Yorkshire were looking to make the final push for victory over Lancashire at Headingley today in a Roses match which will long be remembered for Darren Leh-mann's epic innings of 252 - the highest individual score ever made in these contests between the deadly rivals.

Lancashire would have been as good as beaten already but for a fighting 113 from captain John Crawley and some brave hitting from the lower order batsmen which helped them close the third day on 280 for eight.

Their lead was only 122 but on a wearing pitch, Yorkshire knew they still had a lot of work in store to win their sixth match of the season and strengthen their position at the top of the CricInfo County Championship table.

As well as Crawley's valiant effort, Darren Gough also blasted 96, the second highest score of his career, but it was still Lehmann's innings which captured the imagination.

In a magical performance on Saturday, the Australian never gave the slightest hint of a chance as he galloped to 222 not out and yesterday he added a further 30 runs before taking a swing at Glen Chapple and losing his middle stump.

Even after such an exhibition, Lehmann looked angry with himself at his momentarily loss of concentration after battling away for 365 minutes and thrashing 35 fours and a six off the 288 balls he faced.

His innings put in the shade the previous Roses best by either county of 211 not out by Maurice Leyland at Headingley in 1930 and it was the sixth highest score ever made on the ground.

Don Bradman (twice) and John Edrich have both made triple hundreds there in Test matches while Yorkshire's Herbert Sut-cliffe and Wilfred Rhodes have plundered 270 and 267 not out respectively in Championship games.

Lehmann said after his innings: "I know about the rivalry of Roses cricket and it is a great honour to have set the biggest score.

"It is not every day that you go in to bat and feel to be middling everything but it turned out to be just one of those occasions."

After Richard Blakey and Richard Dawson had both gone quickly to Chapple with the new ball in the morning, Gough blazed the trail with Lehmann and gave an all too infrequent glimpse of his batting qualities.

He smacked four boundaries in one Chapple over but once Lehmann had gone and Ryan Sidebottom had followed him, Gough settled into a splendid last wicket stand of 83 with Steven Kirby which swung the match decisively Yorkshire's way.

Yorkshire had galloped on to 531 when Gough was denied his century with an inside edge off Andrew Flintoff which gave Warren Hegg his fifth catch of the innings. Gough had hammered 14 fours and a six off 101 balls and he left Kirby unbeaten with a brave 15 from 67 balls with a four and a six.

Kirby came straight back out and in his first over had Michael Atherton caught by David Byas at first slip to claim the England opener's wicket for the second time in the match and when Mark Chilton was lbw to a revitalised Gough Lancashire were three for two.

Although wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, Yorkshire could never feel comfortable while Crawley held centre stage and he reached a chanceless century off 141 balls with 14 fours and a six but his resistance ended when he cut at Craig White and was caught behind.

Chapple sliced a drive to David Byas in White's same over and Kirby returned to put paid to Chris Schofield for a freely struck 34, but then Martin and John Wood took full advantage of Yorkshire's tiring attack to plunder 47 runs together off the day's last eight overs, Martin finishing on 32 and Wood (28).