Morne Morkel
Morne Morkel

County Championship review: Morkel blows Yorkshire away


Surrey beat Yorkshire by seven wickets to extend their lead at the top of Specsavers County Championship Division One.

Captain Rory Burns top scored with 97 as Surrey, 89 without loss at the start of the final day, comfortably chased a target of 228 at Scarborough.

Burns, who hit 15 fours in 146 balls, shared 99 for the first wicket with Mark Stoneman (32) and 47 for the second with Scott Borthwick (62) before falling just short of a third championship century this season.

Surrey now hold a 22-point lead over second-placed Nottinghamshire, who have played a game more, with the two sides meeting at Trent Bridge later this month.

Notts lost ground after being held to a draw by Worcestershire in their day-night clash at Trent Bridge.

Joe Clarke batted for over five hours to defy a home attack that was missing Stuart Broad, who did not return to the field for the last two sessions.

The 22-year old finished with an unbeaten 177, his third ton of the season, as the hosts fell two wickets short of victory.

Luke Fletcher (three for 54) and Harry Gurney (three for 91) could not force victory for the hosts, who had set Worcestershire a victory target of 462.

Worcestershire ended on 368 for eight with Clarke unbeaten on 177 from 214 balls.

Somerset stay third after Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory defied Essex for more than an hour and a half in deteriorating light to draw at Chelmsford.

The sixth-wicket pair came together after Somerset, chasing 319 in 50 overs, had lost three wickets in 11 balls to collapse to 116 for five in the 20th over.

But they put on a masterclass of patient, defensive batting with Abell finishing on 21 from 89 deliveries and Gregory with a 90-ball 15.

The captains shook hands with Somerset 151 for five, leaving fourth-placed Essex five points behind their rivals, who in turn are 32 adrift of Surrey.

Joe Weatherley struck a maiden first-class century as Lancashire and Hampshire played out a high-scoring draw at Old Trafford.

The players shook hands at 4.50pm to confirm the result when the visitors declared on 237 for five in their second innings, leading by 277.

Opener Weatherley batted the whole day for an unbeaten 126 off 260 balls - his second century for Hampshire and his first in the championship.

Jordan Clark was the pick of the Lancashire bowlers with figures of two for 18 from 14 overs.

Warwickshire moved back to the top of Division Two by recording a comfortable 86-run win over Durham at Emirates Riverside.

Jeetan Patel was Warwickshire's star man in the second innings as he took the 32nd five-wicket haul of his career.

Patel ended with figures of six for 83 as Durham managed just 226 and Warwickshire claimed their fifth win of the season.

Durham were left to rue batting collapses from their middle order to slump to their second defeat on the spin.

Tim Ambrose (39) and Keith Barker (32 not out) scored quick runs as Warwickshire declared at 185 for nine, with only Nathan Rimmington (61) providing late resistance for Durham.

Northamptonshire climbed off the bottom with a second successive win, a 233-run victory over Glamorgan in Cardiff.

The visitors needed just 33 overs of the final day to condemn the hosts to a fourth defeat in five championship outings.

Seekkuge Prasanna took four for 49 as Glamorgan, who resumed on 121 for four, added only another 79 runs.

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