Yorkshire 371 for 2 (Wharton 162*, Lyth 147, Sanderson 1-67) lead Northamptonshire 147 (Bartlett 61, Coad 4-51) by 224 runs
Adam Lyth and James Wharton scored superb day three centuries against Northamptonshire at Headingley as Yorkshire secured promotion back to Division One of the Vitality County Championship.
Yorkshire needed a maximum of 10 points at the start of this final round fixture to seal second place ahead of Middlesex, that number assuming the London county claimed a maximum 24-point win over leaders Sussex at Hove.
But in being bowled out for 271 in their first innings against Sussex at Hove, they missed out on four bonus points, cutting Yorkshire's requirement by that number.
Yorkshire claimed three of the six points they required in bowling Northamptonshire out for 147 before lunch after they had started the day on 117 for six. New ball seamers Ben Coad and, in particular, Matthew Fisher did the damage. Coad finished with four wickets, striking once before lunch, while Fisher claimed the other three.
Yorkshire then closed the day on 371 for 2 from 83.2 overs in their first-innings reply, claiming three more bonus points en-route to a lead of 224. Upon reaching 350, amidst fading light just before 6pm, it was confirmed that Yorkshire will be playing Division One cricket in 2025 alongside Division Two champions elect Sussex.
Lyth hit 147 off 163 balls and unbeaten Wharton 162 off 234 balls respectively, sharing 260 through the heart of the day - a Yorkshire record for the second wicket in first-class matches against this opponent. George Bartlett played the lone hand with an impressive 64 not out for Northamptonshire, who were overwhelmed by a home side intent on claiming their sixth win in seven games.
Coad made the initial morning breakthrough when he had Lewis McManus caught at leg gully - 128 for 7 in the 47th over, the day's seventh - before a trio of Fisher wickets in his final Yorkshire appearance before heading off to pastures new.
He bowled Justin Broad and Ben Sanderson, uprooting the former's off-stump with a yorker, and then wrapped things up when he had Jack White caught behind.
After wrapping things up with the ball in the opening hour of the day, Lyth and Wharton came together at 15 for one in the fifth over of the reply after Sanderson removed Fin Bean caught behind as he pushed forwards.
From there, the day was one-way traffic. Northamptonshire failed to build significant pressure, with Lyth and Wharton particularly strong on the off-side. Lyth pulled Broad's seam for six over deep square-leg and Wharton later deposited Fateh Singh's left-arm spin over long-off for the same result.
Yorkshire reached lunch at 56 for one and tea at 228 for 1, the latter with a lead of 81. Lyth reached his century, his fifth of the four-day season, off 111 balls during the afternoon, while Wharton's second of the season - and his career - came in the early evening off 154 balls.
By this stage, Yorkshire were 264 for 1 with the best part of 35 overs remaining in the day. That 350-target for promotion was looming large.
On-loan Singh, from Nottinghamshire, trapped Lyth lbw sweeping just short of his 150, leaving Yorkshire at 275 for 2 in the 58th over. In posting his 147, Lyth moved to 14,109 career first-class runs for Yorkshire, going beyond his close friend Anthony McGrath, who totalled 14,091 during his career for the county. Current Essex coach McGrath is one of the names linked with the Yorkshire coaching post, which Ottis Gibson will vacate after this game.
Following the Lyth wicket, the run rate slowed significantly, with Wharton becalmed and Will Luxton getting himself set at the crease. But, in fading light and against spin from both ends late in the day, Wharton put his foot down and hit the run which secured promotion upon reaching 350 - punched to long-off against Saif Zaib's left-arm spin off the back foot.
He reached 150 shortly after off 228 balls, including two more sixes, amidst a 96-run stand with Luxton, 37. Bad light did end the day 4.4 overs early.
