Bell hammers Essex to heavy defeat

National League Division One

Division One table

Essex 182 lost to Warwickshire 307 for 5 by 125 runs at Chelmsford
Scorecard
Ian Bell continued his return to from with a quickfire century and five wickets as Warwickshire won their first NUL game of the season in style against Essex at Chelmsford. Bell smashed the ball to all parts of the County Ground with a brutal 125 from 109 balls, as Warwickshire amassed 307 for 5. Just like their reply against Surrey in the Twenty20 Cup yesterday, Essex were never at the races. Neil Carter picked up two early wickets, and Bell - who finished with 5 for 41, his first ever five-wicket haul - knew it was his day when he had Andy Flower caught for 22. That signalled the end of any hope for Essex, despite a late onslaught from Graham Napier.

Kent 222 lost to Gloucestershire 223 by six wickets at Beckenham
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A 95-run stand between Matt Windows and Alex Gidman lifted Gloucestershire to within four points of leaders Surrey with a six-wicket win over Kent. The pair came together with Gloucestershire on 128 for 4 after the top four had all got starts, and they played with a mixture of aggression and control to see Gloucestershire home with three overs to go. Andrew Symonds and Geraint Jones had earlier rescued Kent to 222 for 8 after they had slumped to 68 for 5. Symonds played a captain's innings of 56, and even though Kent are yet to play a Twenty20 Cup match, Jones got in some good practice with 74 not out from 78 balls, including seven fours.

Worcestershire 193 for 7 lost to Leicestershire 198 for 8 by two wickets at Worcester
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Leicestershire scrambled to a two-wicket win over Worcestershire in a low-scoring game at New Road. Chasing only 193, Phil DeFreitas led from the front with a captain's innings of 68 at the top of the order as he and Darren Maddy (56) rescued Leicestershire from 19 for 3. David Leatherdale then threatened to pull things back for Worcestershire with four quick wickets, including Maddy's, but Trevor Ward held his nerve with a steady 31 not out. In Worcestershire's stop-start innings, Stephen Peters top-scored with 50, and Ben Smith chipped in with 37 while Brad Hodge took 3 for 34.

National League Division Two

Division Two table

Somerset 299 for 9 beat Scotland 296 for 4 by one wicket at Taunton
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Somerset scraped home by one wicket in thrilling finish against Scotland, but the day belonged to Rahul Dravidm who showed his tartan colours with a commanding 120 not out, including 10 fours and three sixes. He shared a third-wicket stand of 67 with Ryan Watson, who scored a stylish 75, and then put on a further 100 with Jon Kent (48). Only Steffan Jones completed his allocation of overs as Somerset struggled to tame Scotland's big-hitting on a good Taunton track. However, two enterprising knocks from Carl Gazzard (81) and Jamie Cox (82 off 78 balls) set-up an enthralling run-chase. Somerset continued to lose wickets down the order and when Rob Turner was out they were in trouble on 254 for 7. But a calm 34 not out from Somerset's captain, Michael Burns, who guided his team to victory with five balls to spare.

Derbyshire 246 for 9 lost to Lancashire 251 for 6 by eight runs at Derby
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Lancashire held their nerve to pull off an eight-run win over Derbyshire and move themselves into second place in the table. Mal Loye top-scored with 63 in Lancashire's solid 251 while the overseas pair of Stuart Law (46) and Carl Hooper (37) were also in the runs. Derbyshire were quickly reduced to 61 for 5, as Glen Chapple and Kyle Hogg both struck, before Luke Sutton and Dominic Cork led a determined fightback, adding 114 for the sixth-wicket. Cork eventually fell for 49, and when Sutton was caught by Hooper off Chapple for a battling 83, it set up a tense finish. But when Graeme Welch was bowled late in the day by Peter Martin for 23, Derbyshire's chances went with him.

Northamptonshire 148 beat Sussex 135 by 13 runs at Northampton
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Runaway league leaders Northants successfully defended a 148 against Sussex, and so maintained their unbeaten record this season. David Sales (28), Gerard Brophy (31) and Mike Cawdron (22) all made valuable runs, but their score looked well short of par. Andre Nel (2 for 26) and Cawdron (3 for 33) ripped through the Sussex top-order to leave them 55 for 6, and at 98 for 8 the game appeared over. But Mark Davis (26 not out) and Paul Hutchison (20) made Northants sweat with a spirited ninth-wicket stand of 36 in 15 overs to take Sussex to within 15 runs of victory. The recovery ended when Hutchison was run out by attempting a sharp single, and in the next over Jeff Cook bowled Jason Lewry to seal the win.

Nottinghamshire 176 lost to Durham 183 at Nottingham by seven runs
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Five wickets from Neil Killeen guided Durham to a seven-run win over Nottinghamshire in a low-scoring match at Trent Bridge. After Stuart MacGill (3 for 26) and Greg Smith (3 for 16) helped bowl Durham out for 183, in which Martin Love scored 55, a strong Notts batting line up would have been expecting to knock off the runs with ease. However, Killeen, who finished with 5 for 52, took three early wickets and then returned to wrap up the tail as only Gareth Clough looked remotely at home, ending unbeaten on a career-best 42 from 51 balls.