CAPTAIN Andrew Gale said Yorkshire’s drawn match against Durham at Headingley felt like a defeat after failing to go 16 points clear at the top of the LV= County Championship table.

A gripping final day saw Durham, who had begun it on 59-1 following on in their second innings – still 136 runs behind – get out of jail thanks to scores of substance from Mark Stoneman, Michael Richardson and Phil Mustard.

Yorkshire’s bowlers, like the Durham batsmen, grafted hard for their wickets as the visitors reached 323-8 before the players shook hands with 11 overs still to bowl, a lead of 128.

Richardson hit 95, Stoneman 86 and Mustard a particularly important 57 not out after the reigning champions had slipped to 290-8 after tea, which amounted to a lead of 85 with 24.1 overs still to bowl.

Mustard shared 33 unbroken in 15.1 overs for the ninth wicket with Mark Wood to limit Yorkshire’s lead at the top of Division One to five points after 11 matches from second-placed Nottinghamshire.

The only thing you could criticise Yorkshire for, and Gale accepted this, was their lacklustre fielding display.

It was highlighted by two lives given to Richardson during the morning, when on 27 and 36, by Tim Bresnan at short cover and Jonny Bairstow behind the stumps off Steve Patterson’s bowling.

“It feels almost like a loss in the end after dominating the game for large periods," said Gale.

"To not get over the line and get the win I thought we deserved, we are disappointed in the dressing room."

Yorkshire looked to be on course for win number five after tea thanks to three quick wickets for Jack Brooks, who reduced Durham from 250-5 on the way to figures of 4-66 from 23 overs. Unfortunately, Mustard’s two-hour rearguard thwarted them.

The two sides meet again in the NatWest T20 Blast competition tonight, this time at Emirates Durham.

Yorkshire, fourth in the North Division table, need a win over the fifth-placed Jets to enhance their quarter-final bid as Kane Williamson returns from international duty.

Scoreboard

Yorkshire v Durham

Headingley Carnegie

Yorkshire first innings: 426 (Lyth 143, Lees 108)

Durham first innings: 231 (Collingwood 64no, Jennings 56, Rashid 4-73)

Durham second innings (overnight 59-1)

M Stoneman lbw Lyth 86

K Jennings b Lyth 16

S Borthwick lbw Brooks 8

M Richardson b Brooks 95

G Muchall lbw Rashid 5

P Collingwood c Bairstow b Rashid 17

P Mustard not out 57

J Hastings c Bairstow b Brooks 11

P Couglin lbw Brooks 6

M Wood not out 8

Extras 14 Total 8 wkts (113 overs) 323

Fall: 1-39, 2-64, 3-150, 4-166, 5-210, 6-250, 7-276, 8-290

Bowling: Sidebottom 11-1-41-0, Patterson 17-3-58-0, Brooks 23-7-66-4, Bresnan 17-6-41-0, Rashid 33-10-85-2, Lyth 11-3-18-2, Finch 1-1-0-0