Scorecard Martin Bicknell scored a career-best in the first innings and it was Jonathan Batty’s turn to do the same in the second, as he led Surrey’s charge to go clear at the top of the table with an impressive 168 not out against Essex at
Freddie Auld23-May-2003Yesterday’s Championship reviewFrizzell County Championship Division OneEssex v Surrey
Jonathan Batty on his way to 168* against Essex at Chelmsford
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Martin Bicknell scored a career-best in the first innings and it was Jonathan Batty’s turn to do the same in the second, as he led Surrey’s charge to go clear at the top of the table with an impressive 168 not out against Essex at Chelmsford – his fifth first-class century. It was a long day in the field for Essex, started in style by Surrey with a century opening stand between Batty and Ian Ward (49). And while Batty dug in, Ally Brown (64) and Adam Hollioake (51) cracked typically brisk knocks as Surrey cruised to 381 for 7 – a lead of 505. For Essex, Graham Napier took some consolation as he continued his good form with the ball with four wickets including Mark Ramprakash for 1 and Graham Thorpe for 3.Leicestershire v Middlesex
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Heavy rain meant only nine overs were played at Grace Road in which time Jeremy Snape (40*) and David Brignull (29*) inched Leicestershire to within 34 runs of Middlesex’s first-innings score.Sussex v Nottinghamshire
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A reply of 421 is usually enough to avoid a follow-on, you would think. But not for Notts today, who were forced to bat again against Sussex at Hove. Kevin Pietersen top-scored with a blistering 166 from 136 balls, including 17 fours and four sixes, and was ably supported by Bilal Shafayat, who scored a quickfire 71. But Mushtaq Ahmed wrapped the last three wickets in relatively quick succession, to finish with figures of 6 for 163. In their follow-on, Darren Bicknell (61*) and Jason Gallian (38*) made a steady start as Notts ended on 103 for 0, now only 95 behind.Warwickshire v Kent
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It took three days for Warwickshire to complete their first innings of 311, but not before a late flourish from Neil Smith, who added a rapid 19 in the morning in his 57. Kent then made steady progress with Michael Carberry (58) and Ed Smith (43) as they closed on 196 for 3. It will now take some sporting declarations to prevent the game meandering into a rain-ruined draw.Frizzell County Championship Division TwoDurham v Derbyshire
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Another action-packed day at Chester-le-Street ended with Derbyshire needing 84 runs to win with 5 wickets left. Durham started their second innings 73 runs ahead, but an impressive fightback by Derbyshire’s bowlers, led by Graeme Welch (5 for 60) meant Durham collapsed from 106 for 3 to 149 all out. Chasing 223, Derbyshire suffered a dreadful start when the first-innings hero, Michael Di Venuto, was trapped lbw by Dewalt Pretorius for 4 in the first over. And wickets continued to tumble throughout the innings, but Shahid Afridi kept their hopes alive with a blazing 67 off 47 balls before he was out caught by Nicky Phillips to leave the game heading for an exciting conclusion.Hampshire v Somerset
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As expected, Hampshire were forced to follow on against Somerset at The Rose Bowl. Hampshire’s final three first-innings wickets conjured up only 13 runs, and even though they made a better fist of things second time round, it will take something special to save them from what would be their first loss of the season. John Crawley completed a miserable match with the bat when he fell early on for a 30-ball 2, but Derek Kenway anchored the reply with 94 not out, as Hampshire led by 60 but with only 4 wickets left.Worcestershire v Gloucestershire
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Three late wickets from Mike Smith put Gloucestershire in the driving seat in their low-scoring match against Worcestershire, who ended play on 95 for 5. Resuming their first innings on 66 for 3, Gloucestershire’s Jack Russell dug in with a crucial 38 as they staggered to 178 all out, three runs ahead. Mark Alleyne then got the big breakthrough for Gloucestershire when he had Graeme Hick caught for 5 as wickets continued to drop with Smith taking the three quick scalps of Ben Smith (5), Vikram Solanki (15) and Kabir Ali for a golden duck.Yorkshire v Glamorgan
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After yesterday’s washout, Glamorgan closed on 248 for 8 in reply to Yorkshire’s 209 all out. Ryan Sidebottom and Steve Kirby added 19 to Yorkshire’s overnight score and, along with Chris Silverwood (3 for 44), where then in the wickets as Glamorgan slumped to 95 for 5. But Matthew Maynard (55) and Mark Wallace (77*) bailed them out trouble as the match headed to a likely draw.Other Match Lancashire 502-6 dec drew with Durham UCCE 327-9 dec and 175-6.
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David Brown (59) and Rob Ferley (61) held firm to deny Lancashire a convincing win, as they guided Durham University to a hard-fought draw. Lancashire’s Sajid Mahmood made the most of his chance in the first team by taking an impressive 5 for 37, including a wicket with the first ball of the innings. Lancashire earlier declared on 502 for 6 with Mark Chilton scoring 89 and Chris Schofield 47.