YORKSHIRE are on the verge of relegation from the top tier of the LV= County Championship after yesterday’s distressing display with the bat brought about a three-day defeat against Warwickshire at Headingley.

After being bowled out for 127 inside 38 second innings overs yesterday afternoon and evening, a demoralised dressing room was left contemplating an innings and 58-run defeat.

And they will now almost certainly have to win their remaining two fixtures against title-chasers Warwickshire and Somerset to have any chance of salvation.

But, on this evidence, there is little chance of that happening.

“Overall, it’s probably our worst display of the season,” said a shell-shocked Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of professional cricket.

“The best thing I can say about our batting is that it was spineless and embarrassing.

“It's unusual for us to go down so meekly. One thing we have had throughout the season is fight.

“When we've been up against it, we've normally come out fighting. But that batting display was not good enough.”

Yorkshire’s bowling for the majority of day two and the first half of yesterday’s third day was worrying enough. Shivnarine Chanderpaul batted with total ease as he posted 193 in his side’s first innings 482 as they replied to 297.

But that paled into insignificance when they were bowled out in 37.5 overs (227 balls), which was considerably less than the length of the West Indian’s 306-ball innings alone.

Jacques Rudolph, Anthony McGrath, Gary Ballance and Ryan Sidebottom all recorded ducks, while only Joe Sayers, Rich Pyrah and David Wainwright topped 20.

Chris Wright (5-31 from 11) and Keith Barker (4-56 from 14) shared nine wickets as the Edgbaston outfit moved within three points of leaders Lancashire.

“Chanderpaul played as you need to on this pitch,” continued Moxon, who had not seen his players by the time he undertook his media duties within an hour of the close.

“We’ve known all season that we’ve had results here, but you’ve got to be good enough and have the desire to get through that new ball.

“At no stage today did we seem to have the stomach for the fight.”

Yorkshire played good cricket for only two short periods of the game.

They reached 120-1 after Rudolph elected to bat on the first day before having the visitors rocking at 5-2 early on the second day.

But they were out-played for the rest of the three days, and have some serious soul searching to do ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Edgbaston, where they will go without South African Rudolph.

Moxon added: “We’re going to have to play a hell of a lot better than we have in this match.

“The disappointing thing is that we came off the back of the game at Scarborough when everyone would say we came away with credit and showed good spirit.”

Yorkshire will have an eye on today’s final day between bottom two sides Hampshire and Worcestershire at the Rose Bowl. An away win would be close to catastrophic.