Division ONE
County Championship wrap: Middlesex, Essex take top spots
Durham vs Hampshire
Durham and Hampshire split points in their Division One encounter at Chester-le-Street as the match ended in a draw on Wednesday (July 7). The visitors finished with 174 on the board for the loss of four wickets on the final day. The lead was 225 at Tea before rain forced the final session to be washed out. Both sides took 12 points each with Durham continuing their unbeaten run.
Resuming the day at 9 for no loss, the visitors lost opener Will Smith early for 10. Jimmy Adams then stitched a 52-run partnership for the second wicket with Tom Alsop before Scott Borthwick broke the stand. Michael Carberry, coming in at No. 4 frustrated the hosts with a patient 79-run stand before Adams finally fell for a 171-ball 49. Carberry went on to score a half-century and was dismissed just before Tea by Barry McCarthy for 59.
Brief scores: Hampshire 472/9 dec (Sean Ervine 93, Keaton Jennings 2-34) and 174/4 (Michael Carberry 59) drew with Durham 421/9 dec (Keaton Jennings 129, Ryan McLaren 3-78)
Yorkshire vs Middlesex
Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh starred with both bat and ball on the final day to give Middlesex a dramatic win over champions Yorkshire. The duo added 123 runs off just 13.2 overs to give the visitors a lead of 171 in the first innings. Roland-Jones struck six sixes in his unbeaten 51-ball 79. Murtagh hit 47 runs off just 38 balls before succumbing to Adam Lyth.
The hosts began the reply in solid fashion as the openers put on 41 for the first wicket. Lyth's dismissal triggered a collapse as Yorkshire found themselves reeling at 63 for 4. Tim Bresnan and Will Rhodes put up a brief resistance but they lost the last five wickets for just 31 runs to hand Middlesex an innings victory which also sent them to the top of the table.
Brief scores: Yorkshire 406 (Gary Ballance 132, James Franklin 3-62) and 167 (Tim Bresnan 39, Toby Roland-Jones 3-34) lost to Middlesex 577 (Stevie Eskinazi 157, Jack Brooks 5-137) by an innings and 4 runs
Nottinghamshire vs Lancashire
Lancashire's cautious approach on the final day earned them a draw against Nottinghamshire, as a result of which, they have now climbed to second spot on the table, just behind Middlesex. Resuming at 128 for no loss, the visitors lost Tom Smith for a patient 191-ball 71 but 19-year-old Haseeb Hameed went on to register his century off 237 deliveries.
They were well placed at 206 for 1 at lunch with a slender lead of eight, but the hosts fought back hard in the final session to pick wickets at regular intervals. Stuart Broad first picked two wickets in quick succession and then Brett Hutton managed to dismiss Hameed for 122. Steven Croft's gutsy, unbeaten 34 ensured the lead went past 100 in the end.
Brief scores: Lancashire 276 (Tom Smith 70, Imran Tahir 4-81) and 304/7 (Haseeb Hameed 122, Stuart Broad 2-45) drew with Nottinghamshire 474 (Samit Patel 67, Neil Wagner 3-107)
DIVISON TWO
Essex vs Kent
Despite a valiant 222-run eighth-wicket stand between Sam Northeast (166 not out) and Kent's No. 9 batsman James Tredwell (124), Essex cantered to a thumping ten-wicket win.
The final day's play began with Northeast waging a lone battle, as his side was still behind by 110 runs in the second innings. His partnership with Treadwell ensured Kent wouldn't suffer an innings defeat, but when Matthew Quinn finally broke the stubborn stand, the writing was on the wall for the visitors at the County ground in Chelmsford.
Quinn didn't waste too much time to wrap up the tail to take his second-innings tally to four wickets. Northeast remained unbeaten when his side was bowled out for 370, setting a target of 9 runs which was achieved in 10 deliveries. The massive victory helped Essex collect all 24 points from the fixture and go top of the points table of Division Two.
Brief Scores: Essex 569 (Bopara 94, ten Doeschate 91, Westley 88, Lawrence 82; Rabada 4-118) and 9 for 0 (Browne 8*, Cook 1*) beat Kent 207 (Blake 89*; Porter 3-51) and 370 (Northeast 166*, Tredwell 124; Quinn 4-60) by 10 wickets
In a nail-biting finish at the New Road in Worcester, the home side rode on Joe Clarke's century to chase down 366 in 75 overs against Leicestershire. In an odd turn of events, the visitors nearly had the 20-year-old batsman out LBW before the on-field umpires huddled and called him back by overturning the initial decision. Clarke went on to make 123 off 172 deliveries, an essay that included 17 fours.
At the start of the day, Leicestershire were in a commanding position with a lead of 230 runs and eight wickets in hand in the second innings. Paul Horton converted his overnight 75 into a century and as did Mark Cosgove, with the latter smashing 21 fours and three sixes in his 183-ball knock of 146. Their 264 run-stand for the third wicket propelled Leicestershire to 307 for 3, when captain Cosgrove decided to declare.
Worcestershire did not have the best start to their chase as Clint McKay and Charlie Shreck reduced the hosts to 73 for 4. Clarke joined forces with Ross Whiteley to keep their team alive with a 142-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Whiteley fell for 71 but a blitzy 108-run stand for the seventh wicket between Clarke and Joe Leech (90) took the team closer to victory. Even as Clarke fell towards the end for 123, he'd done enough for the home side to a victory with 10 balls to spare.
Worcestershire 349 (Leach 90, Fell 61, Mitchell 52, McKay 4-59) and 369/7 ( Clarke 123, Leach 64*, Shreck 4-104) beat Leicestershire 407 (Dexter 109, Eckersley 92*, Barnard 4-62, D'Oliveira 4-80) and 307-3 dec (Cosgrove 146, Horton 117*)
Derbyshire vs Northamptonshire
For the third day in a row, there was no play at the Chesterfield due to wet outfield, leading the umpires to call off the fixture before Derbyshire and Northamptonshire.
Sussex vs Glamorgan
Brief Scores: Glamorgan 335 & 307/6 (David Lloyd 102*, Aneurin Donald 44; Danny Briggs 2-62) drew with Sussex 552-5 decl. (Luke Wells 181, Ben Brown 159*, Ed Joyce 106; Graham Wagg 2-98).
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