Stuart Broad
Stuart Broad

County Championship review: Stuart Broad among wickets in Notts win


News from the latest round of County Championship matches.

Monday

England seamers Stuart Broad, Jake Ball and Harry Gurney took three wickets apiece as Nottinghamshire kept up their hot start to the Specsavers County Championship season by beating Hampshire.

Notts' third win of the season was secured by a 203-run margin as Hampshire were unable to bat out the final day despite Hashim Amla's defiant century.

The South Africa star was last out for 112 to Ball, who finished with three for 64 as new-ball partner Broad's three for 57 was matched by Gurney.

The day's other two games in Division One were both drawn, Scott Borthwick making 82 not out to see Surrey safely through at 173 for three against Worcestershire. Young spinner Amar Virdi earlier took six for 105 in the visitors' 526, which saw Ed Barnard add 66 to Joe Clarke's day-three century.

Somerset had to work harder against Lancashire, surviving on 269 for eight with Marcus Trescothick padded up despite a broken foot in case he was required. Jack Leach (66) and Tim Groenewald (36 not out) saw off that possibility despite Matty Parkinson's five for 101.

In Division Two, Durham pulled off a stunning comeback win after following on against Leicestershire as James Weighell took a career-best seven for 32.

It was Weighell's 38 runs that lifted Leicestershire's meagre target to 148 after Gavin Griffiths looked to have bowled them into a dominant position with six for 49.

And after Chris Rushworth took three early wickets before being forced off by injury, Weighell ripped through the remainder of the order as the Foxes were skittled for 101 to lose by 46 runs.

Sussex battled to a three-wicket win over Middlesex, Ben Brown's unbeaten 65 the key to their successful chase of 230.

The captain was ably backed up by nightwatchman Danny Briggs (39) and Michael Burgess (22) before Ollie Robinson struck the winning boundary that took Sussex to 232 for seven.

Sunday

Steve Patterson and Ben Coad combined to bowl out champions Essex as Yorkshire sealed one of the most unlikely comeback victories in Specsavers County Championship history at Chelmsford.

The White Rose battled back to seal a 91-run victory almost 48 hours after being bowled out for a humiliating 50 on the opening morning of this Division One clash.

Patterson finished with career-best first-class figures of six for 40, with Essex's pursuit of a 238-run victory target heavily undermined when they lost four wickets in the space of 23 balls.

Coad took three of those wickets as the defending champions slipped from 114 for four to 114 for eight before eventually folding to 146 all out half an hour before lunch on the third morning.

Joe Clarke scored an impressive 157 and Tom Fell an equally determined 88 as Worcestershire survived the jolt of Amar Virdi's two wickets in successive balls just before tea to finish day three with a highly creditable 469 for six against Surrey at the Oval.

Clarke completed his 10th first-class hundred in his 51st match, while Fell scored his first Championship half-century since 2016 as Worcestershire reached stumps leading by 35 runs.

Dane Vilas scored a brilliant unbeaten double-century for Lancashire but their clash with Somerset at Old Trafford seems likely to end in a draw.

Vilas starred with 235 not out while Keaton Jennings made 109 as Lancashire piled up 492 in reply to Somerset's 429, with visiting captain Tom Abell claiming a career-best four for 43 with the ball. Somerset reduced the deficit to 12 by scoring 51 without loss by the close.

Hampshire face an uphill challenge on the final day against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge after being set a target of 469 for an unlikely victory.

More realistically they need to survive a minimum of 140 overs after reaching the close on 111 for three, with Joe Weatherley having made 56. Earlier, Notts advanced their second innings score to 389 for nine before declaring mid-afternoon.

Warwickshire strengthened their position at the top of Division Two table by completing an eight-wicket win over Derbyshire before lunch on the final day at Edgbaston.

Jonathan Trott, in the match during which he announced he will retire at the end of the season, saw the hosts over the line alongside former England team-mate Ian Bell.

Requiring 89 for victory Warwickshire resumed on the last morning on 19 for one and after losing Dominic Sibley with the total on 29 they were steered to victory by Trott and Bell who finished unbeaten on 35 and 34 respectively.

Kent successfully chased down their target of 195 with six wickets in hand to beat Glamorgan and record their second Championship win of the season.

Heino Kuhn made an unbeaten 69 to guide Kent home after tea on day three at a sun-drenched Sophia Gardens.

A Middlesex batting collapse, in which they lost eight wickets for 79 runs, set up a potentially thrilling finish against Sussex at Hove.

Middlesex, who had been 243 for two, were bowled out for 322 as Danny Briggs and David Wiese both returned figures of four for 70 to set Sussex a challenging target of 230. At stumps on the third day Sussex were 35 for two, needing another 195.

Aiden Markram fell agonisingly short of a century as he led Durham's fightback on day three against Leicestershire at Emirates Riverside.

The South African took to the crease with the hosts following on after being dismissed for 184 in reply to Leicestershire's 440 but went on to make 94. Durham ended the day 233 for one, still trailing by 23 but with renewed hope of avoiding defeat.

Saturday

Steven Mullaney and Jake Libby put on an unbeaten century opening stand as Division One leaders Nottinghamshire seized the advantage in their Specsavers County Championship match against Hampshire.

Libby and Mullaney batted throughout the final session of the day at Trent Bridge to reach the close on 136 without loss, an overall advantage of 215.

Mullaney, the Nottinghamshire captain, is unbeaten on 82, having faced 119 balls and hit 10 fours and two sixes.

Libby reached his 50 in the final over of the day, getting to the landmark from 97 deliveries, with six fours.

Steven Patterson's four-wicket evening burst put Yorkshire on the brink of victory over Essex at Chelmsford after being bowled out for just 50 on the opening day.

The seamer sent back Alastair Cook, Tom Westley, Nick Browne and Ravi Bopara in the space of 21 balls to knock the stuffing out of an Essex batting line-up that had been set an intriguing 238 to win between now and Bank Holiday Monday.

By the close on the second day, Essex still need 141 runs with six wickets intact.

Keaton Jennings and Dane Vilas shared an unbroken third-wicket stand of 169 as Lancashire fought back strongly on day two against Somerset at the Emirates Old Trafford.

Replying to the visitors' 429, Lancashire were 217 for two at the close with Jennings on 91 not out, his first half-century in a first-class match since last June, and Vilas unbeaten on 83.

At the Kia Oval, Worcestershire were left facing another uphill struggle after Rory Burns stuck a fine 193 to help Surrey to a challenging first-innings total of 434 at the Kia Oval.

However, Daryl Mitchell's gritty 77 not out from 132 balls helped Worcestershire reach 135 for one from 45 overs in reply.

Surrey captain Burns batted for just eight minutes short of nine hours, hitting 18 fours from 408 balls. Burns had resumed on 137, with Surrey 278 for four overnight.

Jeetan Patel and Henry Brookes bowled Warwickshire to the brink of victory over Derbyshire in the battle of Division Two's leading sides at Edgbaston.

Having shared eight wickets in the first innings, the pair added all 10 in the second to bowl out the visitors for 209 on the third day.

That left a victory target of just 89 and Warwickshire were 19 for one at the close.

At Chester-le-Street, Aiden Markram was dismissed for a duck for the third time in three innings as Durham's batting woes continued, handing Leicestershire control.

The South African was unable to register his first runs for Durham, part of the collapse which reduced the home side to 14 for four in response to Leicestershire's total of 440, with Ben Raine claiming three wickets.

Graham Clark offered resistance with a stoic half-century, but the visitors are in a strong position and look well set to end their 17-match winless Championship run having started the day on 301 for four.

Sussex found themselves in a good position against Middlesex after the second day at Hove where Harry Finch hit a maiden County Championship hundred.

The 23-year-old from Hastings scored 103 as the home team recovered from 127 for six to post 323 in response to Middlesex's 230.

A first-innings lead of 93 could prove crucial on a pitch which continued to provide assistance for the bowlers.

Sussex's position looked even better when Ollie Robinson took his eighth wicket of the match and David Wiese struck five balls later to reduce Middlesex to nine for two.

But skipper Dawid Malan and Nick Gubbins battened down the hatches, taking their team to 64 for two at stumps.

Glamorgan batted themselves back into their contest against Kent to build a lead of 193 at Sophia Gardens.

After 19 wickets fell on an opening day during which they were rattled out for 94, Glamorgan closed on 273 for nine in their second innings.

Resuming on 163 for nine, Kent's last wicket pair added a further 11 runs at the start of play to gain a useful first-innings lead of 80.

Friday

At the end of an eventful day of 22 wickets that featured a first-baller for England captain Joe Root and a duck for predecessor Alastair Cook, Yorkshire rose from the ignominy of 50 all out to lead Essex by 69 runs.

Jonny Bairstow, who had contributed just seven from number six first time round, ensured Yorkshire made a better fist of it in the second innings. Promoted to open, Bairstow helped take Yorkshire past their first-innings total inside 11 overs.

Bairstow reached his half-century from 42 balls but Peter Siddle, claiming his fifth of six wickets in the day, gave Bairstow an Ashes-style verbal send-off when the England wicketkeeper played on for exactly 50 to give Essex the breakthrough.

At the close Yorkshire had reached 161 for two.

Experienced quartet Samit Patel, Riki Wessels, Ross Taylor and Stuart Broad combined to leave Nottinghamshire holding the upper hand after day one of their clash with Hampshire at Trent Bridge.

Patel top-scored with 73 while Wessels added 54 and Taylor 47 as the Division One leaders recovered from a poor start to make 302, with Hampshire paceman Fidel Edwards taking four for 84.

England seamer Broad, having contributed 33 with the bat, then dismissed both Hampshire openers cheaply as the visitors closed on 70 for three, still 232 runs behind.

Rory Burns played a captain's innings of 137 not out as Surrey took the first-day honours against Worcestershire at the Kia Oval.

Burns was joined by Ben Foakes, who scored a fluent 72 from 105 balls, in a fourth-wicket stand of 125 as Surrey reached 278 for four against Division One's bottom side.

Joe Leach's two-wicket burst immediately after lunch, in which he had both Scott Borthwick and Ryan Patel caught behind, initially pegged Surrey back to 99 for three - before Burns and Foakes carefully launched the counter-attack in impressive fashion.

Marcus Trescothick and George Bartlett both made centuries as Somerset dominated day one of their match against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Trescothick made exactly 100 while Bartlett contributed 110 as the visitors finished on 321 for five.

In Division Two, Durham captain Paul Collingwood's decision to field was punished as Leicestershire compiled 301 for four on day one at Chester-le-Street.

Michael Carberry, Paul Horton and Mark Cosgrove all made 50s as the home side's bowlers toiled on a flat pitch, leaving them with an uphill task to get back into the Division Two contest.

Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson produced County Championship best figures of seven for 58 as Middlesex were bowled out for 230 at Hove.

It was the second time this season that Robinson had taken seven wickets in an innings - last month he enjoyed a career-best return of seven for 23 against Loughborough MCC University on the same ground.

But Middlesex hit back when Tim Murtagh took two wickets in successive overs to leave Sussex five for two in the fifth over.

James Harris also struck twice to leave the match in the balance with Sussex 60 for four at the close.

Glamorgan fought back with the ball after their afternoon batting collapse against Kent as 19 wickets fell in two sessions at Sophia Gardens.

The hosts suffered an astonishing collapse after lunch, losing all 10 wickets for 37 runs in only 75 minutes, as Darren Stevens and Matt Henry exploited the overcast conditions to share the wickets.

But when bad light ended play with three overs remaining, Kent were 163 for nine after Timm van der Gugten took six wickets.

Jonathan Trott was one of four players to make a half-century as Warwickshire took control on day two against Derbyshire.

The former England batsman, who on Thursday announced he would be retiring at the end of the season, scored 76 as Warwickshire closed on 375 for six at Edgbaston.

Matt Lamb, with a career-best 79 not out, nightwatchman Chris Wright (72), Will Rhodes (50) and Ian Bell (44) also made contributions as the Division Two leaders opened up a 57-run lead over their nearest challengers in the table.

Thursday

Wayne Madsen unfurled a century of high skill and courage as Warwickshire and Derbyshire swapped blows on an engrossing opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match at Edgbaston.

In a clash of Division Two's early-season front-runners, Derbyshire chose to bat and made 318, to which Warwickshire replied with 32 for one by the close.

The visitors' key player was Madsen who steered his side away from early trouble with a classy 144 - his 27th first-class century.

It was completed despite a painful blow on the head from a Henry Brookes bouncer when the batsman had 82.

After a seven-minutes-and-20-seconds delay for treatment, Madsen carried on with resolve undiminished to at least partially vindicate Derbyshire captain Billy Godleman's decision to make first use.

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