YORKSHIRE set Nottinghamshire a target of 387 before tea on day three at Scarborough and then made significant inroads to leave them close to a fifth Specsavers County Championship win of the season.

Winless Notts, bottom of Division One and staring relegation in the face, had the better of the first two sessions of the day with the ball.

Experienced seamer Luke Fletcher starred as he completed figures of 5-67 from 27 overs, including four in an excellent 11-over new ball afternoon burst.

Yorkshire started the day on 177-2 in their second innings, leading by 225, and were bowled out for 338, signalling an early tea.

Notts then reached close at 135-4 from 42 overs, with bad light ending play two overs early.

The visitors bowled nicely in cloudy conditions to ensure Yorkshire were unable to accelerate.

After Yorkshire lost three morning wickets in 29 overs, adding only 63 runs, Fletcher steamed in from the Peasholm Park End, starting with the second over after lunch, where the score had reached 240-5.

He took the new ball after one ball of the 81st over and had Jonny Tattersall caught at first slip, Tim Bresnan caught behind and Tom Kohler-Cadmore trapped lbw for 59 as he shouldered arms.

That left Yorkshire at 302-8 in the 97th over - a lead of 350.

Kohler-Cadmore had reached 50 off 92 balls.

Fletcher’s fifth came when Ben Coad edged him to second slip as Yorkshire fell to 320-9 in the 101st.

Keshav Maharaj (35) hit successive leg-side sixes off Paul Coughlin in the next over before falling caught and bowled immediately afterwards as the seamer took a fine high catch running backwards to wrap up the innings and leave an elongated evening session.

Earlier, in the morning, nightwatchman Steve Patterson was the first wicket of the day when he edged a drive at Coughlin to second slip as the score fell to 185-3 in the 58th over, the eighth of the day.

It was Coughlin’s maiden first-class wicket in a Notts shirt in only his third game.

Signed from Durham at the start of last season, the 26-year-old’s recent career has been beset by injury.

Luke Wood struck with his first ball of the morning to get Gary Ballance, off a top-edged pull, caught at long-leg for an innings-high 61 by substitute fielder Louis Bhabra, on for Fletcher - 199-4 in the 64th.

And Liam Patterson-White added the scalp of Harry Brook (18) when he miscued the left-arm spinner to mid-on eleven overs later, leaving Yorkshire at 232-5 in the 75th over with a lead of 280.

Notts chance of overhauling their target was slim, especially given they have only topped 387 once in any innings this season - 408 in the first innings of the April draw against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge.

Duanne Olivier had Ben Slater caught at first slip in the eighth over - 29-1 - before Patterson had Jake Libby caught behind almost seven overs later, with the score 42-2 in the 14th.

Maharaj then struck to get out of form Joe Clarke caught behind for four, leaving Notts 51-3 in the 19th.

Ben Duckett hoisted two sixes over long-on off the left-arm spin of Maharaj in the 25th over, taking the score to 79-3. But he saw the South African spinner oust captain Chris Nash lbw for 30 as the score fell to 103-4 in the 32nd over.

Duckett will begin day four unbeaten on 47.