Warwickshire fight back strongly

Matt Prior struck a quickfire 66 from 48 balls to take Sussex to a win, inside three days, over Surrey at Hove. Fifty-four without loss overnight, Surrey could only add a further 200 runs to set Sussex a target of 125 with two days to go. They stumbled, however, to 32 for 4 with the Pakistani duo Mohammad Akram and Azhar Mahmood both picking up two quick wickets for Surrey to give them hope of an unlikely victory. Prior and Michael Yardy immediately consolidated with an aggressive partnership of 83 which, despite losing Yardy towards the end, was enough to see Sussex home.

A thrilling innings of 119 by Jim Troughton, from just 116 balls, has given Warwickshire hope of an unlikely victory against Middlesex. The home-side were well set on 189 for 1, before Ben Hutton became Dewald Pretorious' first wicket of the innings. Thereafter, only Owais Shah showed any semblance of stability, as the remaining eight Middlesex batsmen could only muster 45 runs between them. Shah was left stranded on 156, as Middlesex failed to capitilise on an excellent start. Warwickshire's not-insignificant target of 382 was set about with vigour. Despite losing their first two wickets early on, captain Nick Knight combined with Jim Troughton in a partnership of 187. Troughton fell shortly before close of play, leaving Warwickshire 161 runs adrift, to set up a thrilling final day.

John Crawley hit his second hundred of the season for Hampshire as they declared on 388 for 7, to set Gloucestershire an improbable 411 to win. Hampshire were indebted to a battling lower-order performance, after they lost their nightwatchman, Chris Tremlett, and Michael Brown early on day three. Crawley and the Australian allrounder, Shane Watson, put on 120 for the fourth wicket. With the South African Jono McLean, who made 68, and Nic Pothas striking an undefeated 54, Gloucestershire have it all to do on day four.

Glamorgan failed to offer much resistance to Kent's bowlers as they suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Kent, losing by an innings and 124 runs. David Hemp continued from his overnight score of 134, ending on a magnificent unbeaten 171. Despite a partnership of 118 between Hemp and the No. 11 batsman, Huw Waters, their first innings total of 306 still meant they had to follow on. Glamorgan could only last 52 overs, though, as South African Andrew Hall took four wickets, to complete a win inside three days for Kent.

Dale Benkenstein struck his second hundred of the season to help Durham set Essex a target of 299 runs at Southend-on-Sea. Essex got off to an encouraging start, with Alistair Cook and Andy Flower both reaching the 40s. Cook fell for a brisk 44, after his opening partner, Ravinder Bopara, lasted just nine balls. Essex are currently placed on 129 for 2, with eight second-innings wickets in hand, needing a further 170 runs to win.

Lancashire recovered magnificently from their overnight score of 38 for 3, to declare on 368 for 9, largely thanks to Andrew Symonds. The Australia allrounder hit a brilliant 121, from 155 balls. When he became Maunders's third wicket, Lancashire were stuttering on 218 for 7. But a late rally from Glenn Chapple (60) and an undefeated 77 from Warren Hegg helped them set Leicestershire an unlikely 399 runs to win. By the close, Leicestershire had already lost their top five with only 78 runs on the board, with James Anderson picking up three for 39 from his ten overs. Leicestershire have it all to do on the final day to avoid a heavy defeat.

On day two of the game between Somerset and Derbyshire, Wesley Durston continued his innings from yesterday to remain unbeaten on 146 to help Somerset reach a dominating total of 460. The former Warwickshire allrounder, Graeme Welch bowled tidily and economically taking four for 82 - but there was little else for the Derbyshire bowlers. Somerset, however, bowled with a greater degree of penetration and took five of Derbyshire's wickets. Andy Caddick proved that he can still be a handful in domestic cricket, with three for 44 from 23 overs. Trailing by 242 runs, Derbyshire will need Welch and Travis Friend to continue their current parternship of 70, well into day three.

David Sales struck a brisk and brutal 152 for Northamptonshire, on day two of their match against Worcestershire, as they built a sizeable lead. A repetition of their poor first-innings performance, where they were bowled out for just 189, looked likely before Sales came to the wicket. Kabir Ali and the Australian Matthew Mason both took two wickets, as Northamptonshire stumbled to 59 for four. Sales and Damien Wright consolidated with an aggressive and quick partnership of 188 to leave Northants on 299 for six. Earlier, Worcestershire were only able to better Northamptonshire's first innings total by 27 runs, with Stephen Moore compiling 62, and a tailend-flurry of 35 by Shoaib Akhtar. Despite their current lead of 272, there are still two days left in this match, and Northamptonshire will be looking to extend it beyond 400.