Wednesday 18 May 2016 20:46, UK
Warwickshire have claimed their first win of the Specsavers County Championship Division One season despite a brilliant century from Samit Patel at Trent Bridge.
Having been set 227 to win, Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 173 to lose by 53 runs, even though Patel smashed 124 from just 82 balls.
The all-rounder hit 12 fours, a five and eight sixes in an amazing knock but only one other batsman managed to reach double figures and Warwickshire eventually prevailed after a thrilling afternoon's cricket.
Play did not start until 2.45pm after overnight rain and morning drizzle had saturated the outfield but it did not take long for Nottinghamshire to slip from their overnight score of 21-3 to 25-5.
Having taken a pair of wickets on Tuesday night, Keith Barker (4-38) removed Greg Smith (8) and Riki Wessels (0) with consecutive deliveries to leave the hosts in huge trouble.
With the outlook bleak, Patel went on the offensive, reaching 50 from 36 balls as he added 89 with Brendan Taylor for the sixth wicket.
Taylor (26) and Chris Read (0) then fell in quick succession but Patel continued to prosper, hitting seven sixes off Jeetan Patel (6-1-46-2).
And Warwickshire were just starting to get anxious when, with nine wickets down, Patel went for another big blow, this time off Chris Wright (3-23), and Sam Hain gratefully held on to the winning catch in the deep.
The victory was Warwickshire's first success in the championship since last July and the 23 points gained lifts them to the top of the Division One table.
Elsewhere, Durham secured their first win of the season as they defeated Lancashire by 73 at the Emirates Riverside.
Needing 325 to win following Paul Collingwood's overnight declaration, Lancashire suffered a late-morning collapse, slipping from 94-2 to 97-5.
And they were eventually dismissed for 251, despite a battling 60 not out from Liam Livingstone.
With rain a possibility, Durham skipper Collingwood made the enterprising decision to declare their second innings closed on 239-4, potentially leaving Lancashire a whole day to score 325.
Although they lost Haseeb Hameed (4) to the 12th ball of the innings, lbw to James Weighell (3-45), the visitors were soon flying along as Karl Brown smashed 41 from 26 balls, before he fell lbw to Graham Onions.
Luke Procter and Alviro Petersen then added 44 for the third wicket but it all started to go wrong for Lancashire when Petersen (22) hit Brydon Carse (3-38) straight to backward point.
Procter (21) and skipper Steven Croft (1) both fell with the score on 97, but Lancashire did manage a revival after lunch as Alex Davies (39) helped Livingstone to add 67, before he was caught behind driving at Weighell.
And Durham's victory bid was held up again when Kyle Jarvis (28) and Livingston put on 56 for the ninth wicket.
However, Jarvis fell in the third over after tea to a nonchalant catch at short leg by Keaton Jennings, giving Weighell his third wicket, and Onions (2-65) then hit Simon Kerrigan's off stump to wrap it up.
Champions Yorkshire held on during a tense final session at Taunton as Somerset narrowly missed out on their first Division One win of the campaign.
Having been made to follow-on, Yorkshire finished the contest on 141-6, still 110 runs behind Somerset's first innings total of 562-7.
The loss of 19 overs in the day to rain might just have been the difference as Yorkshire retained their unbeaten record, although they have ceded top spot to Warwickshire.
Resuming their first innings on 306-9, the hosts were soon dismissed for 311 when Jamie Overton bowled Steven Patterson (32), to end a last-wicket stand of 74 with Jack Brooks (38 not out).
Somerset enforced the follow on and made their first breakthrough after lunch when Adam Lyth (18) was bowled by Overton as he played back to a short ball which kept low.
Will Rhodes (18) was caught at short-leg by Tom Abell off the bowling of Jack Leach and, four runs later, Alex Lees, who had scored 11 off 97 balls, was bowled by Overton when offering no shot.
It was 69-4 after tea when Andrew Gale was caught by Jack Leach off the bowling of Tim Groenewald, and the impressive Overton (3-26) then had Gary Ballance (18) caught at square-leg, also by Leach.
Groenewald removed Adil Rashid for a 30-ball duck with 10 overs remaining and at that stage a victory for Somerset looked a possibility, but Jack Leaning (29 not out) and Liam Plunkett (20 not out) played really well to hold out in the final hour.
In London, Surrey and Middlesex were left frustrated by a final-day washout, which meant their match had to be abandoned as a draw.
Heavy late-morning rain gave parts of the Kia Oval outfield no chance of drying out and play was abandoned shortly after 3.30pm.
Surrey had been due to resume on 98-0 in their second innings, still 55 runs behind Middlesex, having been asked to follow-on after off-spinner Ollie Rayner had taken 6-79 in their first innings 242.
