STEVE PATTERSON believes Yorkshire’s team ethic has ensured they are bang on course to retain their LV= County Championship title.

The reigning champions have a stranglehold on this season’s Division One thanks to six wins in their opening nine fixtures.

They are 14 points clear of second-placed Middlesex with two games in hand and 25 clear of third-placed Durham with one game in hand.

The White Rose will also fancy their chances of winning match number ten against relegation threatened Worcestershire at Scarborough, starting tomorrow.

“I’m delighted because, as a team, we’ve had a tough start to the season,” said seamer Patterson, who has 30 wickets to his name, including a second-innings 5-11 in the opening round win over Worcester at New Road in April.

“We’ve had lads away with England, Galey unavailable with suspension, Siddy out injured for six weeks, then a couple of lads back and a couple more go.

“It’s been tough to not have the same team for two games in a row, but to be where we are and to have won the games we have, it’s pleasing.

“We’ve not really played our best cricket all the way through matches. We’ve either batted well or bowled well, but we’ve found a way in those crucial periods to turn it on and get the results we need.

“There’s a certain level of confidence and pride being the champions. We’ve set the standards and we need to uphold them.

“What’s great about our team, and I stress we’re a team, is that somebody always stands up when we need them like the two boys at Durham (Bairstow and Bresnan).

“Second innings at Taunton we were struggling a bit and Rash stood up and got 99 in a tricky situation.

“Brez is a Test bowler, but he’s come back this year and his batting’s been outstanding. Jack Leaning has also stood up and been outstanding. That’s the most impressive thing. When we’ve struggled, somebody’s stood up.”

Yorks 13-man squad: Gale c, Bairstow w, Bresnan, Brooks, Lees, Leaning, Maxwell, Middlebrook, Patterson, Plunkett, Rashid, Rhodes, Sidebottom.

Yorkshire Vikings’ very faint hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast were finally extinguished last night when a young side skippered by Jonny Bairstow lost to the Northants Steelbacks by six wickets at Wantage Road.

Having scored 153-9 in their 20 overs, Yorkshire were finally unable to contain an experienced Steelbacks batting line-up and the home side eventually won with one over to spare.

However, Yorkshire supporters can take some comfort from the determination shown by the four teenagers in Vikings line-up.

Although Alex Lees topscored with 46 for the Vikings, youngsters Ryan Gibson and Matthew Waite were two of the six Yorkshire batsmen to reach double figures as the visitors recovered from the loss of both Will Rhodes and Jack Leaning for nought.

In the second half of the game, which was played out in front of a sell-out 6,000 crowd, Yorkshire fielded outstandingly well for the most part and Ben Coad took 2-24 from his three overs to give skipper Bairstow some hope of leading his side to a famous victory.

Matthew Fisher removed the dangerous David Willey for 34 but Alex Wakely made 46 and an unbeaten 40 by Ben Duckett saw the Steelbacks home.