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LONDON, May 28: Nottinghamshire on Friday returned to the top of the English county championship division one table with a an innings and 27-run win over Gloucestershire. Resuming on three for two, Gloucestershire then crashed to 36 for five in the 22nd over.
James Pearson and Mark Hardinges produced some resistance but it proved futile as swing bowlers Ryan Sidebottom and Mark Ealham took seven wickets between them for the second time in the match as Gloucestershire were dismissed for 192 shortly before tea.
England hopeful Robert Key and South African Martin Van Jaarsveld put on a record-breaking stand of 323 as Kent set Surrey a difficult final-day target at Tunbridge Wells.
The pair shared the stand for the third wicket as the hosts rattled up a score of 454 for four declared, which left Surrey a target of 406 to win.
A sixth-wicket stand of 140 in 27 overs between Jamie Dalrymple and Paul Weekes boosted Middlesex in a day of fluctuating fortunes against Sussex at Hove.
The visitors were indebted to the pair after being reduced to 72 for five having earlier gained a first innings lead of 69.
But both Dalrymple (65) and Weekes (71) were dismissed shortly before stumps as Middlesex closed on 222 for eight to lead overall by 291.
Somerset managed their first championship Division Two win of the season, demolishing sorry Northamptonshire on the third morning to set up a six-wicket victory at Wantage Road.
Gareth Andrew was the pick of the bowlers with three for 31 as the home side collapsed from 25 for one overnight to a dismal 99 for nine at lunch.
A partnership of 112 from Somerset batsmen Mike Burns (48) and John Francis (55) after the interval eased the visitors home.
Yorkshire fought back courageously at Headingley but Essex remain in a good position to enforce the follow on on the final day.
Although Yorkshire closed on 336 for eight they were still 286 runs in arrears and a further 137 are needed to avoid the follow on.
Derbyshire will look to take advantage of Leicestershire’s erratic batting performance after the visitors failed to capitalise on a promising start to their first innings.
A grafting century from Darren Robinson (110) should have provided the platform for a healthy first-innings lead but his team crumbled from 188 for two to 279 all out.
The fall of Robinson sparked a collapse in which five wickets fell for 25 in 13 overs and it was left to David Masters to give his team a lead of 28 with an unbeaten 25 which included six fours from 26 balls.
Michael Di Venuto and Steve Stubbings safely negotiated 14 overs for Derbyshire before the close to reduce the arrears by 23 and leave the match finely poised.
Scores and results on Friday:
County championship (third day of four):
Division One:
At Bristol: Nottinghamshire (22pts) beat Gloucestershire (5pts) by an innings and 27 runs. Nottinghamshire 469 (D.J. Hussey 98 not out, S.P. Fleming 92, A. Singh 57; M. Hardinges 4-115); Gloucestershire 250 (R.J. Sidebottom 4-65) and 192 (J. Pearson 68; R.J. Sidebottom 4-35).
At Tunbridge Wells: Kent 262 (R.W.T. Key 112, A.J. Hall 61; M.P. Bicknell 4-31) and 467-4 declared (R.W.T. Key 189, M. van Jaarsveld 168); Surrey 324 (R. Clarke 124, A.D. Brown 56; M.M. Patel 6-124) and 11-0.
At Hove: Middlesex 401 (E.C. Joyce 82, O.A. Shah 58, P.N. Weekes 55; R.J. Kirtley 6-80) and 222-8 (P.N. Weekes 71, J.W.M. Dalrymple 65; J.D. Lewry 5-48); Sussex 332 (C.J. Adams 72, M.W. Goodwin 67, Mushtaq Ahmed 57; Irfan Pathan 4-81).
Division Two:
At Derby: Derbyshire 251-9 declared (M.J. Di Venuto 76) and 23-0; Leicestershire 279 (D.D.J. Robinson 110, D. Mongia 51; G. Welch 4-48).
At Northampton: Somerset (21pts) beat Northamptonshire (8pts) by 6 wickets. Northamptonshire 408 (M.L. Love 166, M. Wessels 102) and 100; Somerset 356 (I.D. Blackwell 59, S.T. Jayasuriya 55, M. Wood 53; J. Brown 6-112) and 155-4 (J. Francis 55).
At Headingley: Essex 622-8 declared (A. Flower 188, R.C. Irani 103, D. Gough 93, J.S. Foster 92) and Yorkshire 336-8 (I.J. Harvey 76, C. White 60; D. Gough 4-49).—AFP
