County Championship: Essex edge past Somerset in Division One thriller, Surrey beat Hampshire by innings

Adam Rossington kept his head in a crisis to guide Essex to a nerve-jangling one-wicket LV= County Championship Division One win over Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton.

Needing just 84 for victory, the visitors, who started the day 3-1, crashed to 4-4, 28-6 and then 60-8 before Rossington's 29 not out from 49 balls saw them reach their target by the narrowest of margins.

Somerset vs Essex scorecard

Matt Critchley (15) and Adam Wheater (17) were the only other Essex batters to make it into double-figures, while No 10 Shane Snater made nine in a crucial ninth-wicket stand of 23 alongside Rossington before being dismissed with the scores tied.

It was rough justice for Somerset's Craig Overton, who claimed 6-30 to complete career-best match figures of 13-87. He was well supported by Peter Siddle (3-25) as Somerset's seamers fought to the last.

Rossington rode his luck with a number of plays and misses on a pitch that proved too much of a test for the batters on both sides, but he also played some impressive shots as his side claimed 17 points to Somerset's four.

Division One

Elsewhere in Division One, Craig's twin brother Jamie Overton claimed a first five-wicket haul for Surrey and then added three further second innings wickets as Hampshire were beaten by an innings and 17 runs at The Kia Oval.

Surrey vs Hampshire scorecard

Surrey all-rounder Jordan Clark's 4-55 completed his own fine match with the ball, while 21-year old rookie seamer James Taylor also impressed with 3-56 as Hampshire were bowled out for 227 after being asked to follow on.

The visitors, who resumed their first innings on 152-7 to start day three, saw their final three wickets all fall to Overton, who more than made up for the absence of West Indies Test quick Kemar Roach - who suffered a hamstring injury on day two - by finishing with match figures of 8-107.

Hampshire opener Joe Weatherley made a composed 87 in their second innings and captain James Vince 57 - the pair putting on 100 for the third wicket - but the rest of the order provided little resistance as they were dismissed with 15.2 overs left of the day.

In Canterbury, Lancashire are closing in on a convincing victory over Kent heading into the final day, with the hosts 81-6 in their second innings and still needing another 165 to make the visitors bat again.

Kent vs Lancashire scorecard

Kent were bowled out for 260 in their first innings and, with a lead of 246, Lancashire immediately enforced the follow on.

Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson has match figures of 6-88, while George Balderson has taken 4-16, including 3-14 in Kent's first innings, putting the visitors in a dominant position.

Ben Compton made an unbeaten 104 in Kent's first innings, having been stuck on 99 for 38 minutes, and he was unbeaten on 20 at stumps, having witnessed all 16 dismissals from the other end.

In Bristol, James Bracey issued a timely reminder to the England selectors as Gloucestershire held-up Yorkshire's victory charge on day three of their game.

Gloucestershire vs Yorkshire

The hosts looked in danger of slipping to a defeat inside three days when Ryan Higgins was fifth man out with 11 more runs still required to make Yorkshire bat again, but a second hundred in as many matches for Bracey granted his team a stay of execution.

Bracey hit an assured 112 not out in a defiant innings spanning nearly five hours, dominating stands of 54 and 76 with Higgins (24) and Tom Lace (28) for the fifth and sixth wickets as Gloucestershire closed on 253-6, with a lead of 104.

Division Two

Glamorgan will enter the final day of their match against Nottinghamshire feeling quietly confident of pulling off a first red-ball victory over their opponents at Trent Bridge since 1998.

Nottinghamshire vs Glamorgan scorecard

Building on a first-innings lead of 77, in which Timm van der Gugten's 62 helped the last two wickets add 131 runs, Glamorgan then reduced Nottinghamshire to 224-8 by stumps, the Netherlands international also starring with the ball by taking 4-51.

All four of his wickets came after tea, starting with that of key man Ben Duckett, who fell five runs short of posting a second century in the match. No other Nottinghamshire batsman has made more than 30 and their lead of 147 looks a fragile one.

Sussex skipper Tom Haines led from the front, striking a career-best century to frustrate Derbyshire on the third day of their Division Two clash.

Derbyshire vs Sussex scorecard

The 23-year-old opener, tipped for a potential England Test call-up, batted through the day for an unbeaten 164, while India Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara scored 57 not out as Sussex closed on 278-2, still trailing by 53 after following on.

Haines was also given solid support from Ali Orr (28), who shared an opening stand of 128 that was dominated by the former.

At Emirates Riverside, Matthew Potts claimed career-best figures to give Durham hope of forcing a final day victory against Leicestershire.

Durham vs Leicestershire scorecard

With the visitors resuming their first innings on 159-2, Potts delivered an outstanding spell with the old ball to remove Hassan Azad (66) to create an opening in the Leicestershire batting order.

Potts finished with fine figures of 6-58, passing 50 first-class wickets in the process as Durham bowled out the Foxes for 273 before building a dominant lead of 394 runs courtesy of a maiden first-class hundred from Michael Jones (108) and a fine knock from Sean Dickson (84) as the hosts closed on 239-2 with a declaration surely looming.

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