Mike Yardy led a spirited Sussex fightback on the second day of their crucial County Championship match against Yorkshire at Headingley.

Yardy hit 70 off 81 balls to help Sussex recover from 70-5 to post 248, a deficit of just three having bowled Yorkshire out for 251 in the morning.

The left-hander - playing in his final game before retirement - shared partnerships of 64 with Ben Brown (39) and 53 with Ashar Zaidi (26) before being ninth man out.

Lewis Hatchett and Chris Liddle almost guided Sussex to a second batting point with a partnership of 37 only to fall two short.

That could prove significant with Hampshire struggling on 234-8 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. A second batting point would have guaranteed Sussex's survival if Hampshire are dismissed for under 250.

Brown, partnered by Yardy, struck Bresnan for four and six off consecutive deliveries but trying to clear the rope off the next ball he was caught at long leg by Sidebottom.

Zaidi and Yardy both made swift progress until Zaidi was lbw to Adil Rashid for 26 and two balls into the next over Magoffin wafted at Plunkett for Bairstow to take his fourth catch.

Yardy included 13 boundaries in his 81-ball 70 before chopping Brooks into his stumps but Hatchett and Liddle hung around for a quite a while, Hatchett reaching a career-best knock when he was 22.

The last wicket pair had taken Sussex to within two runs of a second batting bonus point when Hatchett top-edged a sweep at Adam Lyth and was caught by a sprawling Bresnan running backwards from slip for 25.