Yorkshire lined themselves up for victory over Northamptonshire at Headingley today, despite rain reducing play to just 23 deliveries yesterday after the action-packed morning session.

Excellent bowling by the four seamers left Northants reeling on 115-7 with an overall lead of only 68 and if it stays dry today then it should not be long before Yorkshire are celebrating their second successive Championship win.

Northamptonshire had a new wicketkeeper in their team when play resumed on the third day, 'Riki' Wessels, the 19-year-old son of the county's coach, Kepler, being called up to replace Gerard Brophy who broke a finger on Saturday while standing up to the stumps to Bilal Shafayat.

The game was finely balanced with Northants on nine without loss in their second innings and trailing by only 38, but Yorkshire tilted the scales very much their way by grabbing seven wickets during the morning session while 97 runs were added.

Australian Martin Love went to the second ball of the day from Deon Kruis which found the edge on its way through to Ismail Dawood.

But a stand then developed between Shafayat and Usman Afzaal which took the score to 54 before Afzaal could not resist hooking at Kruis only to see Matthew Hoggard perfectly positioned for the catch at long leg.

In the next over, Shafayat followed one which left him from Hoggard and was caught at second slip by Matthew Wood and the procession back to the pavilion continued as Tim Bresnan was rewarded for an excellent spell by sending Robert White's off-stump spinning out of the ground and trimming David Sales' off-bail with an away swinger.

Ben Phillips nudged Ian Harvey to Dawood and in the next over Damien Wright carved Bresnan to Anthony McGrath at third man.

Northants tramped in to lunch on 106-7 but only three runs had been added after the interval when a storm prevented any further play until after tea.

On the resumption a further two overs were possible before the rain returned again.

Phil Jaques was Yorkshire's batting hero in the first innings with a sparkling knock of 176 off 254 balls with 24 fours and a six and he was admirably supported by Dawood in a sixth-wicket stand of 115 in 28 overs, Dawood going on to make 51 from 112 deliveries with five fours, his first half century of the season.

Yet the day really belonged to Northants' Australian all-rounder, Wright, who not only bowled England captain Michael Vaughan for 12, but went on to finish with the season's best bowling figures in Championship cricket of 8-60.

It was the first eight-wicket haul by a Northamptonshire bowler since Darren Cousins grabbed 8-102 against Yorkshire at Headingley in 2001 and the best on the ground since Paul Newman claimed 8-29 for Derbyshire in 1988.

Updated: 11:44 Monday, May 09, 2005