Rate it!

1 votes

Ian Bell suffered more disappointment with the bat as Warwickshire's LV County Championship Division One match with Hampshire at the Rose Bowl petered out into a draw.

Bell, set for an England recall for the third Ashes Test following the withdrawal of the injured Kevin Pietersen, was out for a six-ball duck as Warwickshire reached 23 for two in their second innings before the captains shook hands with no result possible.

He made just seven in Warwickshire's first innings, which ended at 484 for seven declared after centuries by Jonathan Trott (184) and Chris Woakes (131).

In reply, Michael Carberry hit a double century as Hampshire reached 505 before they were dismissed this afternoon, although by then the chance of forcing a result had long gone.

Resuming on 183 this morning, Carberry moved on to a career-best 204 before his 357-ball, 29-boundary knock was brought to an end by Rikki Clarke.

Vikram Solanki fell seven runs short of his century but his knock was good enough to help Worcestershire secure a draw on the final day against Somerset at New Road.

Needing 279 to make Somerset bat again, the hosts were all out for 225 as Andy Caddick (three for 53) and Arul Suppiah (two for 28) mopped up the tail.

Daryl Mitchell fell for just four as Worcestershire's second innings got off to a miserable start. Stephen Moore went for 17 after lunch but Solanki (93) and Ben Smith (80 not out) put on 136 for the third wicket as the hosts finished on 225 for four when the captains agreed on a draw.

Yorkshire salvaged a stalemate with Nottinghamshire at Scarborough after being forced to follow on.

After falling just 15 runs short of avoiding the follow-on yesterday in response to Nottinghamshire's 395, the hosts benefited from a knock of 99 from Andrew Gale and after reaching 232 for five, the captains decided to settle for a draw.

Liam Plunkett claimed the vital wicket as Durham pulled off a thrilling one-run Pro40 victory over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.

A 36-ball half-century from Jon Lewis (54) helped the hosts recover from 104 for seven to need only two off the last over as they chased 207 to win.

But last man Steve Kirby edged Plunkett's first delivery to wicketkeeper Phil Mustard and the Gladiators were bowled out for 205, Will Porterfield top-scoring with 62.

Kyle Coetzer's 63 was the mainstay of the Dynamos' innings of 206 all out, in which Ben Harmison scored 47 and Kirby returned four for 32.

Andrew Gale's fighting innings of 99 helped Yorkshire salvage a draw against Nottinghamshire at Scarborough, although a poor stroke prevented him registering a century.

The game fizzled out with Yorkshire, following on, reaching 232 for five when they declared 68 ahead, but the stalemate meant that the Tykes extended their record sequence without a first-class win to 20 matches.

Worcestershire pair Vikram Solanki and Ben Smith denied Somerset a victory at New Road which would have put some pressure on Division One leaders Durham in the LV County Championship.

Veteran seamer Andrew Caddick rolled over the last two wickets as the bottom-of-the-table home side were forced to follow on 203 behind but Solanki underpinned a successful survival struggle with a majestic 93 from 89 balls.

An eye-catching partnership of 136 in 23 overs with Smith, who saw the job through for an undefeated 80, took away Somerset's momentum in a match they had dominated until the last two sessions.

Dismissed for 225 at the first attempt, Worcestershire discovered some much-needed resilience in closing their second innings at 225 for four after defying Somerset's efforts to claim a fourth win in five games.

The West Country team will feel they were robbed by the weather after a washout on the first day and then persistent showers in their game in hand on Durham.

In all they lost more than a day and a half and instead of closing to within 14 points of the champions they are still 24 behind.

Derbyshire and Middlesex drew at the County Ground as the hosts kept their promotion bid on course by at least avoiding defeat in their LV County Championship Division Two clash.

The east midlanders declared their innings on 258 for seven after lunch to hand the visitors two sessions to reach their target.

Middlesex reached 121 for one but after completing 24 overs and with Nick Compton unbeaten on 62, the sides opted to share the spoils.

At Grace Road, Leicestershire claimed a draw against Essex despite being forced to follow on in reply to Essex's first-innings total of 427 after being skittled for 238 this afternoon.

They had made their way to 123 for three in the second innings of a rain-interrupted match when a draw was declared, with Matthew Boyce unbeaten on 45.

PA Sport