Leicestershire grab top spot in reshuffle

All 18 first-class counties were in action on Friday on a balmy summer's evening. But the tie of the night came at Edgbaston, where Gloucestershire held their nerve to beat Warwickshire by three runs thanks, in part, to Jon Lewis keeping his cool in the final over. Gloucestershire made 188 for 6 and then managed to stave off a late assault from Tony Frost, who blazed 33 off 13 balls.

Similar excitement in Cardiff, where Glamorgan clinched a one-wicket victory against Somerset. The visitors have had two exciting nights on the bounce; this evening's heart-racer didn't go their way, though, despite half-centuries from the in-form Australian duo of Justin Langer and Cameron White. They made 185 for 3, but it was another Aussie who was celebrating - Mark Cosgrove - after he and Andrew Davies took Glamorgan to the win on the final ball.

Involved in a thrilling tie with Somerset one evening; the next, Northamptonshire found themselves rolling over Worcestershire at New Road without so much as a blink. They lost just Usman Afzaal in chasing a lowly 87 for the win, with Sourav Ganguly and David Sales firing them home. It was Northants' first outright win.

Essex crushed Hampshire at Chelmsford to find themselves in second place, nestling behind Surrey who they are due to face on Saturday. Ronnie Irani topscored for the hosts with 81 not out as they hounded down the 159 they needed.

Surrey retained their pole position despite losing by five wickets to Sussex at Hove. Yasir Arafat took 4 for 21 to limit Surrey to 123. Sussex took their time to wrap up the win, though, as their innings went into the 20th over.

Min Patel took four wickets in a 17-run victory for Kent at Lord's to leave Middlesex firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, having now lost all three matches.

Leicestershire coursed to top spot with an emphatic 86-run victory against Derbyshire at the County Ground.

Nottinghamshire knocked Yorkshire off the top spot - and leapfrogged them into second at the same time - thanks to the efforts of David Hussey and Chris Read. Hussey made 58 and Read chipped in 48 as Notts made 195 for 4 at Trent Bridge. Darren Lehmann's 48 wasn't enough to do the job for Yorkshire.

Durham consigned Lancashire to the bottom of the North Division with a six-wicket win at Chester-le-Street. The hosts restricted Lancashire to 135 for 9 and knocked off the runs with ease, led by Dale Benkenstein's unbeaten half-century. It was Durham's first win in three matches.