Anthony McGrath played the biggest and best innings of his career at Headingley yesterday to give Yorkshire a great chance of turning an almost hopeless cause into a stunning victory over Middlesex.

McGrath, only back in the first team because of Richard Harden's hand injury, stayed as solid as a rock while making 142 not out off 261 balls, including 14 fours and three sixes.

It was McGrath's fifth century for Yorkshire and his first in two seasons, but it could not have been achieved without magnificent support from tail-enders Ian Fisher - his team-mate at East Bierley in the Bradford League - and Matthew Hoggard.

They helped him add 139 for the last two wickets, which took Yorkshire to 313 and destroyed Middlesex's belief that they could win the match inside three days.

Instead of chasing what they expected to be a simple target, they found themselves aiming for a formidable 225, and they ended the day tottering on 42 for three, still requiring 183 on a pitch that is becoming increasingly unreliable.

Australian Greg Blewett dominated the early part of the day in a 65 stand in 20 overs with McGrath, and he went on to complete his best score for Yorkshire of 73 before giving a return catch to Phil Tufnell after facing 206 balls and hitting eight fours.

Although Blewett played well, Tufnell deserved to take his wicket after dropping a sharp return chance and seeing Richard Kettleborough put down a right-handed catch at short point just before his dismissal.

McGrath got little support from the middle order, but Ryan Sidebottom started the resistance, and Fisher and then Hoggard continued it with stands of 74 and 65 for the ninth and tenth wickets of which their shares of the partnerships were 26 and six respectively.

There were some tense moments when McGrath was on 57, and there was a loud appeal for a catch at first slip by Justin Langer off Paul Weekes, but umpire Roy Palmer gave not out .

Langer and Tufnell were among the Middlesex players to have some heated words with McGrath, Tufnell also shaking his finger and in his next over threatening to hurl the ball in the batsman's direction.

But McGrath was unmoved by these antics and, after Fisher had been caught behind off Simon Cook, he worked his way through the 90s to a magnificent century off 190 balls with 12 fours and a six.

Having earlier planted Cook for a six over mid-wicket, McGrath deepened Tufnell's misery and sense of injustice by smacking him for two enormous sixes, and by now he was looking in the mood for a double century until Hoggard lost his off-stump to Jamie Hewitt.

McGrath said later: "I was absolutely delighted to make a big score and show that I really can bat.

"I had a poor season last year, but have changed one or two things during the winter and now feel I am playing much better.

"My aim is to establish myself in the Yorkshire side and go on making a lot of runs for them. Middlesex were getting pretty agitated that they could not get us out when the appeal went up and there was a bit said, but it just helped me to settle down and concentrate even harder."

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