County Championship: Yorkshire safe despite Daryl Mitchell century for Worcestershire

Yorkshire paceman Jack Brooks took another five-wicket haul in his final game for the Tykes as they earned the two bowling bonus points they needed to secure their Division One status.

But it was Worcestershire opener Daryl Mitchell's day as he survived a bad dropped chance on 43 to reach 127 and register his 35th first-class century.

Helped by a rapid 60 from Moeen Ali, the Pears reached the close on 319-8.

Brooks took 5-83, his third five-wicket haul in five games and 19th in total.

The visitors went into the game requiring just two points to stay up, but they were kept waiting until after tea to get them by an already-relegated Worcestershire side who beat them by an innings at Scarborough last month.

Moeen and Mitchell both hit big hundreds in that match - and were at it again in a 102-run second-wicket stand, although Mitchell cashed in to the tune of an extra 84 runs after surviving a glaring drop by Yorkshire wicketkeeper Jonny Tattersall off Brooks.

Inspired by his warm reception in his first appearance for Worcestershire since leading them to their first T20 Blast success nine days earlier, Moeen played some lovely shots, including two sixes off Yorkshire's debutant teenage spinner James Logan, but was then caught at second slip attempting to pull Brooks.

His rash dismissal triggered a clatter of wickets from 131-1 to 167-5, but an 88-run stand between Mitchell and Ed Barnard (34) was then followed by a so far unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 49 between Ben Twohig (30) and Josh Tongue (20).

Worcestershire centurion Daryl Mitchell told BBC Hereford & Worcester:

"I had a couple of weeks without scoring many runs so it was nice, once I'd got in, to get a score and I was determined to make it pay.

"Yorkshire's bowlers were pretty miserly all day. It is not an easy wicket to score on. If you bowl pretty straight and held your lengths, it was hard to get the ball away.

"But a big strength of ours is runs down the order. Ed Barnard has done it again, Wayne Parnell has done it the last few weeks and Ben Twohig can bat as well."

Yorkshire head coach Andrew Gale:

"Obviously our aim was to come and get the two points first of all. It is nice to get them in the bag but now we want to go on and finish the season strongly.

"We didn't sustain pressure for long periods. We missed a couple of key chances but, fair play to Worcestershire, they fought pretty hard.

"Jack Brooks' effort was testament to the man. He is not going to be with us next year and it would have been easy for him to fade out until the end of the season. He hasn't done that, he's put a real shift in for us and is one of the key reasons why we are still in Division One."

There was a minute's silence before the start of play Road following the announcement of the death of former Worcestershire and Yorkshire wicketkeeper Roy Booth aged 91.

Booth began his career with his native Yorkshire in 1951 before joining Worcestershire in 1956, starting a long line of Yorkshiremen who moved south to play at New Road.

He was Worcestershire's wicketkeeper when they won the County Championship for the first time in 1964, before following it up with a repeat triumph in 1965.

He went on to serve on the committee and became club president. His late wife, Joyce, also ran the famous teas in the Ladies' Pavilion for more than 20 years.