Yorkshire were sufficiently competitive to stop Glamorgan running away with the championship match at Colwyn Bay yesterday but they will have to bat wondrously well today if they are to achieve the victory they so badly need to stay in with a chance of promotion.

They did well in the morning to make it to 422 and restrict Glamorgan's first-innings lead to 44 and they then worked hard to make sure their opponents earned every run as they headed towards a declaration which should not be too long in coming.

Glamorgan closed on 270 for four with an overall lead of 314 and it is worth noting that the biggest score Yorkshire have ever made to win a championship match is 331 - and that was against Middlesex at Lord's back in 1910.

There was an early setback when Yorkshire resumed on 291 for four and still trailing by 175, Matthew Wood adding only a couple of singles before pushing forward uncertainly at Robert Croft and being caught off bat and pad for 126 off 271 balls with 20 fours.

Nightwatchman Steve Kirby went for 11 but Richard Blakey and Andy Gray took part in a crucial stand of 73 in 18 overs which denied Glamorgan the big lead they were seeking.

Blakey then fell lbw to Michael Kasprowicz for 36 - his highest score since his double century in the opening match of the season - but Gray battled on to stay unbeaten on 48, Kasprowicz and spinners Croft and Dean Cosker each claiming three wickets.

Darren Gough picked up his first wicket of the match in the opening over of Glamorgan's reply by pinning Jimmy Maher lbw but batsmen were soon very much in control as Mark Wallace and Adrian Dale put on 116 together for the second wicket.

Miscued drives by Wallace and Matthew Maynard off Dawson were both safely held in the deep by Gray while Dale tickled one of Yuvraj Singh's many legside deliveries into Blakey's gloves.

Gray for some reason was only used for a couple of overs when bad light threatened to bring the players off but the bowling was generally well disciplined and although Michael Powell and David Hemp put on an unbroken 112 together they had to graft for their runs.

Powell closed on 81 with his second century of the match in sight and Hemp had 54.

The large crowd did not take kindly to both sides slowing down the game late in the day but they have probably already agreed on what sort of target Yorkshire should eventually be chasing.