County Championship: Sam Robson hits 253 for Middlesex, Essex thrash Gloucestershire

Sam Robson hit the second-highest score of the County Championship season as Middlesex racked up the highest total in their history on the second day against Sussex in Division Three.

Robson made a career-best 253 - just behind David Bedingham's 257 for Durham earlier in the year - before being dismissed by Jack Carson.

Middlesex were 518-4 at lunch, having opted to bat first at Hove, and Robbie White (110) and Martin Andersson (88) pushed them to 676-5 before they declared.

It was the sixth highest total Sussex had ever conceded, the greatest for 21 years, but openers Tom Haines (73*) and Ali Orr (17*) enjoyed benign conditions too, taking their side to 103 without loss at stumps.

Sussex v Middlesex scorecard

Simon Harmer took his wicket tally for the season to 49 as Essex kept hold of top spot in Division Two with an innings and three-run victory over Gloucestershire.

Off-spinner Harmer returned four for 78 as Essex claimed the five wickets needed on day four before lunch - with Gloucestershire bowled out for 197.

Essex have won both their divisional stage matches by an innings, having previously thrashed Glamorgan.

Essex's initial pursuit of the final five wickets did not take long as three wickets fell for no runs. Sam Cook dragged Tom Lace outside off stump and caught an edge to bucket-hands Harmer at second slip with the 11th ball of the morning.

Essex v Gloucestershire scorecard

Ten balls later and Cook struck again with a fullish delivery to rap Graeme Van Buuren on the pads.

In the following over, Chris Dent bravely attempted to leave Harmer - who had been getting significant turn and bounce - only for that delivery to cannon into middle and off.

Ryan Higgins and Zafar Khan wobbled Gloucestershire off 134 - with the former finding fluency with four fours and a six.

Pakistan's Zafar also found the boundary four times on his way to 24 during a 78-minute partnership with Higgins, which was worth 54.

Harmer eventually ended the stand when he snared an outside edge to Alastair Cook at first slip and the victory was wrapped up at 12:18pm when Higgins was run out attempting a second run by Shane Snater at square leg.

Lancashire need to score another 329 to pull off an unlikely victory against Nottinghamshire in Division One.

Nottinghamshire v Lancashire scorecard

Nottinghamshire had declared their second innings on 339 for eight before tea to set a target of 443 at Trent Bridge.

Lancashire were 115 for one at stumps, with Luke Wells (57) and George Balderson (45) sharing an unbroken stand of 110 after Luke Fletcher claimed his 400th first-class dismissal to remove Alex Davies for a duck.

Warwickshire set up a compelling final day at Edgbaston by closing on 139-2 in pursuit of 296 to beat Hampshire in Division One.

Warwickshire v Hampshire scorecard

An extraordinary match which began with 20 wickets falling on the first day has provided tougher toil for the bowlers with every passing hour.

After Hampshire's second innings ended at 322, ninth-wicket pair Keith Barker and Brad Wheal having added 93, home openers Rob Yates (70 not out) and Dom Sibley (47) added 99 in 50 overs.

But spinner Liam Dawson then struck twice to keep the visitors very much in the match.

Warwickshire, who will remain top of the table if they win, have plenty still to do, although Hampshire, already without the injured Kyle Abbott, suffered another blow when pace spearhead Mohammad Abbas limped off just before tea.

Kent sealed a thumping win over Worcestershire by an innings and 56 runs on day three at Canterbury.

Kent v Worcestershire scorecard

Nathan Gilchrist, Grant Stewart and Darren Stevens took three wickets apiece to dismiss the visitors for 204 in their second innings, as the hosts recorded their second consecutive red-ball win in Division Three having previously failed to record a victory all season.

Joe Leach showed some defiance with 49 not out after Ed Barnard had hung around to make 44, but Worcestershire were left to rue their failings on the first two days, when Kent dominated throughout.

Surrey's Amar Virdi and Gus Atkinson made career-best scores in a last-wicket stand of 83 to help set Northamptonshire a daunting 320 to win at Wantage Road in Division Two.

Northamptonshire v Surrey scorecard

With Surrey nine wickets down before lunch, the pair safely negotiated the extra half-hour and emerged after the interval keen to play their shots against the new ball.

Virdi, belying his tail-ender status and an average of seven, struck seven boundaries in his 47 including clubbing Rob Keogh confidently over long-on. Atkinson made 41 not out, having scored only 29 runs in total in his six first-class innings before this one.

Surrey's bowlers then made early inroads with the ball, taking two quick wickets, but an unbeaten stand of 69 by Emilio Gay and Keogh kept the hosts in the hunt at 106 for two at stumps.

Dan Douthwaite and Andrew Salter put on a stand of 163 for the seventh wicket as Glamorgan defied Durham on day three of their Division Two clash at Emirates Riverside.

Durham v Glamorgan scorecard

The home side appeared to be on their way to wrapping up victory in the afternoon session after reducing Glamorgan to 151 for six, with Paul Coughlin taking three wickets.

However, Douthwaite resisted with a stubborn 96, falling four runs short of a deserved century, with Salter remaining unbeaten at the close on 82.

The visitors are still 73 runs short of avoiding an innings defeat with three wickets remaining. Chris Rushworth secured his 50th County Championship wicket of the season when Hamish Rutherford's vigil of 71 was ended with a tame clip to Alex Lees at square leg.

A record-breaking sixth-wicket stand between Brooke Guest and Anuj Dal rescued Derbyshire on day three against Leicestershire in Division Three.

Derbyshire v Leicestershire scorecard

Guest (116) and Dal (106) both scored their maiden first-class centuries and added 227 in 73 overs, lifting Derbyshire from 56 for five to 313 for eight at stumps.

However, another 65 is still needed to avoid following on in reply to Leicestershire's first-innings total of 528.

Yorkshire had the day off after they wrapped up a remarkable victory over Somerset inside two days at Scarborough on Monday.