The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action during day three of round eight of the Vitality County Championship in 2024
Utilita Bowl (day three of four): Surrey 127 & 203, Hampshire 608-6 - Hampshire win by an innings and 277 runs
Spinners Felix Organ and Liam Dawson tore through Surrey to hand the champions their largest-ever Vitality County Championship innings defeat and open up the title race.
Off-spinner Organ claimed his third career five-fer with left-armer Dawson picking up 4 for 45 to give Hampshire an innings and 277-run victory, their first home win of the campaign, and their largest-ever victory.
Surrey's only heavier defeats in first-class cricket came in 1866 against England – a match in which WG Grace scored a double century – and in 1948 versus Don Bradman's Australians – both an innings and 296 runs.
It was Surrey's fourth defeat since the start of 2022 – with two of those coming after they had already secured their back-to-back crowns – with Essex and Somerset hot on their heels at the summit of Division One.
Surrey were given a minimum of 172 overs to avoid an innings defeat, and got through to the 17th over unscathed but from then on wickets fell regularly.
Surrey were handed a heavy defeat by Hampshire (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Canterbury (day three of four): Essex 591-7 dec, Kent 394 - Kent trail by 197 runs
Kent fought back on day three of their Vitality County Championship derby with Essex on Canterbury, surviving until the final over of the day before they were after being bowled out for 349.
Joe Denly 87 hit and Harry Finch 85 to boost the hosts' chances of batting out a draw after they were dominated on the first two days.
Matt Critchley took 5 for 88, but Essex laboured without Sam Cook, who'd pulled up injured on day two.
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Jake Lintott was in the wickets for Warwickshire (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Old Trafford (day three of four): Warwickshire 284 & 96-3, Lancashire 149 - Warwickshire lead by 231 runs with seven wickets remaining
Career-best figures of 4 for 20 from Warwickshire slow left-armer Jacob Bethell ensured Lancashire's first innings collapsed from 66 for 3 overnight to 149 all out before the visitors built a lead of 231 runs with seven wickets in hand, closing on 96 for 3 going into the last day of this Vitality County Championship Division One clash at Emirates Old Trafford.
Once Olly Hannon-Dalby had clean bowled Tom Bruce for three early on, it was Bethell and fellow tweaker Jake Lintott who took over, with the latter also producing career-best figures of 3 for 10, as the hosts lost their last six wickets for 36 runs in 19.2 overs.
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New Road (day three of four): Worcestershire 80, Nottinghamshire 234-3 - Nottinghamshire lead by 154 runs with seven wickets remaining
Nottinghamshire batter Joe Clarke's hopes of celebrating his 28th birthday with a century were frustrated by the weather on day three of the Vitality County Championship encounter with Worcestershire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.
Former Worcestershire player Clarke was unbeaten on 73 overnight with Nottinghamshire 234 for 3 – a lead of 154. But heavy overnight rain left parts of the ground saturated and umpires Nigel Llong and Suri Shanmugam ruled out any play before lunch.
A further inspection was planned for 3pm but another significant downpour as they were out in the middle ended hopes of play.
Nottinghamshire now have to decide whether to play for batting bonus points if and when play gets underway on day four or to push for victory. They needed only 31.1 overs to dismiss Worcestershire for 80 on day two after a first day washout on Friday.
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