County Championship Round 2 Day 4/4

Sussex 229 & 333-3 beat Warwickshire 87 & 471 by seven wickets Div 1 

Ed Joyce struck 151 not out, his second century in the match, to help Sussex beat Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Having resumed on 273-2, needing just 57 more runs for victory, the visitors lost Rory Hamilton-Brown (54) with the morning less than four overs old.

But Joyce combined with Matt Machan (26 not out) to knock off the remaining runs and complete a seven-wicket win.

The result came in spite of England batsman Ian Bell's 189 not out in Warwickshire's second innings. 

Bell, whose century was the 46th of his first-class career and first for the Bears in almost two years, was part of the England Test side beaten 5-0 by Australia in the winter Ashes series.

But the 32-year-old's knock was overshadowed by Joyce's efforts in this match, with the Irishman hitting the 18th boundary of his 237-ball innings to seal victory less than an hour into the final day and, in the process, bring up his 150.

Jeetan Patel (2-110) had earlier dismissed Hamilton-Brown, caught by Jonathan Trott, to halt Sussex's progress, but they would not be denied a first Championship win at Edgbaston in 32 years. 

Worcestershire 224 & 270 beat Kent 229 & 140 by 125 runs Div 2

Worcestershire bowled Kent out for 140 on the final day to secure a 125-run win at New Road.

Resuming on 51-3, still 215 runs short of their victory target, the visitors lost Ben Harmison (10) to Jack Shantry (3-26) having added only six to their overnight score. 

Kent lost regular wickets, with Gareth Andrew (4-43) and Charles Morris (3-31) ripping through the lower order.

Doug Bollinger was last man out, bowled by Andrew, to seal the home side's win. 

Essex 94 & 425 beat Derbyshire 154 & 312 by 53 runs Div 2

Essex began the new County Championship season with a 53-run victory over Derbyshire at Chelmsford.

Derbyshire, resuming 169 runs behind on 167-5, suffered an early blow when Shiv Chanderpaul (52) sent a fine edge to James Foster off Graham Napier (3-49).

Tim Groenewald (45 not out) and David Wainwright (52) kept alive their side's hopes of victory with a 89-run stand.

But after Wainwright fell to Monty Panesar (2-59), the visitors' tail faltered, and were soon out for 312.

The final wicket of Mark Footitt, taken by David Masters, completed a remarkable turnaround for the hosts, who looked unlikely victors after posting a first-innings total of just 94.

However, brilliant first-innings bowling from Masters (6-49) and 181 from England captain Alastair Cook in the second gave the hosts a solid base to build on, before Tymal Mills (3-49), Napier, and Panesar brought down Derbyshire's second innings. 

Middlesex 439-9d & 112-0 beat Nottinghamshire 326 & 224 by 10 wickets Div 1

Tim Murtagh's five-for set Middlesex on their way to a 10-wicket Division One victory over Nottinghamshire at Lord's.

Murtagh (5-61) took the key wickets of Chris Read (44) and Riki Wessels (34), who had built a dangerous-looking partnership, early on day four.

He and fellow paceman Steven Finn (4-82) restricted Notts to just 40 final-day runs, as they were all out for 224, leaving Middlesex needing 112 to win.

Openers Chris Rogers (63 no) and Sam Robson (44 no) led them home with ease.

Australia international Rogers' knock, which included 13 fours, was his first sizeable score of the summer, while England Test hopeful Robson again impressed  with the bat, following his first innings total of 163.

But the victory could have been made much more difficult had Murtagh not broken apart Read and Wessels' burgeoning partnership after just five runs were made on the final day.

And when Steven Finn, who ended with match figures of 173-9, took the final wicket of Luke Fletcher, it left Rogers and Robson with the easy task of completing the win. 

Hampshire 422 and 215-2 beat Gloucestershire 304 and 332 by eight wickets Div 2

Hampshire recorded their first win of the County Championship Division Two season with an eight-wicket success against Gloucestershire at Bristol.

The hosts added just 24 runs to their overnight second-innings total to set Hampshire a target of 215.

An unbeaten century from England opener Michael Carberry, plus a quick-fire 58 from 37 balls by James Vince, saw the visitors home in convincing fashion.

Meanwhile, Hampshire confirmed Adam Wheater has suffered a broken finger.

The 24-year-old wicketkeeper was injured in the field on day three and an X-ray on Tuesday night confirmed the break in his finger.


Durham 452 & 244 drew with Northamptonshire 378 & 205-9 Div 1

Rob Newton came to Northants' rescue as he helped the newly-promoted side draw with champions Durham at Northampton.

After Michael Richardson (59) fell early on, James Middlebrook (5-62) and Andrew Hall (3-57) quickly finished off Durham for 244, a lead of 315 runs.

Northants were unstuck by the visiting attack, with Graham Onions (3-48) and Chris Rushworth (2-38) both in form.

But Newton (48 no) saw out the last nine overs with last-man Muhammad Azharullah as they closed on 205-9.

Things had looked bleak for the hosts after Scott Borthwick (2-53) took the eighth and ninth wickets to fall in successive balls, but a determined Newton, whose 48 came off 137 balls, dug in to help see out the day.

Newton and Middlebrook (47) were the only two Northants batsmen to make any significant second-innings runs, with three out for a duck - including Matthew Spriegel, who hit 97 in the first innings.

However, it was a promising start to life in Division One for Northants, while Durham will be frustrated they could not finish their opponents off. 

Somerset 553 drew with Yorkshire 450 & 193-4d Div 1

Yorkshire and Somerset played out a draw in Division One at Taunton.

Resuming on 530-9, Craig Meschede went on to reach 59 not out but the dismissal of last-man Craig Overton for 15 left the hosts 553 all out, a first-innings lead of 103.

Adam Lyth (54) and Alex Lees (47) shared a 100-run partnership for the first wicket in Yorkshire's reply.

Kane Williamson added 57 not out before the visitors declared on 193-4 and the captains immediately agreed on a draw.

The final day always looked likely to end in a stalemate, with 980 runs being scored in the first three while only 19 wickets fell.

Andrew Gale and England hopeful Gary Ballance, who made his Test debut in the winter Ashes series in Australia, were the only Yorkshire batsmen to fall for modest totals, registering scores of 11 and five respectively.