Debutant Rashid spins Yorkshire fine victory

Day 4
Lancashire narrowly avoided pulling off one of the more remarkable victories this season as Kent limped over the line after making heavy work of chasing down 215 at Canterbury. Seemingly on auto-pilot at 122 for 1, with Martin van Jaarsveld and David Fulton playing confidently, a sudden rush of wickets had Lancashire supporters, and players, scenting an unlikely victory. Though Dominic Cork was the man who removed van Jaarsveld it was Gary Keedy, the left-arm spinner, who proved the main threat snaffling four quick wickets to send Kent tumbling from 122 for 1 to 159 for 6. Amjad Khan (19) and Min Patel (16) showed great character after tea, to edge Kent over the line by just two wickets and earn them 22 points.

Day 3
A magnificent matchwinning 6 for 67 from Adil Rashid, the 18-year-old legspinner from Leeds UCCE, demolished Warwickshire by an innings and 96 runs at Scarborough as Yorkshire wrapped up their second win on the bounce. Warwickshire, so hapless in the field yesterday, were similarly clueless with the bat as Rashid, who was making his debut, ran through their top order while Tim Bresnan (3 for 40) mopped up the tail. Yorkshire took 22 points and Warwickshire just 3.

Silly cricket, in the style of hit-out-and-declare bowling, reached Southgate as Murray Goodwin clobbered 156 from just 50 balls, launching 11 sixes and 19 fours, to give Sussex a 420-run lead over Middlesex. The hosts were bundled out for 466 before Richard Montgomerie and Carl Hopkinson put on a solid 132 for the first wicket. Enter Goodwin, at No. 4, who proceeded to smash the part-time bowling all over North London in 45 minutes of carnage; his hundred came from a mere 31 balls with 13 fours and seven sixes as he tucked into the likes of Nick Compton, Ed Joyce - and even the wicketkeeper, David Nash. Indeed Compton was taken for 94 from just six overs. He finally fell attempting to hit Nash for another boundary and was stumped, ironically, by the stand-in wicketkeeper Eion Morgan. Sussex declared at the close and Middlesex will need 421 on the final day.

Day 2
Hamish Marshall struck a rather lonely hundred for Gloucestershire on the second day against Worcestershire at New Road, as his side were dismissed for 276 - earning them a first-innings lead of just five. It was Zaheer Khan, the former Indian left-armer, who did most of the damage with 5 for 74. However, Worcestershire wobbled in their second innings to 26 for 4 - all four wickets to Jon Lewis, inevitably - before Ben Smith (73 not out) steadied the ship to give the home side an all-too-slender lead of 164 with one wicket remaining.

Day 3
The Essex middle-order mainstays, Ronnie Irani and Grant Flower, both struck impressive hundreds as Essex crept up on Glamorgan's imposing first-innings total of 474 on the third day at Chelmsford. Under a blazing hot sun, on a pitch offering little assistance to any of the bowlers, Irani and Flower put on 181 for the fifth wicket before Robert Croft, the Glamorgan captain, made the breakthrough. One didn't bring two, however; James Foster came in and played attractively for his 64, crunching 10 fours in his 91-ball innings as Essex went to stumps on 452 for 9.

It is not a match for bowlers at Guildford. After Justin Langer's marathon 342 in Somerset's 688 for 8 declared, today Mark Ramprakash (167) and Rikki Clarke (165 not out) belted the opposition as Surrey reached 632 for 6 on the third day. While Ramprakash was at his classical best, Clarke was more the aggressor, smashing 22 fours and clearing the boundary three times. However it was Azhar Mahmood who really injected spice into Surrey's innings with a boundary-filled 98 from just 95 balls.

A super knock of 90 from Jeremy Snape allied with vital contributions from David Masters and Stuart Broad, took Leicestershire to an impressive 515 and a useful 129-run lead over Derbyshire on the third day at Grace Road. Masters fell shortly after making his fifty but Broad, who was once an opening batsman in his teenage years before a sudden growth spurt tempted him to become a fast bowler, smacked nine fours in his unbeaten 65 to take Leicestershire past 500. It was Broad's second first-class fifty. Derbyshire then made a confident reply in their second innings, knocking off the deficit without fuss. Only quick runs tomorrow morning, however, and a sporting declaration can save this match from petering out into a draw.