Rikki Clarke

It's only fair that the county game receives some of the praise for its part in England's success story. The Championship to provide the foundations for the international side

County cricket doesn't have a transfer system but it may not be far away as more players are being enticed to new clubs

It was a day with two outstanding figures, one of them, unusually, a fielder. Steven Croft's first century for three years - only the second of the all-rounder's career in first-class cricket - had the most influence on the match

Warwickshire Bears preserved their slim chance of qualifying for the Clydesdale Bank 40 semi-finals with a 51-run victory over Hampshire under the Edgbaston lights.

Surrey strengthened their bid for a place in the last four of the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a nail-biting three-wicket win over Warwickshire at Guildford

Warwickshire closed in on their sixth win in nine County Championship Division One games after dominating for the third consecutive day against Sussex at Arundel

Sussex opener Ed Joyce celebrated his promotion to captain with his sixth half-century of the season but it was Warwickshire who took the first-day honours in the Division One clash at Arundel

It took less than an hour for Warwickshire to wrap-up victory on the final day of their Championship match against Somerset.

They may have dragged the match into a fourth day, but Somerset will surely stumble to their fourth defeat of a bitterly disappointing first half of the Championship season early on the final morning. With nine second-innings wickets down, they lead Warwi

A century of rare class from Mohammad Yousuf earned Warwickshire the initiative on the first day of their Championship match against Worcestershire at Edgbaston

Impressive bowling from Rikki Clarke and Boyd Rankin put Warwickshire on top after the opening day against Lancashire

Chris Broad once remarked that he had 'run out of expletives' to describe a passage of play. While it might not have been exactly what Broad meant, the phrase would have been perfectly apt in summing up the third - and final - day of Somerset's Champions

Ian Bell smashed a superb century as Warwickshire batted themselves ever closer to County Championship Division One safety at The Rose Bowl

Warwickshire stayed on top of their Clydesdale Bank 40 group after trumping an 82-ball century by Scotland's overseas player, George Bailey, at Edgbaston

It may not have looked a particularly demanding target on paper but, with a wretched batting record and their top division status at stake, Warwickshire produced one of their best performances

Essex and Warwickshire found themselves locked in a tense struggle at Southend on a day which saw a total of 17 wickets fall for 234 runs

Essex were indebted to tail-enders Bryce McGain and Tony Palladino for achieving some semblance of respectability in their County Championship battle against Warwickshire at Southend

Rikki Clarke and Gareth Cross have received penalties under the ECB's discipline code following separate incidents of dissent last week

Yorkshire pulled off a dramatic six-wicket victory over Warwickshire at Headingley to increase their lead to 21 points at the top of Division One of the County Championship table.