Jeetan Patel and Keith Barker keep Warwickshire in hunt after dismal start against Yorkshire

Warwickshire 228 Yorkshire 82-2

Jeetan Patel struck 63 off only 67 balls after Warwickshire had been reduced to 90 for 6 (Getty)

The Championship season is so well advanced that more than half of the First Division counties will have only six matches left after the current round, yet the race remains so open that joint-leaders Yorkshire have only 20 points more than Sussex, who are sixth.

Warwickshire are 16 points behind Yorkshire yet have a game in hand, which provides extra incentive to turn recent form on its head against a side to whom they have lost by an innings in their last two encounters, the latest at Headingley this season.

At 90 for 6 after opting to bat first on a green-tinged pitch, you would not have invested much on them achieving that ambition but late-order runs from Keith Barker and Jeetan Patel hauled their total up to 228, after which Chris Woakes struck twice in a lively and well controlled opening spell, accounting for Adam Lyth and Jack Leaning, before Andrew Gale and Alex Lees regained control for Yorkshire.

Warwickshire had reached 68 for the loss only of William Porterfield but Rich Pyrah swung the opening session in Yorkshire’s favour, finding late movement to have Varun Chopra caught behind and swinging one in to bowl Jim Troughton through the gate. It was the injury-plagued captain’s first innings at Edgbaston in more than a year.

They were all out by tea. Karl Carver, an 18-year-old left-arm spinner given his debut as Adil Rashid continued his paternity leave, capped a promising introduction with his maiden wicket when Barker, who had been going well on 36, swung wildly towards midwicket and was caught at first slip, one of four catches in that position for Aaron Finch, who might have taken six had he not been off the field when Rikki Clarke and Tim Ambrose were out, at which moments Lees was standing in.

Patel’s 63 off 67 balls ensured that Warwickshire claimed a batting point. Jack Brooks took his 40th wicket of the Championship season when he bowled Chris Wright, having earlier removed Sam Hain and Woakes in consecutive balls, both pouched by Finch, who juggled the second and seemed to suffer some damage in the process.