A much-eased pitch and noble tailend revival by Yorkshire utterly transformed this game, the mood of the teams and potentially the ups and downs of a 5½month season that will surely go to the final evening tomorrow before the muddied waters clear. Yorkshire started the day as the most likely of the several candidates to be relegated with Surrey. Sussex ended it knowing that unless they themselves recover today after a predictable evening collapse, they will probably be relegated a season after winning the championship, a fate suffered by Nottinghamshire in 2006 and Yorkshire in 2002.

Recoveries from 80 for six and 178 for eight to 400 for nine declared enabled Yorkshire to turn the tables dramatically on their hosts, who would almost certainly go down if they lose this match even if Kent are also defeated by Durham. Bonus points have never seemed quite so vital as they were yesterday and will be today. Even one for batting seemed likely to elude Yorkshire, so to gain the maximum of five was, quite simply, a triumph.

Adil Rashid and David Wainwright, the young spin bowlers who enjoyed the batting highlights of their careers to date, may have a big part to play in their stronger suit because a pitch that had started with a little extra grass on it is essentially dry. Rashid struck with his second ball, although Ollie Rayner, the nightwatchman, had plunged a long way forward. He was the middle of three wickets in ten balls during a calamitous finish to the home team’s altogether traumatic day. Mike Yardy, next year’s captain, hit across the line against Matthew Hoggard, who then swung a ball of full length into the pads of Carl Hopkinson.

Already Hoggard had calmly applied himself with the bat while shepherding Wainwright, 23, to an admirably acquired maiden first-class hundred. An undefeated last-wicket stand of 82 followed partnerships of 80 in 19 overs between Rashid and Tim Bresnan, and of 140 for the ninth wicket between Rashid and Wainwright. It was the highest for that Yorkshire wicket against Sussex since Wilfred Rhodes and Schofield Haigh put on 173 here in 1902. Rhodes famously went from No 11 in the order to opening batsman and the technique of both the prime heroes yesterday was sound enough to suggest that they could do likewise.

Rashid, of course, has always been a seriously rated batsman. He is only 20 and this was his second first-class hundred, reached with a four past cover after 226 minutes of fierce concentration. He loves cutting and Sussex, guilty for once, perhaps, of a hint of complacency, generally bowled too short at him and Wainwright on a surface back to its usual state of placidity. The little left-hander had received a text from his father the previous evening telling him that he would make a hundred. “I just humoured him,” Wainwright said of his response, but Yorkshire cricketers everywhere were smiling last night.

Scoreboard

Yorkshire: First Innings (overnight 84-6)
T T Bresnan c Adams b Rayner 39
A U Rashid lbw b Sami 111
R M Pyrah c Hopkinson b Martin-Jenkins 7
D J Wainwright not out 104
M J Hoggard not out 28
Extras (b 13, lb 16, w 1, nb 12) 42
Total (9 wkts dec, 122.5 overs) 400

Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-37, 3-45, 4-74, 5-79, 6-80, 7-160, 8-178, 9-318.

Bowling: Lewry 29-3-98-2; Sami 35-10-117-4; Martin-Jenkins 27-7-54-2; Wright 5-0-29-0; Rayner 18-3-43-1; Nash 6-0-16-0; Yardy 2.5-0-14-0.

Sussex: First Innings
M H Yardy lbw b Hoggard 6
C D Nash not out 15
O P Rayner lbw b Rashid 0
C D Hopkinson lbw b Hoggard 2
M W Goodwin not out 1
Extras (lb 1) 1
Total (3 wkts, 9 overs) 25

L J Wright, †M J Prior, *C J Adams, R S C Martin- Jenkins, Mohammad Sami and J D Lewry to bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-16, 3-23.

Bowling: Bresnan 3-1-7-0; Hoggard 4-0-9-2; Rashid 2-0-8-1.

Umpires: R J Bailey and R K Illingworth.