If you subscribe to the view that the LV= County Championship title race is between only Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, then the Trent Bridge side grasped the initiative with both hands yesterday.

Taking a one-point lead into this mouth-watering affair at Headingley, Andrew Gale’s men were skittled out for 178 on day one, their lowest total for two years.

Steve Patterson was at least able to give Yorkshire something to cheer in the evening session with two wickets as Notts responded with 147-3 from 37 overs. Gale elected to bat under overcast skies, but only Jacques Rudolph’s wicket was given away. He was run out after a mix up with Anthony McGrath.

Notts were excellent. Whisper it quietly, but they looked like champions. That is not to say Yorkshire cannot come back from this, far from it.

But they will have to do something special to avoid defeat here after Ryan Sidebottom, Paul Franks, Andre Adams and Darren Pattinson all took advantage of nibble off the pitch and some early help through the air.

The former three all took two wickets apiece, as did left-arm spinner Samit Patel to polish off the White Rose tail. Sidebottom’s 2-25 from 15 overs were the pick of the figures.

York’s Jonny Bairstow top-scored with only 45, while McGrath, Gale and David Wainwright were the only others who made it into the 20s.

Things did not look good for Yorkshire after five balls of the match when in-form opener Adam Lyth edged Sidebottom behind to wicketkeeper Chris Read for a duck.

Then came Rudolph’s departure. McGrath played the ball into the covers before setting off down the wicket and stopping – only to find Rudolph hurtling towards him from the non-striker’s end.

Ally Brown had enough time to collect the ball and run in to take the bails off to leave Yorkshire at 5-2 in the sixth over. Gale followed lbw to Franks before McGrath and Bairstow shared 46 in nine overs for the fourth wicket.

Their good work, however, was undone when McGrath edged New Zealand medium pacer Adams behind to Read for 29.

Yorkshire’s morning misery was complete when Gerard Brophy was bowled by Adams to leave the score at 89-5 after 28 overs.

Adil Rashid was next to go, trapped lbw by Pattinson.

But Bairstow was at least able to counter-attack with a couple of glorious shots off Pattinson, one a stand and deliver cover drive and the other an authoritative pull.

Unfortunately he was done by an absolute peach from Sidebottom – the ball swinging in, nipping away and clipping the off bail – to leave Yorkshire at 136-7 in the 41st over.

Ajmal Shahzad was caught behind by Read off Franks before Patel snared Patterson and Oliver Hannon-Dalby lbw to wrap it up.

Opener Matt Wood then hit an entertaining 59 off 77 balls, including seven fours, for the visitors, but he was one of Patterson’s scalps, trapped lbw.

Patterson had Alex Hales caught behind by Brophy, chasing a wide on, while Hannon-Dalby bowled Mark Wagh.