday.

The former White Rose captain and Championship winner in 2001 says the current side are in too good a run of form to slip up now.

McGrath also hopes this success can be the catalyst for more silverware in years to come, something he and his team-mates were not really able to do even though they won the C&G Trophy in 2002.

Yorkshire are 26 points clear of second-placed Notts with two matches to play, and the hosts need to better Yorkshire’s haul in that fixture by three points to take the title race beyond next week.

A win against Notts would also be the perfect way to celebrate for one of McGrath’s former team-mates, York ace Jonny Bairstow, who plays his 100th first-class match for either Yorkshire, England or the Lions.

“You’d certainly have to say that we’ve got one hand on the Championship now,” said McGrath, currently involved at Yorkshire as a part-time player mentor whilst also doing some media work such as radio summarising.

“It’s a massive mountain for Notts to claw back. It’s not mathematically impossible by any means, but even if they were to win next week and Yorkshire got bonus points, it’s still a big task.

“To be honest, I expect Yorkshire to go on and beat Notts next week.

“They’re in such good form. A draw would do Yorkshire, but the way they play I don’t think they go out for draws. By this time next week, I think we’ll know where the Championship’s going.

“The loss at Durham is going to be a huge psychological blow to Notts, and potentially Gary Ballance and Joe Root coming back. The strength is there for Yorkshire.

“It’s been far too long for a club of Yorkshire’s size. We didn’t really build on winning it in 2001. Hopefully this is the catalyst for more.”

McGrath was the Yorkshire captain when the now 26-year-old Bairstow debuted with 28 in the first innings and 82 not out in the second of a defeat against Somerset at Headingley in 2009.

And he has watched a career, which has included 14 Test matches for England, develop.

“It was a difficult start with him breaking his finger, but Jonny’s had a good season,” said McGrath, who believes Bairstow still has an international future even though Jos Buttler looks set for a long run as the wicketkeeper in all forms.

“His exploits with England over the last two years have not gone as well as he would have liked, but he has come back this season and scored heavily for Yorkshire and the Lions. That’s all you can do.

“He’s been away on a few tours and not really played. He might have come in for the last game or two without much match practice.

“I know from my experience, touring around and not playing is difficult. That’s perhaps held him back, mentally more than technically I would suspect. But he’s maturing all the time. One hundred first-class games already shows how he’s improved.

“You just never know. You may think someone’s got that role for ten years. Injuries and loss of form can happen at any time, so he has to keep performing for Yorkshire.”