Injured last man Brydon Carse hits winning runs as Durham pip Yorkshire by one wicket for third win of County Championship season; Yorkshire without Championship victory since April 2022; Surrey stay top of Division One table with convincing nine-wicket win over Middlesex
Sunday 14 May 2023 19:06, UK
Durham clinched a dramatic one-wicket victory over Yorkshire on the fourth and final morning of their LV= County Championship match with injured last man Brydon Carse hitting the winning runs.
The hosts resumed on 213-8, needing another 33 to reach their target of 246, with Ben Raine and Matthew Potts at the crease and only Carse, who picked up a side issue while bowling earlier in the game, left to bat.
Raine and Potts took Durham to within two runs of victory before Potts was pinned lbw by George Hill for 25 with the new ball - ending a ninth-wicket stand of 71 from 173-8 - to set up a nerve-jangling finish to the Division Two encounter at Seat Unique Riverside.
Carse saw off the first three balls he faced before working the fourth through third man for two to wrap up Durham's third win in five matches in the company of Raine (50no) and deny Yorkshire their first victory of the campaign.
Yorkshire, relegated from the top flight last season, have drawn three and lost two of their five matches in 2023 and remain without a victory in the Championship since April 2022.
Surrey's relentless five-pronged pace attack, superbly supported by England Test wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, overwhelmed Middlesex as the defending county champions eased to a nine-wicket victory at The Kia Oval.
Foakes took six catches, a record in an innings for Surrey against their London rivals, while Jordan Clark's 4-25 spearheaded an irresistible collective performance with the ball that also included wickets for Sean Abbott (3-31), Kemar Roach (1-57) and Gus Atkinson (2-37).
Only the combative Ryan Higgins, who hit 42 from 71 balls, and tailender Ethan Bamber, with a bright unbeaten 25, offered any fight with the bat as Middlesex collapsed from their overnight position of 128-3 to 240 all out.
That left Surrey needing a mere 70 for a third win in five to start this season, the 22-point haul maintaining their position at the top of Division One table and reminding everyone of their determination to take the crown again.
Rory Burns, Surrey's captain, could add only 14 to his first innings 88 before nicking Tim Murtagh to slip but Ryan Patel (37no) and Dom Sibley (21no) put on an unbroken 56 to ease Surrey to their first championship win over Middlesex since 2012.
Lancashire and Somerset played out a draw that keeps both teams hovering above the relegation places in Division One following a final-day stalemate at Emirates Old Trafford.
Somerset batted through the entire day, extending their second-innings total to 398-5, 433 runs ahead, with James Rew adding to his burgeoning reputation in making an unbeaten 118, while Kasey Aldridge (101no) notched a maiden century. It was Rew's second century of the match as he became the leading run-scorer in the Championship.
England seamer James Anderson was absent for a third day in a row amid an injury concern, although he did warm-up before play on Sunday.
Lancashire eventually rested their front-line attack, throwing the ball to each of their batters - and wicketkeeper - for the second half of the day before the teams ultimately shook hands at 4.50pm to confirm the draw.
Head coach Glen Chapple said of Anderson's injury after the game: "He's just irritated his groin. I don't think it's anything too serious.
"We should be positive about his recovery, but obviously he had done it badly enough not to take any part in the game today. It just seems like a tweaked groin to me."
A brilliant defensive display by Kent earned them a draw with Hampshire after an engrossing final day at Canterbury.
The hosts closed on 259-4, having batted out 113 overs before the captains shook hands, even though Kent were still 19 runs behind.
England opener Zak Crawley (56) and Ben Compton (54) had given Kent hope with an opening stand of 122 and although Hampshire's hopes were ignited by a spell of three wickets for four runs, they were ultimately frustrated by Jack Leaning (68no) and Jordan Cox (30no), whose unbeaten stand of 77 took out 43.2 overs.
The hosts will be far happier with the draw, having been bowled out for 95 in their first innings, before Hampshire posted 373 in reply.
In Division Two, Derbyshire captain Leus du Plooy steered his side to safety with an unbeaten half-century on the final day of their match against Gloucestershire in Derby.
Gloucestershire were in with a chance of victory when Derbyshire slipped to 28-3, but Du Plooy's 61 off 77 balls guided the hosts to 166-5 to secure the draw.
The visitors claimed their first batting points of the season before being bowled out for 383, a lead of 132, with Ben Charlesworth (87), Zahar Gohar (53) and Matt Taylor (57no) scoring fifties.
Gohar and Taylor shared a ninth-wicket stand of 99, a Gloucestershire record against Derbyshire, to set up the prospect of a tense finale, but Du Plooy stood firm.
Hundreds from Rishi Patel and Wiaan Mulder steered Leicestershire to a draw against Sussex after being asked to follow on, preserving their unbeaten record in Division Two.
Dismissed for 270 in reply to their opponents' 430 late on Saturday evening, Leicestershire were in early trouble on Sunday at 65-4 as Sussex chased a second win of the season.
But after Patel had made 100 from 157 balls - the third century of a season he began with none to his name - South African all-rounder Mulder saw them to safety with an unbeaten 102 to go with his five wickets in the Sussex innings.
He had valuable support from young all-rounder Tom Scriven, who contributed 51 not out to a seventh-wicket stand worth an unbroken 99 in 23 overs before the teams shook hands on a draw with 20 overs still to be bowled and Leicestershire 135 runs in front.
