Tuesday 7 July 2015 19:40, UK
Daryl Mitchell carried his bat with a superb 206no to put Worcestershire in a commanding position after two days of their LV= County Championship Division One clash with Hampshire at New Road.
Resuming the day on 105no, Mitchell all-but doubled his score as the hosts made 478 all out before reducing Hampshire to 86-3 in their reply.
He was given good company all the way down the order, especially from Joe Leach (59), with whom he shared a 123-run seventh-wicket stand before Leach became the second of Danny Briggs' (3-123) three victims.
It was left to Jackson Bird to finish off the innings - having Charlie Morris caught behind for nine - and end with bruising figures of 4-146 from his 35 overs.
Hampshire's response began terribly with Sean Terry removed by Morris for a three-ball duck before his opening partner Jimmy Adams (20) was trapped in front by Leach at 44-2.
Michael Carberry made 36 before he was pinned by Saeed Ajmal, leaving James Vince and Will Smith with a huge task to keep Hampshire in the game on Wednesday morning.
An unbroken stand of 161 between Matt Machan and Chris Nash has put Sussex in control after three days of their clash with Somerset at Taunton.
Machan reached stumps 137no alongside Nash (76no) with Sussex 311-2 in their second innings for a lead of 245 and a mid-morning morning declaration surely on the cards.
The visitors had earlier ceded a first-innings deficit of 66 as Somerset moved their overnight score of 176-4 to 274 all-out.
Peter Trego was the first man to fall - bowled by Ollie Robinson for 81 - to bring to an end a fine 163-run stand with James Hildreth, who made 82 before Robinson also proved his undoing, Ed Joyce taking the catch at 232-8.
But Sussex's hopes of restricting their hosts' lead were hurt by Craig Overton, who smashed a quickfire 53no from 44 balls, including two sixes, leaving Machan and Nash to establish control.
They came together at 150-2 - Joyce impressing with a 100-ball 66 before he was removed by Trego - and batted through the evening session to ensure Sussex have a chance of victory.
Warwickshire face an uphill task to save their Division One clash with leaders Yorkshire at Edgbaston.
The hosts closed day three on 43-1 in their second-innings, still 391 runs short of an unlikely victory as they pay the price for Monday's astonishing first-innings dismantling which saw them skittled for 69.
Resuming the day on 123-1 and eager to establish a big lead quickly, Yorkshire got contrasting half-centuries from Will Rhodes (79 from 186 balls) and Aaron Finch (73no from 75) to see them to 289-7 before captain Andrew Gale called his batsmen in.
Warwickshire then lost Varun Chopra to a four-ball duck - to accompany his golden duck of the first innings - courtesy of Ryan Sidebottom, but Ian Westwood and Jonathan Trott dug in to see them to stumps without further setback.
Middlesex and Nottinghamshire look set to share a draw at Trent Bridge after a century from Chris Read gave the hosts a small first-innings lead in a high-scoring affair.
Resuming the day on 180-4 in response to Middlesex's first-innings 374, the spine of Notts' reply came from Read and half-centuries from Steven Mullaney (76) and Brett Hutton (72).
Both of those players were undone by Ollie Rayner, Mullaney falling at 229-6, which prompted a 157-run stand between Read and Hutton - Read's century coming off 190 balls before he was bowled by Toby Roland-Jones.
When Hutton was trapped in front by Rayner at 419-9, Read pulled his side in, giving them two overs at the Middlesex openers, but James Harris and Sam Robson survived at 7-0, 38 runs behind.
