YORKSHIRE slipped to a 298-run defeat against Somerset at Taunton which extinguishes their slim hopes of winning this year’s Specsavers County Championship title.

Set a target of 426 before lunch on day three, they were bowled out for 127 a quarter of an hour before tea.

Yorkshire’s third defeat in 12 games leaves them 51 points behind new Division One leaders Somerset with only two rounds remaining and 48 to play for.

After edging the first day (70-3 in reply to a first-innings 199), Yorkshire were over-run by a Somerset side who return to the top of the table for the first time since losing at Emerald Headingley in mid-July.

They will have to wait until rivals Essex finish their game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston during tomorrow’s fourth day before knowing the gap between the two sides. It could be five points if Essex escape with a draw.

The White Rose, who claimed three points to Somerset’s 19, struck five times with the ball during the first hour of day three to bowl Somerset out for 329 after they had resumed overnight on 269-5 in their second innings.

Keshav Maharaj took three to finish with 5-122 and 10-176 in the match.

The South African left-arm spinner, who departs for international duty and is being replaced by New Zealander Ajaz Patel for the final two rounds of the summer, is the county’s leading wicket-taker this season with 38 in five Division One games.

Tim Bresnan and Steve Patterson also added a wicket apiece.

Maharaj bowled Lewis Gregory (39), had George Bartlett (47) stumped and Roelof van der Merwe caught at mid-off, taking his tally of Championship wickets against Somerset to 31 in three games for Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Bresnan bowled Dom Bess before Patterson did likewise to Jamie Overton to wrap up an the innings in which seven different batsmen hit at least a six.

Yorkshire lost Adam Lyth in the fourth over of their chase, caught low down at third slip by Overton off Josh Davey (7-1), before Gary Ballance was caught behind off Overton with the penultimate ball of the morning for 23, leaving the score at 47-2 in the 16th over.

Then, in the second full over of the afternoon, Jonny Tattersall was caught at first slip off Overton for 20 as he got an under edge on one which he was trying to leave (54-3 in the 18th).

Tattersall had opened the batting with knee injury victim Will Fraine unable to bat until number seven in the order given the amount of time he had spent off the field on day two and at the start of day three.

By the time he came in, Yorkshire were 94-5 in the 35th over.

Harry Brook was bowled playing back to one which skidded on from van der Merwe’s left-arm spin (71-4 in the 25th) before Bresnan was run out by a direct hit at the striker’s end from Bess at backward point.

Then, in the 36th, Tom Kohler-Cadmore edged Davey to first slip before Maharaj fell lbw three balls later, with three wickets falling with the score on 94.

Fraine was then caught and bowled by Davey with the score on 103 in the 40th over before the same bowler wrapped things up by getting Duanne Olivier superbly caught by Bess running back from point in the 46th.

Davey finished with a career best 5-21 from 11.2 overs. Patterson top-scored with an unbeaten 24.

Yorkshire face Kent at Emerald Headingley in their penultimate fixture of 2019, starting on Monday.