With one round of fixtures remaining, Yorkshire bowled Glamorgan out for 209 to win by 186 runs and put themselves in position to return to Division One.
After collecting the last three Glamorgan wickets in an hour, they led third-place Middlesex by 15 points, 20 behind leaders Sussex, and would earn promotion with a draw and a couple of bonus points in their final game at home against Northamptonshire.
Yorkshire has a strong sense of purpose as they aim to make a comeback to the top division after being demoted by one point two seasons ago and suffering a points deduction the previous season.
“We performed admirably, as we have done for several weeks,” stated Ottis Gibson, the head coach of Yorkshire. “This week was important for us the way Sussex keep playing, keep winning, so to lose the toss and get put in meant the way we have played in the last three-and-a-half days we fully deserved our win.”
Glamorgan, who have dropped to second from bottom in the Championship, will be concentrating on winning the One-Day Cup final at Trent Bridge on Sunday in an attempt to return silverware to Sophia Gardens this season.
“That was heartbreaking and disappointing,” said Grant Bradburn, the coach at Glamorgan. “We accept the setback with grace since we have faced some really talented teams in the last few weeks and we haven’t played to our full potential in every way. Naturally, we don’t want to lose, but if it means we’re positioning ourselves for success, we don’t mind losing.”
Even though their only goal for the day was to live until the predicted inclement weather later in the day, James Harris and Asa Tribe knew they had a mountain to climb when they set out in the morning.
Ben Coad and Matthew Fisher, the opening bowlers for Yorkshire, had taken 13 wickets between them as the day began, so it was expected that they would continue to work together in search of the big wicket.
Before Fisher could get one to cut away and bowl Tribe for a patient 58, they had to wait 30 minutes. This was a big step forward for the 20-year-old opener as he looks to solidify his spot in the Glamorgan lineup.
Encouraged by his achievement, Fisher pinned Andy Gorvin leg before wicket a few balls later to bring his team near the finish line.
“I have been begging for Fish and Coad to be fit together for a period of time and to have those two taking the new ball then you know they will challenge the opposition and take wickets,” Gibson stated.
In an attempt to postpone the inevitable, Harris persisted in his efforts at the other end, becoming increasingly aggressive during his penultimate wicket partnership of 41 with Ben Morris.
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The excitement inevitably came to an end when Jordan Thompson clean bowled Harris for just shy of a half century.
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