Draws all round as the rain comes out on top

Six matches, six draws: the weather certainly came out on top in the latest round of matches in the Frizzell County Championship. There was a sniff of a result at Edgbaston, where Sussex declared at their overnight score with a lead of 136, and then reduced the leaders Warwickshire to 15 for 3. Mohammad Akram took two of those wickets, and later removed Michael Powell for 39 as well, but Sussex eventually ran out of time. Northants set Gloucestershire 290 in around 65 overs at Bristol, but they settled for 160 for 4 on the eve of their C&G Trophy defence at Lord's. And there was never much prospect of a result at Old Trafford, where Kent skated to 92 for 3 in their second innings before a truce was called.

In Division Two Dimitri Mascarenhas's 104 rescued Hampshire, who had been 50 for 5 overnight, but Durham batted out time for the draw. For the third day out of four there was no play in the matches at Derby and Colwyn Bay.

Northamptonshire 222 (Afzaal 96) and 307 for 3 dec (Afzaal 100*, Sales 82*) drew with Gloucestershire 240 and 160 for 4 (Spearman 69, Hussey 49*) at Northampton
Scorecard
Day 1 report: Wessels to wield axe at Northants - The Daily Telegraph
Day 2 report: Hussey returns to frustrate Northants - The Guardian
Day 3 report: Bracken needed urgently - The Daily Telegraph

Warwickshire 346 and 205 for 7 (Frost 45*) drew with Sussex 482 for 9 dec at Edgbaston
Scorecard
Day 1 report: Gritty Brown rescues leaders - The Guardian
Day 2 report: Montgomerie leads Sussex pursuit - The Times
Day 3 report: Painstaking Prior holds up Warwickshire - The Independent

Kent 266 and 92 for 3 drew with Lancashire 184 (Butler 3-10, Joseph 3-70, Patel 3-51) at Old Trafford
Scorecard
Day 1: only 6.3 overs because of rain
Day 2: no play because of rain
Day 3 report: Red rose left in mire by Patel - The Guardian

Derbyshire 138 for 3 (France 56) drew with Leicestershire at Derby
Scorecard
Day 1: no play because of rain
Day 2: no play because of rain
Day 3 report: France a force to be reckoned with - The Daily Telegraph
Day 4: no play because of rain

Durham 217 and 109 for 4 drew with Hampshire 280 (Pothas 54, Mascarenhas 104, Plunkett 6-74) at Chester-le-Street
Scorecard
Day 1: no play because of rain
Day 2: no play because of rain
Day 3 report: Toil and trouble for Hampshire - The Daily Telegraph

Yorkshire 158 for 5 drew with Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay
Scorecard
Day 1: no play because of rain
Day 2: no play because of rain
Day 3 report: Glamorgan make a point after gentle persuasion - The Guardian
Day 4: no play because of rain

August 25
Essex 135 for 5 (Jefferson 61*) v Surrey at Chelmsford - abandoned, no result
Scorecard

August 24
Middlesex 153 for 2 (Weekes 76*, Strauss 68) beat Somerset 179 (Betts 3-23) by 57 runs (Duckworth/Lewis method)
Scorecard
Report: Strauss composes victorious waltz - The Times

Worcestershire 131 (Smith 50*, Yasir Arafat 4-22) beat Scotland 130 (Watson 44, Hall 3-26) by 1 run at Worcester
Scorecard
Report: Saltires throw away great chance - The Scotsman

August 25
Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire at Trent Bridge - abandoned: this meant that Middlesex were confirmed as second-division champions

August 26
Nottinghamshire 144 for 7 (Anurag Singh 67) beat Scotland 143 (Lockhart 46, MacGill 4-18) at Trent Bridge
Scorecard
Report: Misery keeps on coming as Saltires collapse again - The Herald, Glasgow