County Championship review: Somerset retain lead at the top after win over Nottinghamshire

Day Three

Division One

Somerset retained their lead at the top of the Specsavers County Championship with a 132-run victory over Nottinghamshire at Taunton.

Jack Leach and Jamie Overton both claimed four wickets each as the visitors - set a target of 255 to win - were bowled out for 122, Ravichandran Ashwin producing some resistance with 41.

Somerset had resumed day three at seven for one, but were dismissed for 169 in their second innings, Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali having battled on to 65 not out. Nottinghamshire left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White took five for 73 on his first-class debut and Ashwin five for 59.

Essex had earlier defeated Yorkshire by eight wickets, also with a full day to spare, to maintain their 100 per cent home record and keep pressure on the leaders.

Having been set a victory target of 92, former England captain Sir Alastair Cook (six) and Tom Westley (31) were both out. However, Nick Browne's unbeaten 33 and Dan Lawrence, 18 not out, saw Essex through in the 22nd over at Chelmsford.

Keshav Maharaj added an entertaining 85 off 71 balls after Yorkshire had slumped to 81 for six. Australian Peter Siddle finished with four for 32 as the visitors were all out for 211.

Sam Hain's second century of the match, supported by battling innings from Ben Mike (72) and captain Jeetan Patel (70), secured Warwickshire an unlikely draw against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.

Hain, who had not scored a Championship hundred for three years, added 104 to his unbeaten 129, ably partnered by on-loan Mike, who claimed his maiden half-century in any format.

Patel led another long partnership of almost two hours with fellow tailender Henry Brookes as Warwickshire saw out the match at 347 for eight.

Hampshire had needed seven wickets on the final day, but were ultimately left frustrated as their title hopes were dealt another blow. Kyle Abbott finished with five for 78.

At the Oval, Kent took command against Surrey as veteran all-rounder Darren Stevens secured season-best figures of four for 46.

Surrey were reduced to 179 for six in their second innings when bad light stopped play, the hosts only 81 runs ahead overall.

In reply to Kent's 369 all out, Surrey had wiped out the 98-run first-innings deficit before Stevens and Matt Milnes, who took two wickets, shifted the momentum after Dean Elgar had made 65.

Division Two

A five-wicket haul from veteran seamer Tim Murtagh helped clinch a 78-run victory for Middlesex over Gloucestershire inside three days at Merchant Taylors' School.

Chasing 216, Gloucestershire were all out for 137 as Middlesex's secured only their second Championship win of the campaign.

Graeme Van Buuren finished 57 not out, while Toby Roland-Jones - who was unbeaten on 51 in Middlesex's second innings of 244 - claimed three wickets to finish with match figures of 10 for 79.

At Grace Road, Nathan Rimmington made an early breakthrough after Durham had set Leicestershire a formidable victory target of 393.

Rimmington, who contributed 92 after being sent in as nightwatchman, snared Foxes captain Paul Horton (30) caught behind as the home side closed at 58 for one.

Alex Lees (92) and Liam Trevaskis (64) had helped Durham build on a century from captain Cameron Bancroft to declare at 487 for seven.

Callum Ferguson and Ben Cox stabilised Worcestershire to frustrate Derbyshire's hopes of a three-day win at Kidderminster.

The hosts had looked in disarray at 48 for five just before tea, but by the close had reached 156 without further loss - Ferguson unbeaten on 71 and Cox 44 not out - requiring another 217 runs for victory.

Derbyshire resumed on 272 for six, but were all out for 377, on-loan batsman Tom Lace finishing unbeaten at 132. Ed Barnard took four wickets and Joe Leach three.

Rob Keogh hit 74 as Northamptonshire closed day three against Lancashire at Wantage Road on 210 for six in their second innings, a lead of 341.

The hosts had slumped to 14 for three ahead of Keogh's steady intervention, passing fifty in 97 balls before he was run out after tea.

Day Two

Division One

Somerset spinners Dom Bess and Jack Leach bowled Division One leaders Somerset into a strong position on day two of their Specsavers County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Taunton.

The two England bowlers shared eight wickets as Nottinghamshire collapsed from 201 for two to 241 for nine, with Chris Nash (50 not out) unable to continue after being struck on the head by a Jamie Overton bouncer.

Bess finished with five for 59 and Leach three for 79, their combined efforts giving Somerset a first-innings lead of 85 before they made seven for one in their second innings to extend their advantage to 92.

Essex look well placed for their sixth win in seven matches as they lead by 82 runs against Yorkshire, who have seven second-innings wickets remaining.

Ryan ten Doeschate gave an inspirational captain's performance with the bat as his unbeaten 70 lifted Essex's first-innings total to 328 all out for a lead of 120 at Chelmsford.

Peter Siddle then removed Will Fraine and Gary Ballance in the space of 10 balls at the start of Yorkshire's second innings and Simon Harmer snared Tom Kohler-Cadmore to leave the visitors on 38 for three at the close.

Kyle Abbott's whirlwind three for 18 in five overs put Hampshire on course to beat Warwickshire, who had been set 404 to win at the Ageas Bowl.

The South African accounted for openers Dominic Sibley and Will Rhodes, along with nightwatchman Olly Stone in a breathless stint - which left Warwickshire on 31 for three at the close after Hampshire had declared their second innings on 171 for eight.

Kent's Joe Denly made a battling 88 against Surrey at The Kia Oval to give his side a lead of 14 with six first-innings wickets remaining.

Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond (64) gave Kent the edge with a third wicket partnership of 110 in 34 overs, while Heino Kuhn made an aggressive 50 not out as Kent reached 285 for four at the close.

Division Two

In Division Two, Lancashire's Alex Davies made his first century of the season to provide some much-needed resistance for his side at Wantage Road.

Davies' 124 not out glued together the visitors' reply to Northamptonshire's 442 as they closed day two on 211 for four, 231 runs adrift with six wickets remaining.

It was a vital innings with Lancashire forced to battle back after conceding their highest total of the summer and then slipping to two for two in the fifth over of their reply.

Derbyshire's Tom Lace was left unbeaten on 101 as his side moved into a commanding 267-run lead with four second-innings wickets left against Worcestershire at Kidderminster.

Lace, on loan for the season from Middlesex, reached three figures in the final over of the day with a cover drive for four off Daryl Mitchell as Derbyshire closed on 272 for six, having resumed the second day on 19 for none.

Toby Roland-Jones claimed career-best bowling figures of seven for 52 on day two of Middlesex's game against Gloucestershire at Merchant Taylors' School.

Roland-Jones bowled Middlesex back into the match after they had been reduced to 172 all out in their first innings by restricting Gloucestershire to 201 all out in reply.

But Gloucestershire's Ryan Higgins, who had made 61 not out with the bat, took three for 16 to leave the hosts on 96 for three in their second innings, a lead of just 67.

Cameron Bancroft (109) struck his second Championship century of the season to lift his side into a 96-run lead with nine second-innings wickets remaining against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.

Skipper Bancroft shared an opening partnership of 187 with Alex Lees (70 not out) after Durham had bowled Leicestershire out for 212, conceding a first-innings deficit of 95.

Day One

Division One

Steve Davies and Dom Bess rescued Somerset from potential embarrassment on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Taunton.

The Division One leaders were reduced to 145 for six by their bottom-placed opponents, with Jake Ball, Luke Wood and Ravi Ashwin claiming two wickets each.

But Bess then contributed 51 to a seventh-wicket stand of 128 in 37 overs with Davies, who hit 74.

Teenager Rob Yates fell nine runs short of his maiden first-class century as Warwickshire battled hard to eat into Hampshire's huge first-innings total of 539.

Top-order batsman Yates, who only signed his first professional deal last December, showed maturity which belied his age to guide his side towards the follow-on target.

The 19-year-old academy graduate added a vital 142-run stand for the third wicket with fellow talented youngster Sam Hain, who collected his second Championship half-century of the season.

Elsewhere, Simon Harmer claimed his sixth five-wicket haul of the summer to take his tally past 50 for the third-successive season as Essex dismissed Yorkshire inside two sessions at Chelmsford.

Surrey had the better of a truncated and attritional first day at The Kia Oval as Kent failed to make the most of exaggerated movement before and after lunch.

Play started an hour late because of a wet outfield and, if the Surrey batsmen did not know how difficult conditions would be, they were given a clear indication after just two deliveries.

Rory Burns was dropped by Sean Dickson at first slip before Mark Stoneman shouldered arms and was lbw off Harry Podmore.

Division Two

Leicestershire's seamers bowled outstandingly to dismiss Durham for just 117 after the visitors had chosen to bat first in a Division Two match at the Fischer County Ground.

Chris Wright was the pick of the attack, claiming five for 30, his first five-wicket return since joining the county from Warwickshire at the end of last season.

By the close of play Leicestershire had passed their opponents' score and begun to build a first-innings lead, captain Paul Horton leading the way with a half-century.

Twenty wickets fell on the opening day of Worcestershire's match with Derbyshire at Kidderminster.

Derbyshire opted to bat and were dismissed for 108 in 44.2 overs, with Worcestershire club captain Joe Leach and Charlie Morris inflicting most of the damage.

The home side then also struggled for runs and were bowled out for 113, with Luis Reece their chief destroyer.

Temba Bavuma made his first century in county cricket as Northamptonshire enjoyed a fabulous opening day against Lancashire at Wantage Road.

Bavuma, who had only made one half-century in 11 innings before, lit up the afternoon with 103 runs as Northamptonshire closed on 334 for five.

Josh Shaw returned his best figures of the season as Gloucestershire gained the upper hand by bowling Middlesex out.

The 23-year-old paceman finished with four for 33 as the home side were dismissed for just 172 at Merchant Taylors' School, with former Middlesex all-rounder Ryan Higgins taking three for 52.

However, Toby Roland-Jones brought the Seaxes back into contention in the evening session, picking up both wickets to leave Gloucestershire 59 for two at the close.