RYAN SIDEBOTTOM, Yorkshire’s Rolls Royce, starred again yesterday as the county cruised into pole position in the LV= County Championship title race with an emphatic win over Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

The left-arm swing bowler, 37, took five second-innings wickets as the hosts slipped from 43-1 overnight to 259 all out in the early stages of the fourth evening as they chased 434.

Sidebottom returned match figures of 11-76 from 31 overs, the second best of his career, to underpin a 174-run win and the capture of 20 points.

Yorkshire are now 24 clear of second-placed Middlesex having won six of their nine matches. Middlesex have played ten.

This was also Yorkshire’s third Championship win in three years on this ground.

Coach Jason Gillespie regularly refers to Sidebottom, a man closing in on 1,000 wickets in all forms of professional cricket, as the county’s Rolls Royce, and it is easy to see why.

Having trapped Varun Chopra lbw late on day three to add to his first-innings 6-34, he picked up three more either side of lunch yesterday and then one more with the second new ball as the visitors closed in.

He bowled Jonathan Trott around his legs and trapped Laurie Evans lbw in three balls in the 21st over of the innings, the seventh of the day, before trapping Ian Westwood lbw and bowling Oliver Hannon-Dalby.

"Ryan bowled a ruthless line and length. He put a shoebox on a length and was hitting it all the time and attacking that off-stump. He was the challenging the batsmen with every ball he bowled,” said Gillespie.

“It was an exceptional performance. He just keeps on going. It's brilliant.

"He's got the desire and a great attitude. All the other lads in the dressing room look up to him. What more can you ask from a senior pro?”

Sidebottom has 21 wickets in four matches this season having suffered a torn calf in the opening round win against Worcestershire in April.

And Gillespie believes the way he has come back from that injury shows the class of the player.

“He got an injury earlier in the season, and he was disappointed, but he's worked incredibly hard to come back from that, and we're seeing the benefits now,” he said.

"He went and played a second XI game against Derby at Scarborough, and for a guy of Ryan's age and international experience to see the benefit of going back and playing a second-team game shows what it means to him to play for Yorkshire.

"His days of playing for his country are over, but to have that desire is full credit to him. It’s fantastic for us to have a resource like Ryan Sidebottom."

Jack Brooks struck twice yesterday adding to wickets for Steve Patterson, James Middlebrook and Tim Bresnan, who wrapped up the win when he trapped centurion Sam Hain lbw with 20.1 overs unused.

Hain, a former Australia under-19s batsman with many characteristics and mannerisms similar to Trott, battled hard for 106 off 195 balls, but lost partners all too regularly.

Yorkshire’s next Championship match is against Worcestershire at Scarborough, starting a week on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Professor Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, a leading voice on health, social care and community cohesion, is to join the ECB’s board of directors.