DISPLAYING the ruthless efficiency of sportsmen who know that a great prize is within their grasp, Yorkshire’s cricketers swept Somerset aside at Headingley this morning and won their LV= Division One match by an innings and 126 runs just before lunch.

The victory leaves Andrew Gale’s team in the enviable position of only having to avoid defeat in next week’s match against Middlesex to retain the County Championship.

It has been clear since perhaps June that Yorkshire are the best county side in the land. Some time next week the matter should be settled beyond doubt and who knows by what margin Gale’s men will eventually win the biggest prize in English cricket.

All this and Sunday’s Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final against Gloucestershire to look forward to as well. This is a heady time in which to wear the White Rose, whether one is a player, official or simply a much-valued supporter.

Matters were quickly concluded at Headingley today. Having begun with a flurry of boundaries against seamers who were not scared to pitch the ball up and attract the edges, Somerset lost their last nine wickets for 68 runs in 19 overs. They were eventually bowled out for 155 a few minutes before lunch.

All the Yorkshire pace bowlers enjoyed success but Steve Patterson was particularly effective, removing Tom Cooper for 28 and Jim Allenby for 12 in the space of four overs and then later having Peter Trego caught behind for 13.

James Hildreth became the only Somerset batsman to pass 50 in the match but he was eventually fifth out, caught by second slip Adam Lyth off Jack Brooks when he had made 57. The rest of the visiting batsmen followed tamely, Sidebottom removing Luke Ronchi and Craig Overton in the same over.

The win was sealed when Tim Groenewald drove Tim Bresnan to Gary Ballance at point. Patterson and Sidebottom claimed three wickets each, Brooks and Bresnan two apiece. But the individual hauls hardly matter. This Yorkshire attack hunts as a pack.

“I always knew that if we got Hildreth and Cooper out, they might lose a little bit of fight and that’s exactly what happened,” said a delighted Gale.

“The performance of our bowlers throughout the match was up there with the best I’ve seen. It’s tricky when you win the toss and bowl first because you’re putting extra pressure on the bowlers but they did the job.

“We probably had the best of the bowling conditions but you still have to put the ball in the right places and that’s exactly what we did.”

All the same, any cricket team needs players who can put runs on the board in difficult conditions, so it was good to hear Gale include his batsmen in his praise after Yorkshire’s third innings victory in seven games.

“When the ball got old it was hard to score and I thought the nightwatchman Steve Patterson did exceptionally well yesterday morning,” said Gale. “It was also good to see Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow making big contributions because that’s what you want from your England players when they come back.

“I was disappointed that Jonny wasn’t in the England squad but when a guy comes back who can score 1,000 runs in 13 innings, you welcome him with open arms.”