Kyle Abbott takes match figures of 17-86 to stun Somerset in County Championship title race

Kyle Abbott claimed Hampshire's best-ever bowling figures and the fourth-best in Specsavers County Championship history as Somerset's hopes of winning the title took a hefty blow at the Ageas Bowl.

Hants vs Somerset scorecard

South African Abbott followed up his first-innings 9-40 with 8-46 to blow Somerset away and finish with match figures of 17-86 - the Championship's first 17-wicket haul for 80 years.

Somerset, who needed 281 to win, were bowled out for 144 after a dramatic collapse in which they lost their first seven wickets for 14 runs in 60 balls.

The 136-run defeat, Somerset's third loss of the season, means they will likely need to beat their title rivals Essex at Taunton next week if they are to win the Championship for the first time in their history. It's a match you can watch live on Sky Sports from 10.15am on Monday.

Live County Championship Cricket

Hampshire, on the other hand, took 19 points from the match and lead the charge in the battle with Yorkshire and Kent for third place.

Abbott had started the day with his pads on as he continued his lengthy ninth-wicket partnership with century-maker James Vince.

The pair helped Hampshire add 50 morning runs to take their partnership to 119 before Vince edged behind for a 142, a 63 per cent share of his team's runs, and Abbott drilled to mid-off.

That set Somerset 281 to win, which would have been by far the highest score of the match, with plenty of time remaining. The chase started well as Murali Vijay and Steve Davies put on 62 before lunch.

But Abbott came on after lunch and took 6-19 in eight overs. Vijay was the first to depart when he pulled straight to mid-on, handing Abbott his 10th of the match. Tom Abell edged behind before Liam Dawson bowled James Hildreth.

Abbott trapped Tom Banton and Bartlett lbw in successive balls before Davies, who had scored fifty in 86 balls, nicked behind. The rot continued before Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory shared a 40-run stand but the end was swift - Abbott bowling Josh Davey to wrap things up.

Simon Harmer spun Essex to the brink of the County Championship title with seven wickets as reigning champions Surrey were despatched by an innings at Chelmsford. Essex vs Surrey scorecard

With Somerset beaten at Southampton by Hampshire, Harmer's efforts enabled Essex to reclaim top place by 12 points with one game to play. They head to Taunton next week knowing they need to avoid defeat to guarantee their second title in three years.

News of Somerset's defeat came at the same moment that Harmer took his sixth wicket to leave Surrey floundering at 115-7. The end came nearly two hours later at 5.58pm.

The South African all-rounder followed a quick-fire 50 in the morning that took Essex to 395 - and four batting points - with his ninth haul in the Championship of five wickets or more this season. His season's tally now stands at 78.

Facing a first-innings deficit of 221, Surrey collapsed to 181 all out on a pitch that became a spinner's paradise as it dried out the longer the game went on.

The victory by an innings and 40 runs meant Essex had won all seven championship games at Chelmsford this season.

Sam Billings became the first player to score two hundreds in the same Championship match at Headingley as Kent set Yorkshire a target of 551 shortly after tea on day three and then hurtled towards victory with six wickets. Yorks vs Kent scorecard

Billings, on the fringes of England's limited overs teams, is making a late play for a winter Test call-up having scored three hundreds in his last three Division One innings.

The Kent captain hit 100 in the second innings of last week's win at Nottinghamshire before adding 138 in the first innings here and then 122 not out off 156 balls.

Kent started their second innings two overs before the close on day two with a lead of 213, opting not to enforce the follow-on.

Billings underpinned their progress to 337-7 declared seven overs after tea on day three, leaving Yorkshire with 22 overs of batting before close. They reached 44-6, four of the wickets going to Darren Stevens.

Warwickshire batsman Dominic Sibley delivered another timely reminder that he may be the man England should turn to for their overseas Test match engagements this winter. Notts vs Warks scorecard

The 24-year-old opener, who had already passed 1,000 runs in the County Championship prior to this match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, carried his bat with a chanceless knock of 215 not out as the visitors turned this contest around.

Responding to the home side's first innings score of 498, Warwickshire replied with 488 of their own and then put Nottinghamshire under pressure in the final session.

Already condemned to relegation, Nottinghamshire had high hopes of being able to force their first win of the campaign but they ended the day on 105, with half of their side back in the pavilion.

Of the recognised top-order batsmen, Joe Clarke remains, unbeaten on 59.

Earlier, Sibley was at the crease for six and half hours and hit 30 boundaries from the 420 balls he faced. His unbeaten effort was the first time a Warwickshire opener had carried his bat against Nottinghamshire since Michael Powell in 1998.