Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale cut a frustrated figure last night as their LV= County Championship match against Hampshire heads for a draw on a flat Rose Bowl pitch.

The below-par White Rose attack toiled during a rain-affected third day, failing to take a wicket in the 51 overs possible as Hampshire replied to 532 with a commanding 291-2 from 81 overs.

Left-hander Michael Carberry amassed 140 not out, sharing an unbroken 232 inside 66 overs for the third wicket with South African Neil McKenzie, who will begin today’s fourth day on 95.

Hampshire still trail by 241 runs with eight first innings wickets in hand, meaning a positive result is almost impossible unless the two skippers stick their heads together and contrive something.

Gale did not rule that out, admitting that home captain Dominic Cork even floated the idea before close. But he did say: “From our point of view, we don’t want to give them a sniff. They’re going to have to force the issue.

“They’re 40-odd points behind us, so it’s got to be on our terms. The last thing we want is them getting a win, getting confidence and going on a run.”

This was the most tedious day of Yorkshire’s summer, and by some considerable distance. This season’s Championship has been littered with classic clashes all round the country, but this has been anything but.

The ECB should shoulder a portion of the blame for deducting Hampshire eight points for producing a poor pitch for their last home game against Nottinghamshire, which turned from day one and was not dangerous.

It made groundsman Nigel Gray cautious in his approach to preparing this track, and it has ended up being flatter than the M62.

The look on Gale’s face when he walked off the field last night said it all.

“There’s just nothing in it,” he sighed. “There’s no bounce, no pace and no spin. When it does spin, it’s slow. Looking at it before the game, I thought it would break up and there would be a result. It just hasn’t.”

Even so, Yorkshire could have bowled better. There were only two lbw shouts of any note, and they bowled too many bad balls even though not one of their eight-man attack went at a rate north of four runs per over.

“I didn’t think we were that good,” added Gale. “Wainers hasn’t played a Championship match for a while and Rash has been inconsistent all year. It’s not the Rash we know, but that can happen with young leg-spinners.

“I’d have liked to have seen us bowl some more maidens and build pressure. When you look at all the dismissals, it’s been when the batsmen have tried to attack. They’ve just waited for the bad balls, and we bowled enough of them.”