CAPTAIN Steve Patterson admitted Yorkshire’s innings victory over Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl was made all the more special by the conditions both sides were faced with.

This Specsavers County Championship fixture was played out on a slow, docile pitch favouring the batsmen. Taking 20 wickets was always going to be an uphill task.

But it was a task Yorkshire were more than equal to as, after amassing 554-7 declared in their first innings, they bowled Hampshire out for 302 and 208, winning midway through the fourth afternoon.

Gary Ballance hit an excellent 148 with the bat before the White Rose spent almost two straight days in the field, with five of their six bowlers striking.

Patterson was key in reducing Hampshire’s second innings to 41-5 late on day three with three of his six wickets in the match.

At the start of day four, Ben Coad claimed three wickets as Hampshire fell to 59-8 before Liam Dawson (92) and Keith Barker (64) put on 131 for the ninth-wicket to push the game beyond lunch.

“We knew coming into the game it would be hard work on a good surface,” said Patterson.

“We managed to win the toss and start really well with the bat, getting our biggest score for three years. We knew then we could put the pressure back on them.

“To make them follow-on was going to be tough, but to get five pretty quickly last night broke the back and made it a bit easier today.

“In games like this you have to be very patient. You can go a couple of hours without any success. Then it can come in a hurry. We continued to believe that if we put the hard yards in, we’d get success.

“Everybody’s contributed, which is all you can ask for. The attitude has been superb, and we are delighted to win.”

Patterson finished with 4-47 in the second innings and match figures of 6-83.

He said: “It’s always nice to make a (personal) contribution, but what we achieve as a team is more important. The fact that on a surface like that we’ve managed to take 20 wickets is the most pleasing thing for me.

“We’ve just said in the changing room that it’s always nice to win a game. But to win on a surface like that in the manner we did, it’s more pleasing because it’s purely down to hard work and determination. We showed that for four days.”

Yorkshire go into the month’s break for the Royal London one-day Cup with a draw and a win from two games, leaving the camp happy with their endeavours.

Patterson added: “We knew coming into these first two games it would be a test of where we’re at as a team.

“We got a solid draw with some mediocre cricket at Notts and then a convincing win here.

“This time of year is always a bit unpredictable with the surfaces you get, so to come out of it with a draw and a good win is really pleasing.”

Meanwhile, Adil Rashid and David Willey will be available for the early stages of the RL50, which starts on Wednesday against Leicestershire at Emerald Headingley. But Joe Root is likely to be missing.

Root has spent a lot of time at the crease in the first two Championship matches, scoring 297 runs, and England have eight one-day internationals or warm-up games before the World Cup starts on May 30.