YORKSHIRE pair Joe Sayers and Andrew Gale have given the county hope of a draw going into today’s final day of the Roses match against Lancashire at Liverpool.

Aided by three-and-a-half hours of rain during the afternoon and evening sessions of yesterday’s third day, the visitors have an unexpected opportunity to secure a draw despite being outplayed for the majority of the contest.

Sayers and Gale have accumulated an unbroken third wicket partnership of 83 from 27 overs to advance Yorkshire’s second innings to 131-2 from 48.

The White Rose had started their second batting effort trailing by 188 runs, and had fallen to 48-2 due to the loss of Adam Lyth and Joe Root.

But Sayers, who brought up his second fifty of the match when the players returned to the field at 5.40pm, and Gale steadied the ship against tight bowling on a slow, low pitch.

Lancashire captain Glen Chapple bowled five successive maidens at the start of the innings, but there is very little help for the pace bowlers.

Left-arm spinner Gary Keedy is expected to hold the key to a home victory, but Sayers and Gale played him well as only 49.5 overs were possible.

Root, who scored 15, said: “It is by no means easy to bat when they bowl straight and make you play, but the guys who are in now can hopefully carry on and put us in a better position.

“It’s always frustrating when it rains because you want to be out there playing, but there can be times when the weather works in your favour. This could be one of them.”

Impressive Sayers, 51 not out off 146 balls, combated a fiery spell of short-pitched bowling from England’s Jimmy Anderson at the start of the innings.

And Gale (47 not out) looked fluent after the rain delay, scoring 31 of the 46 runs added before close.

He hit successive boundaries off Chapple to record the pair’s half-century partnership before driving Keedy through mid-off.

Lyth was caught and bowled by Chapple with a delivery that stopped in the pitch, leaving Yorkshire at 13-1 in the eighth over, before Root was trapped lbw by Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Maharoof in the 21st.

Lancashire’s first innings was earlier wrapped up for 329 within the first eleven balls of play.

Steve Patterson trapped Luke Procter lbw and bowled Keedy to finish with excellent figures of 4-51 from 24.5 overs. Lancashire had only managed to add another two runs to their overnight tally of 327-8.

Yorkshire face Worcestershire at New Road in the Clydesdale Bank 40 tomorrow.

Batsman Anthony McGrath has not been named in the squad despite returning from injury in the second team against Warwickshire at Coventry earlier this week.

All-rounder Lee Hodgson has been named in the party for a match that Yorkshire simply have to win in order to keep their semi-final hopes alive.