Yorkshire face an uphill struggle not to lose only their second LV=County Championship fixture of the season after a difficult day all round against Essex.

It began with the bat for the Tykes at the County Ground, before a blistering partnership of 199 between England’s Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara really put the hosts in control at Chelmsford.

Their efforts mean the home side will take a commanding second-innings lead of 304 runs into the final day with seven wickets still remaining.

“It was a tough day,” admitted director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon.

“Cook and Bopara are quality players and they played very well. I think it is a pretty good pitch though so when we are given the chance to bat again we will need a couple of batsmen to make big scores.”

The importance of Yorkshire getting something from this match is even greater now, after second-placed Nottinghamshire romped to a ten-wicket win over home side Warwickshire.

Stuart Broad did the damage, with remarkable figures of 8-52, and by picking up 23 points from the match at Edgbaston, they have wiped out the 21-point advantage the Tykes had over them going into this round of fixtures.

However, if Yorkshire want to reinstate the gap at the top when Essex do declare on the final day, they will have to show far more stubbornness with the bat than they did on day three.

Resuming on 227-5, and with three of the remaining batsmen having first-class hundreds to their name, there was real hope they could get close to the 399 which Essex had posted, but in reality they were never going to trouble it.

Only Adil Rashid showed any real resistance, with a composed 52 not out, as Gerard Brophy, Tim Bresnan, Steven Patterson and Oliver Hannon-Dalby all came and went with only 97 runs being added to the score.

It meant the home side had an innings advantage of 75 and although Bresnan, with the first ball of Essex’s reply, and Patterson, quickly reduced the hosts to 15-2, there would be no answer to Bopara and Cook’s onslaught.

By tea they had added 60 to the total, and with Anthony McGrath then dropping both of them in the final session at second slip it was perhaps no surprise they would go on to punish the Tykes attack further.

The two of them gleefully accepted the generosity until Bopara was bowled by Rashid late on for 102.

It was an innings which was unlikely to go unnoticed by the national selectors with England yet to decide on the injured Ian Bell’s replacement for the first Test against Pakistan next week.

Cook is still there on 90 though, with Matt Walker on 13, and all eyes will be on Essex now to see when they will declare to set Yorkshire a victory target.