CCD2 Review: Northamptonshire crush Glamorgan inside two days

Ben Sanderson took four second-innings wickets as Northamptonshire claimed victory by an innings and 22 runs over Glamorgan inside two days at Wantage Road.

The hosts started their Specsavers County Championship season in the perfect fashion after extending their lead to 209 runs in the morning session before dismissing Glamorgan for 187 in their second innings.

Northants took until August to win a Championship match last season but they got off the mark at the first attempt this time around, succeeding in the opening game of the season for the first time since 1995.

Sanderson claimed two wickets in his opening spell but it was his probing effort after lunch that caught the eye most.

Rory Kleinveldt again played his part with three wickets to finish with six in the match, while Nathan Buck rounded off a winning debut with the final scalp 11 overs before the scheduled close.

Joe Denly's second half-century of the game and a four-wicket blast by Mitch Claydon extended Kent's advantage over Gloucestershire on day two in Canterbury.

After hitting 62 in Kent's first innings, Denly followed with an equally vital 59 as Kent reached 118-4 for an emphatic overall lead of 267 going into day three of the match.

Batting for a second time by Saturday's final session and having banked a 149-run lead, Kent suffered an early blow when Daniel Bell-Drummond prodded indeterminately at one from Liam Norwell to be caught at third slip with only three on the board.

Kent's second-wicket pairing of Denly and Joe Weatherley set out their stall to bat time for an hour, content to knock the shine off the new ball in the face of a testing examination from the likes of David Payne, Chris Liddle, Craig Miles and Norwell.

With the hard work seemingly done Weatherley, on 34, wastefully chased a wide one from Norwell to edge to the keeper, but Denly dug deeper to post a second successive half-century off 92 balls and with eight fours.

Denly lost his skipper Sam Northeast for eight - off balance and aiming to leg he departed lbw to Miles - then just before stumps the former England one-day bat threw the sink at one from Miles to snick to a jubilant Phil Mustard.

Earlier, Kent mopped up seven mid-session Gloucestershire wickets for 60 runs to skittle the visitors for 149 by tea for exactly half their first-day total.

James Pattinson starred with bat and ball for Nottinghamshire as they turned the screw on Leicestershire at Grace Road.

The Australia international hit a first-class career best 89 not out, compiling a partnership of 122 with Stuart Broad which swung the match firmly in Nottinghamshire's favour, before picking up two quick wickets as the visitors laid waste the Foxes' second innings.

Leicestershire closed the day on 51-6 in their second innings, still trailing by 27 runs with four wickets remaining after Notts ended their first innings with 329 runs.

Luke Fletcher (3-14) and Broad (1-9) also claimed wickets as the hosts stuttered on Saturday afternoon.

It was a remarkable turnaround in fortunes after Leicestershire's seamers, led by Ben Raine who finished with a career-best 6-66, had bowled their side into the ascendancy, reducing Notts to 167-7 by mid-afternoon, still 84 behind on first innings.