Somerset hold their nerve

Division One

Points table

Middlesex and Durham contested a tight match at Lord's but it was the home side who ran out winners, by 13 runs. When Durham slumped to 99 for 5 chasing 259 it seemed that the game was over, but Gary Scott (49*) helped to rally the troops and they made a handy fist of things, but in the end the total was just too much for them. Owais Shah did the damage for Middlesex, blasting an unbeaten 122 from 109 balls, and he was well-supported by Scott Styris's 74 not out; they shared an unbroken - and crucial - stand of 145 runs.

Usman Afzaal and Robert White both hit rapid fifties to set up victory for Northamptonshire at Northampton. The home side made a mountainous 271 that proved too much for Nottinghamshire who made a game chase, but were always behind the target. Lance Klusener stood out among the bowlers - he took 4 for 54 from his 7.5 overs.

Division Two

Points table

The game of the day came from the Rose Bowl where Somerset edged a low-scoring thriller with three balls to go. Hampshire made just 156 but some tight bowling - in particular Shaun Udal's 2 for 32 - kept them in the hunt till the end, although Matthew Wood stood firm from the top with an unbeaten 77. But it was Somerset's bowlers who had the edge; Richard Johnson impressing with 1 for 17 from seven overs, and Arul Suppiah took 2 for 20 from his seven. Hampshire's topscorer was Dominic Thornely, who made 66.

Surrey coasted to an easy eight-wicket win against Derbyshire at Chesterfield. Nayan Doshi took five wickets to spin out Derbyshire for 207, then Ally Brown and James Benning put on a commanding opening stand of 155 to set up the win, Brown making a 68-ball hundred and Benning a 59-ball 66. Brown's knock included eight fours and eight sixes, Benning's 11 fours and just the one six, with the pair continuing their good form in the Twenty20. Mark Ramprakash (33*) completed the job with Mark Butcher who didn't even need to face a ball.

Gloucestershire dominated a non-contest against Yorkshire at Cheltenham . Alex Gidman's 3 for 21 helped to chip out Yorkshire for just 154, with Craig White's 69 the only contribution of note. In reply, Hamish Marshall and Chris Taylor both made unbeaten fifties in quick-time to take Gloucestershire to an eight-wicket win with more than 16 overs to spare. Their unbroken stand was worth 104.