Sunday 23 April 2017 10:47, UK
Nottinghamshire breezed to an innings-and-88-run triumph over Sussex inside two days at Trent Bridge, with James Pattinson rising to the fore.
The Australian quick took 4-22 and then 3-33, with Sussex skittled for 155 and 204 as Nottinghamshire bolstered their standing as early promotion favourites with a third consecutive victory in Specsavers County Championship Division Two.
Stuart Broad and Luke Fletcher also chipped in with three wickets apiece when Sussex batted again as Notts' ruthlessness shone through once more.
Worcestershire made it two wins in a row and ended Northamptonshire's 100 per cent start to the season with a victory in two days in a tense, low-scoring contest at New Road.
After bowling out the home side for 153 in their second innings, Northants were dismissed for 164 and went down by 20 runs after being hijacked late in the day by Joe Leach and Josh Tongue.
Having survived a tricky start at 45-3, the visitors seemed to be inching towards a third consecutive victory when Adam Rossington and Max Holden played responsibly in a stand of 40.
But the game tilted back towards Worcestershire with two wickets in 13 balls for Leach; Rossington caught at cover for 22 and on-loan Middlesex left-hander Holden bowled for 37.
Tongue then picked up two in four balls and while the two seamers chipped in with two more wickets, Mohammad Azharullah kept up the fight with an unbeaten 17 until the result was settled at 7.20pm when Andy Carter was lbw for eight, giving Leach match figures of 10-122.
Keaton Jennings gave the England selectors a timely nudge as Durham enjoyed the upper hand against Gloucestershire on the second day of the match at Bristol.
Although he missed out on a second successive hundred, the left-handed opener top-scored with 87 as Durham, replying to the home side's first-innings 303, reached the close on 270-4.
Gloucestershire's bowlers staged a mini-revival in the final session, but the visitors trail by 33 runs and, with six wickets in hand, are still handily-placed to forge a meaningful lead and apply pressure on the third day.
Opener Nick Selman became Glamorgan's first County Championship centurion of the season as their batsmen produced a spirited reply to Leicestershire's first-innings score of 420 at the Fischer County Ground.
The 21-year-old, whose hard-working 117 was made from 170 deliveries, shared in partnerships of 83 for the first wicket with captain Jacques Rudolph and 161 with Colin Ingram for the third, before the Foxes picked up two wickets in the final hour to see Glamorgan close on 281-4.
Meanwhile, 17 wickets fell on day two at Canterbury as Darren Stevens' 6-47 saw Kent bowl Derbyshire out for 159.
The hosts added just 21 to their overnight total before Derbyshire lost both openers inside two overs and, despite a half-century from Wayne Madsen (56), struggled to recover - Stevens their chief tormentor.
The all-rounder then showed his prowess with the bat, ending the day unbeaten on 53, as Kent recovered from 51-5 to close on 142-7, a lead of 242.
