Somerset face final-day chase of 214 to keep title bid alive at Yorkshire

Somerset need 214 more runs on the final day at Headingley to beat Yorkshire and stay in the hunt for the County Championship.

They closed day three on 73-3, chasing 287 for victory in this Division One game, the top tier of England's four-day domestic competition BBC Sport. Tom Lammonby will resume on 29 not out, with seven wickets still in hand.

It is a chase Somerset did not expect to be this steep. Yorkshire made 212 in their first innings, then bowled Somerset out for 201. Seamer Ben Cliff did the damage with 8-76, a return that gave Yorkshire a slender 11-run lead.

Yorkshire then almost threw it away. They slipped to 54-6 in their second innings, with Somerset's bowlers on top and the game running away from the home side. Craig Overton led that charge with 3-44.

Then came the fightback. George Hill made 89 off 173 balls and Dom Bess made 77 off 186 balls. Together they added 166 for the seventh wicket, meaning the seventh pair to bat, to drag Yorkshire to 275 all out BBC Sport. They turned a collapse into a defendable target.

Somerset's reply started badly. Ben Coad took 2-23 to remove two of the top three and leave the visitors wobbling. Lammonby held firm to the close, but Yorkshire have the new ball still fresh enough to hurt and a wearing late-season pitch to work with.

The stakes are high. Warwickshire beat Essex inside two days to move to the top of the table, ahead of Somerset. Somerset are chasing a first four-day title in the club's history ESPNcricinfo, so any slip at Leeds puts the race in someone else's hands.

For fans, this means a simple final-day equation. Somerset need one long stand and a calm lower order. Yorkshire need early wickets. The contest is set.