Hampshire fight hard against relegation from Division One

Hampshire fought hard on day two of their LV= County Championship Division One clash against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, closing on 298-8, trailing the hosts by 42 runs.

To avoid relegation, Hampshire need to win and for Sussex to lose against champions Yorkshire at Headingley, and seemed to be in trouble when starting the day 0-1 after Stuart Broad took the wicket of opener Ryan Stevenson with the final ball of the first day.

Things didn't improve much in the morning session of day two as Harry Gurney (3-58) blew away the Hampshire top order with the wickets of Jimmy Adams (19), Will Smith (three) and captain James Vince (42) to help reduce the visitors to 89-5.

Samit Patel celebrated his recall to the England squad - in place of the injured Zafar Ansari - with the wicket of Sean Ervine for 32.

But at the other end Liam Dawson was helping Hampshire to fight back with 69, before Ryan McLaren (33no) and Gareth Berg (48no) aided their cause further with an unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 95.

It moved Hampshire to within two runs of 300 and another batting bonus point, but events at Headingley mean as long as Hampshire win and Sussex lose, they will survive and no longer rely on further bonus points.

At Headingley, Sussex are showing similar fighting spirit though against title-winners Yorkshire, with survival on the line.

With Yorkshire resuming day two on 241-7, Sussex skittled out their final three first innings wickets for just 10 runs, Steve Magoffin (4-57) picking up two further wickets in another impressive outing.

But just as Sussex seemed to have put themselves on top, two early wickets had them on the back foot again, the potent opening bowling pair of Jack Brooks and Ryan Sidebottom picking up Ed Joyce and Chris Jordan - who unusually opened the batting - respectively.

Wickets continued to fall regularly and when in-form Luke Wright was out for 21, the visitors were in real danger at 70-5.

But some quick-fire lower-order resistance from the soon-to-retire Michael Yardy (70 off 81 balls), Ben Brown (39 off 29) and Ashar Zaidi (26 off 25) helped Sussex to 248 all out, three short of Yorkshire's first innings total.

Jordan - in his more familiar role of opening the bowling - dismissed Alex Lees first ball before England's Adam Lyth (16no) and Gary Balance (39no) saw the home side safely to stumps on 55-1.

Somerset are safe from relegation after picking up the necessary bonus points they needed in their clash against Warwickshire at Taunton.

Somerset needed at least six points from the match, but having secured five by the end of play on day two - and with the games at Trent Bridge and Headingley going their way - their spot in Division One next season has been secured.

James Hildreth didn't manage to add to his overnight score of 118, falling in the first over of the day to Keith Barker (4-94), who also accounted for the other unbeaten batsman overnight, Luke Ronchi (51), shortly after the New Zealand wicketkeeper brought up his half century.

Add to that Rikki Clarke's wickets of Luke Gregory for a duck and the departing Alfonso Thomas for four, and Somerset had suddenly slipped from 360-5 overnight to 377-9.

But Jack Leach (21no) and Jamie Overton (40) put on an important last-wicket stand of 61 to see Somerset past 400 and earn another batting bonus point.

Openers Varun Chopra (54) and Ian Westwood (34) got Warwickshire off to a good start before the latter became Jack Leach's first victim, the slow left-armer on his way to an impressive haul of 5-47.

England's Ian Bell (12) was the next to go, lbw to Thomas, the first of five wickets to fall without a run added to the score, as the visitors suffered a dramatic collapse - Leach with the wickets of Chropra, and Freddie Coleman, Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke all for ducks.

Keith Barker was the seventh wicket to fall with the score on 120, but Laurie Evans (23no) and Jeetan Patel (37no) saw their side safely through to the close with no further damage, finishing on 180-7, still trailing by 258 runs.

Worcestershire's Tom Fell - a revelation for the relegated county in Division One this season - scored another hundred, as the home side continued to dominate Middlesex at New Road.

The 21-year-old Fell notched his third, and highest, hundred of the season with 167 as Worcestershire finished on 329-3, leading by a whopping 231 runs when bad light brought the day's play to a close early.

Worcestershire had dismissed second-spot chasers Middlesex for just 98 on day one, with West Indies paceman Shannon Gabriel claiming 5-31 in only his second appearance.

Fell and Brett D'Oliveira resumed day two with the score on 79-1, but the latter fell to Neil Dexter for 38 in the first over.

Joe Clarke then went for 12 soon after the hosts nudged past Middlesex's total, but Fell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (97no) - who nears a century himself - put on an unbroken 219 for the fourth wicket.