WARWICKSHIRE’S director of cricket Dougie Brown tonight insisted his players are not cheats after a controversial caught behind decision went against Yorkshire’s Cheteshwar Pujara during day two at Headingley.

The visitors hold sway at the halfway stage of this LV= County Championship match after posting 435 and restricting Yorkshire to 128-3 from 47 overs at close, with two wickets falling quickly after tea.

Will Rhodes top-scored with 46 before holing out to mid-on against off-spinner Jeetan Patel, but the decision to remove Pujara on 23, caught behind off Boyd Rankin, proved to be the day’s talking point.

Wicketkeeper Pete McKay claimed the catch at the second attempt diving forward, although Pujara stood his ground and left umpires Jeremy Lloyds and Steve Garratt to convene.

Once Garratt confirmed his departure, the Yorkshire faithful were quick to make their feelings known as the score slipped to 88-3. There were also boos and jeers as the players and umpires left the field at close.

Rhodes admitted that dressing room replays proved inconclusive. He said: “You go with what the keeper said, but I'm sure there will be a bit of talk about it.”

And Brown said: “Pete was convinced he caught it, as were the slips.

“Teams are always trying to get a bit of an edge, but we’re not cheats. Yes, ok, Pujara is a big wicket, a world-class player, and we would be delighted to see the back of him. But we do not want to cheat somebody out.

“It was controversial because it wasn’t a clear-cut decision, but the umpires have ruled in our favour, and we are quite happy the right decision has been reached.

“We play in a proper way, with a decent spirit, and we try to look after the game because if we don’t, it can come and bite you. These things always look worse when the crowd are involved as well.”

Patel had took the first Yorkshire wicket in the final over of the afternoon when he trapped Alex Lees lbw.

Yorkshire will begin day three 307 runs behind and sizeable contributions from not out pair Andrew Gale and Jack Leaning would not go amiss as they look to avert danger.

Earlier, Tim Bresnan completed a first five-wicket haul since May 2012 as Warwickshire advanced from 270-4 overnight. James Middlebrook added three wickets, including Ian Westwood for 196.