Somerset clinch a thrilling 31-run win over Warwickshire

Division One

Somerset v Warwickshire

After Jack Leach led from the front with a five-wicket haul on Day 2, Somerset emphatically closed out things on the third morning to script a tight 31-run victory over Warwickshire at home in Taunton on Thursday (September 8).

Leach had left the visitors tottering at 61 for 8, but a gritty fifty partnership for the ninth wicket between Rikki Clarke and Chris Wright kept Warwickshire's hopes alive. Resuming Day 3 with 53 runs to win, the duo got its side closer before Lewis Gregory ended the 86-run association.

Soon, Leach added one more to his tally to bowl out Warwickshire for 152 and handed Somerset a 31-run win.

Brief scores: Warwickshire 123 and 152 (Rikki Clarke 55*, Chris Wright 45; Jack Leach 6/42, Dominic Bess 2/31) lost to Somerset 95 (Tom Abell 20; Keith Barker 4/33, Rikki Clarke 3/32) and 211 (Chris Rogers 58*, Peter Trego 31; Jeetan Patel 5/86, Josh Poysden 3/52).

Surrey v Hampshire

Hundreds from international stars Sean Ervine (Zimbabwe) and Ryan McLaren (South Africa) helped Hampshire post a massive total at the Kennington Oval. On Day 2, Tom Alsop's 117 helped Hampshire recover from a jolt caused by Mark Footitt, who removed Will Smith and James Vince in quick succession.

Resuming at 213 for 3 on Day 3, Ervine and McLaren stitched a 186-run partnership before the lower order made notable contributions to push the total to 582. Footitt eventually ended with a six-fer.

The Surrey openers then survived a tricky nine-over period, before stumps were called on Day 3, trailing Hampshire by 230 runs.

Brief scores: Surrey 329 and 23/0 (Rory Burns 11*, Dominic Sibley 12*) trail Hampshire 582 (Sean Ervine 158*, Tom Alsop 117, Ryan McLaren 100; Mark Footitt 6/161) by 230 runs.

Nottinghamshire v Middlesex

After Steven Mullaney's gritty fifty helped Nottinghamshire set a tricky target of 235, Jake Ball rattled Middlesex with three wickets towards the close of play at Trent Bridge to give his side the edge going into the final day.

Ollie Rayner and Steve Finn bagged four and three wickets respectively to bowl the Notts out for 240 in their second essay. In reply, Nick Gubbins was caught behind for a golden duck, Sam Robson was knocked over for 2, before David Malan was trapped LBW.

Middlesex need 187 more runs to beat Nottinghamshire.

Brief scores: Middlesex 247 and 48/3 (Nick Compton 26*; Jake Ball 3/20) trail Nottinghamshire 241 and 240 (Steven Mullaney 64, Samit Patel 36; Ollie Rayner 4/83, Steven Finn 3/57) by 187 runs.

Yorkshire v Durham

Hosts Yorkshire enjoyed a good morning session and bowled out Durham for 265. The visitors were 227 for 4 at one stage, but Jack Brooks's four-wicket haul and a collective effort from Ryan Sidebottom, Tim Bresnan and James Patterson ensured that Durham lost their last six wickets for 38 runs.

Adam Lyth and Alex Lees further strengthened Yorkshire's position by sharing a 185-run opening stand before the declaration. Chasing a massive target of 421, Mark Stoneman, Keaton Jennings and Jack Burnham walked back in quick succession and put immense pressure on the visitors, who are still trailing by 382.

Brief scores: Durham 265 and 39/3 (Mark Stoneman 10, Scott Borthwick 7*) trail Yorkshire 460 and 225/2 decl. (Adam Lyth 114, Alex Lees 88; Ryan Pringle 2/69) by 382 runs.

Division Two

Glamorgan vs Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire's all-round display helped them ride home to a comfortable 10-wicket win against Glamorgan at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday (September 9).

Resuming their first innings of 347 for 8 on Day Three, the visitors managed to add only 16 runs to the total. Skipper Michael Hogan finished with figures of 5 for 36.

Glamorgan began steadily in their second innings, but kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Barring William Bragg's half-century, there were no significant contributions for the hosts. David Payne and Jack Taylor bagged seven wickets between them to bowl the hosts out for 232.

Needing 92 runs to win, openers Gareth Roderick (56 not out) and Chris Dent (35 not out) had little difficulty in finishing formalities. The win helped Gloucestershire bag 19 points and move to fourth place in the points table, while Glamorgan are left languishing second last on the table.

Brief Scores: Glamorgan 220 (Nicholas James Selman 101; Craig Miles 4-44, Matt Taylor 4-56) and 232 (William Bragg 52; David Payne 4-45, Jack Taylor 3-70) lost to Gloucestershire 363 (Hamish Marshall 101, David Payne 67*; Michael Hogan 5-36) and 92 for no loss (Gareth Roderick 56*) by 10 wickets.

Kent vs Northamptonshire

Ben Duckett's double century and Rory Kleinveldt's eight-wicket haul helped Northamptonshire to a comfortable 10-wicket win over Kent at the Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham on Thursday (September 8).

After being left reeling at 15 for 4 on Day Two, the hosts put up a better batting show on the third morning, with Hardus Viljoen (63), Sam Billings (39) and Darren Stevens (44) making valuable contributions. Nonetheless, they folded up for 184 in the second innings, giving the visitors a target of 31 runs.

Openers Duckett and Rob Newton took their side over the line without any hassle and helped Kent stay steady at fifth spot in the Division Two points table, while Kent failed to push their way higher from the No. 2 spot.

Brief Scores: Kent 230 (Sean Dickson 63, Matt Coles 52, Will Gidman 51; Rory Kleinveldt 3-71, Steven Crook 2-7) and 184 (Hardus Viljoen 63; Rory Kleinveldt 5-53, Rob Keogh 2-5) lost to Northamptonshire 384 (Ben Duckett 208, Alex Wakely 73; Mitchell Claydon 3-73, Hardus Viljoen 3-91) and 31/0 by 10 wickets

Leicestershire vs Sussex

Leicestershire were bundled out for 119 runs in the second innings to hand Sussex an innings and 59-run win in the Division Two match of County Championship at the Grace Road in Leicester on Thursday (September 8). The win allowed Sussex to retain their third spot in the points table.

Sussex, who resumed Day Two on 182 for 7, extended their first innings lead to 178 runs courtesy Ben Brown and Oliver Robinson's 133-run stand for the eighth wicket. Neil Dexter was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as he bagged 5 for 52 to help bowl out Sussex for 313.

However, Leicestershire batting faltered again as they failed to put up a challenge in the second innings. Skipper Mark Cosgrove (10), Ned Eckersley (31) and Ben Raine (25) were the only players to notch up double-figure scores in the second essay.

Brief Scores: Leicestershire 135 (Neil Dexter 52; Steve Magoffin 5-50, Jofra Chioke Arche 4-31) and 119 (Ned Eckersley 31; David Wiese 3-20, Jofra Chioke Arche 3-31) lost to Sussex 313 (Oliver Robinson 81, Ben Brown 71; Neil dexter 5-52, Paul Horton 2-6) by an innings and 59 runs.