da blaze casino： A round-up from the latest action in the County Championship
da dobrowin： Cricinfo staff21-Aug-2009Division OneChris Read hit his fourth hundred of the season to give Nottinghamshire a fighting chance of saving their match against Hampshire although they are still set to follow-on on the final day Trent Bridge. The visitors were reeling on 48 for 4 at the start of play but the middle and lower order, led by Read, performed an impressive rearguard which lasted until the final ball of the day. Samit Patel and Bilal Shafayat offered early resistance until Patel was lbw for 35 and Shafayat edged behind for 64. When Ali Brown was trapped by Imran Tahir’s top-spinner, Nottinghamshire were still well behind but Read found some strong partners. Mark Ealham contributed 32, then Andre Adams helped Read add 97 for the ninth wicket. Read brought up maximum batting points with a six before David Griffiths lost his off stump at the end of the day.Adil Rashid continued his sparkling form with another career-best hundred as Yorkshire fought back magnificently against Lancashire to take control of the Roses clash at Headingley. The hosts lost just two wickets, building a lead of 110 going into the final day. The key stand came between Rashid, missed at slip on 13 by VVS Laxman, and Gerard Brophy as the pair added 168 in 49 overs – a Yorkshire record in Roses battles – to lift them from a dangerous 144 for 6. Brophy, also dropped at third man on 41, fell one short of his hundred when he edged Gary Keedy behind, but nothing stopped Rashid who passed three figures off 154 balls and was still going strong at the close. With him was Ajmal Shahzad and so far the pair have added 74 to follow their stand of 192 against Hampshire last week.Click here for the report on the third day’s play between Somerset and Sussex at Taunton where rain wiped out most of the action.Click here for John Ward’s report from Chester-le-Street as Durham claim another victory.
Durham 127 0 0 5 0 186 Nottinghamshire 11 3 1 07 0 139 Somerset 113 1 0 7 0 136 Lancashire 12 3 2 07 0 130 Warwickshire 121 2 0 9 0 119 Sussex 11 2 3 06 0 110 Yorkshire 111 2 0 8 0 106 Hampshire 11 2 3 06 0 104 Worcestershire 110 8 0 3 0 57 Table does not include bonus points for ongoing matchesDivision TwoAn unbroken tenth-wicket stand of 37 between Greg White and David Lucas guided Northamptonshire to a tight two-wicket victory against Derbyshire at Chesterfield to boost their promotion hopes. They were aided by a composed 42 from David Willey – who offered a tough return chance on 10 – but when he fell it needed the two bowlers to hold their nerve. Derbyshire’s final chance came when White was dropped high at second slip by Chris Rogers moments before the win was secured. Derbyshire added 21 to their overnight score and struck an early blow when Niall O’Brien was caught behind. Rob White attacked the run chase with 37 off 27 balls, but the home side kept chipping away. White was caught behind from an expansive drive and Alex Wakely, who made a more sedate 33, was bowled off the inside edge by Steffan Jones who soon bagged Rikki Wessels to leave Northamptonshire 137 for 5. The game appeared to swing decisively in Derbyshire’s way when a rapid Nantie Hayward removed Andrew Hall and Johan van der Wath in three balls as the allrounders edged into the slips. Willey, though, added 40 in nine overs with White to bring the target in view although there was plenty of tension – not helped by occasional showers – before victory was secured to move to third.Ravi Bopara answered his omission from the deciding Ashes Test with 201 as Essex gave themselves a great chance of victory against Surrey at Colchester. Bopara’s innings ensured Essex overcame injury problems after Mark Pettini was forced to retire hurt with a back spasm and Ryan ten Doeschate went off after a blow on the hand. Bopara reached his double from 292 balls but fell shortly afterwards when he drove to point having taken the total past 400. Tim Phillips played a valuable innings with 69 and the lower order all chipped in. Danish Kaneria, at No. 11, clubbed 31 off 21 balls then, handed the new ball, made two breakthroughs before the close to leave Surrey struggling on 6 for 2, still 111 behind.Leicestershire are poised for victory against Gloucestershire after another day where ball dominated Grace Road. The home side struggled to 133 in their second innings, but that still left a target of 364 and they’d stumbled to 133 for 5 by the close after losing two wickets in two balls late in the day. Chris Taylor was superbly run out by James Benning and next ball Claude Henderson bowled Kadeer Ali for a battling 48. Leicestershire almost failed to reach three figures when they sank to 95 for 5 with Hamish Marshall – who had never taken more than a single wicket in an innings – claiming a career-best 4 for 24, grabbing the first wicket of the day when Benning was caught at mid-off. A last-wicket stand of 38 provided some valuable breathing space and Rob Woodman fell early. Ali and Marshall added 58 before Wayne White struck and AJ Harris removed Alex Gidman. Then the double blow in the dying moments of the evening made a tall order seem enormous.2nd daySpin is playing a key role at Swansea as Glamorgan made Middlesex struggled in what is shaping as a low-scoring match. Robert Croft and Dean Cosker shared five wickets as the visitors struggled to 166 for 8. Sam Robson, the Australia-born opener, top-scored with 49 until edging to slip shortly after Eoin Morgan had been caught behind playing an expansive reverse sweep. Middlesex were soon 92 for 5 when Ben Scott was bowled off an inside edge against Croft, who then had Dawid Malan taken at slip. Shaun Udal did his best to stop the slide with an unbeaten 32, but a significant deficit is on the cards. Udal had earlier ended Glamorgan’s first innings to finish with 4 for 59.
Kent 116 2 0 3 0 152 Derbyshire 13 2 2 09 0 140 Northamptonshire 114 3 0 4 0 126 Gloucestershire 11 4 4 03 0 125 Essex 113 3 0 5 0 114 Surrey 11 1 1 09 0 113 Glamorgan 101 2 0 7 0 105 Middlesex 11 1 4 06 0 98 Leicestershire 111 2 0 8 0 89 Table does not include bonus points for ongoing matches
