Muralitharan destroys Notts

Kent 242 and 65 for 1 beat Nottinghamshire 177 and 126 by nine wickets at Trent Bridge
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Muttiah Muralitharan bowled Kent to victory inside two days at Trent Bridge, as Nottinghamshire's batting crumbled like their much-maligned pitch. After a bright start to their second innings, Notts lost nine wickets for 34 runs, including five ducks, and Kent romped to their victory target inside 14 overs. While Guy Welton and Darren Bicknell were adding 79 for Notts's second wicket, Kent looked like they were in for a scrap. But then Murali got twirling. In 16 chaotic overs, he picked up 6 for 36 - including Chris Read, England's likely wicketkeeper in Sri Lanka this winter, for a golden duck. Nottinghamshire's lead of 61 was never remotely enough.

Sussex 612 v Essex 283 and 18 for 0 at Colchester
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Another shabby performance from Essex put Sussex firmly in command at Colchester, and ensured that the Martin Bicknell-less Surrey would be pushed all the way at the top of the County Championship. Sussex resumed on 521 for 8, but Matt Prior and Jason Lewry batted with consummate ease to take the total into the 600s. Both men finished with career-best scores - Lewry's 70 was his first first-class half-century. Essex began in some style, adding 101 for the first wicket, but Mushtaq Ahmed changed the complexion of the innings with three rapid wickets. Essex folded to 283, and had reached 18 for 0 in the follow-on.

Lancashire 363 for 3 v Middlesex at Old Trafford
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Lancashire's Mark Chilton and Mal Loye stole a march on their mid-table rivals Middlesex, by adding 259 for the second wicket at Old Trafford. Both men scored centuries as Lancashire racked up an imposing 363 for 3 by the close, and the worst is yet to come if Stuart Law and Carl Hooper have their way tomorrow. They have so far added 59 for the fourth wicket. For Middlesex, Abdul Razzaq took two wickets, but it was a day of hard toil.

Surrey 349 for 4 v Leicestershire at Grace Road
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Surrey's batsmen were in typically ominous form on the opening day of their County Championship match against Leicestershire. Each of the five batsmen to get started scored half-centuries, while Rikki Clarke reached the close on 90 not out and is well on course for his second century of the season. Graham Thorpe fell just short once again, caught behind off Jeremy Snape for 87, while Mark Ramprakash continued his excellent form with 55. There was little for Leicestershire to celebrate - Darren Maddy picked up two wickets, but with Sussex closing in on victory at Colchester, the onus is on Surrey to do the business in this match.

Somerset 296 and 32 for 4 v Worcestershire 331 at Worcester
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Nantie Hayward capitalised on Worcestershire's slim first-innings lead to rip into Somerset's top-order at New Road, and boost their hopes of the Second Division title. Worcestershire, 86 for 2 overnight, ground their way to 331, thanks to Stephen Peters's painstaking 103 at the top of the order, and a brisk unbeaten 52 from Gareth Batty at No. 8. But Ian Blackwell docked the tail, and Worcestershire's lead of 35 seemed academic. Not a bit of it. Hayward caused panic from the first ball, picking up the wickets of Matthew Wood and Thomas Webley, with Neil Edwards running himself out for 6. Matt Mason capitalised to dismiss Jamie Cox for a first-ball duck, and Somerset's hopes were once again on their captain and first-innings hero, Michael Burns.

Derbyshire 138 and 66 for 0 v Northamptonshire 647 for 5 dec at Derby
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David Sales subjected Derbyshire to a humiliating day of leather-chasing, as he cracked his way to an unbeaten 200 from 217 balls to set Northants on their way towards a comprehensive (and vital) victory. Sales was one of three centurions in the innings - Mike Hussey added just 12 to his overnight 103 before being run out, while Phil Jaques made 123 - but he was by far the most commanding. He thumped 25 fours and two sixes in all, and added 139 for the fourth wicket with Michael Powell, and 196 with Jeff Cook. A first-innings lead of 509 was just gratuitous, but Derbyshire at least made it to stumps with all their wickets intact.

Durham 515 v Hampshire 88 for 4 at Chester-le-Street
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Martin Love turned his first century of the season into a magnificent 273, as Durham put Hampshire to the sword at Chester-le-Street. Overnight, Hampshire had been clinging on at 388 for 7, but Love ensured that those last three wickets paid full dividend, scoring 92 of Durham's last 127 runs. He was eventually last man out, bowled by Shaun Udal, but if he had made batting look easy, it was an illusion. Hampshire stuttered to 88 for 4 at the close, with all three of their Test batsmen - John Crawley, Simon Katich and Robin Smith - back in the pavilion.

Gloucestershire 263 v Glamorgan 331 and 276 for 9 at Bristol
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Michael Powell kept Glamorgan's promotion push on track with a second-innings 90, as Gloucestershire were made to work for their wickets at Bristol. After winding up Gloucestershire's first innings in the first seven overs of the day, Powell dropped anchor to eke out a vital 344-run lead, and it might have been more had rain not brought an early end to the day. Jon Lewis and Ian Harvey put the skids under Glamorgan's innings with two early wickets, but further breakthroughs were thin on the ground. All the same, it was left to a last-wicket stand of 47 between Mike Kasprowicz and David Harrison to ensure a total that Glamorgan should be able to defend on the final day. Harrison's 33 was the second-highest score in the innings.