The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action during day four of round 12 of the Vitality County Championship in 2024
Taunton (day four of four): Somerset 492 & 263-5d, Durham 336 & 126 - Somerset won by 293 runs
Jack Leach completed match figures of 12 for 174 as Somerset maintained their challenge for a first ever County Championship title with a crushing 293-run victory over Durham at Taunton.
The left-arm spinner claimed seven for 50 in the visitors' second innings total of 126 all out, aided by teenager Archie Vaughan, whose off-breaks reaped two for 40. Nightwatchman George Drissell top scored with 33 in an otherwise disappointing Durham batting effort.
Somerset took a maximum 24 points from the game to Durham's four and, with Surrey up next at the Cooper Associates County Ground next week the second placed Cidermen will have the chance to close the gap on the Division One leaders.
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Brett D'Oliveira was inspired in the field as Worcestershire claimed a remarkable victory at Chelmsford (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Chelmsford (day four of four): Worcestershire 266 & 321, Essex 404 & 140 - Worcestershire won by 43 runs
Two sharp pieces of fielding by Brett D'Oliveira to remove two of the Essex dangermen, Jordan Cox and Robin Das, ultimately turned the tables in Worcestershire's favour on their way to a stunning 43-run victory at Chelmsford.
The Worcestershire captain claimed the run out of Das and a catch off Cox in the space of three balls to drag Essex from the comparative safety of 69 for 2 to imminent peril at 71 for 4. It prefaced a serious collapse as Essex fell well short of their target of 184 in 89 overs.
It was a remarkable effort from Worcestershire, who were 10-4 inside the first half-an-hour on day one, before conceding a first-innings lead of 138. The last-wicket stand of 64 between Tom Taylor and Amar Virdi at the end of the first day proved decisive in the final analysis.
Virdi, on loan from Surrey, bowled unchanged throughout the second innings, sending down 23 overs, tying up a succession of Essex batsmen and finishing with 2 for 66. His fellow loan signing Logan van Beek chipped in with 4 for 26
Worcestershire's third Vitality County Championship win in succession eased their fears of a drop back into division two, but seriously damaged Essex's outside hopes of catching Surrey at the other end of the table.
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Ben Slater helped keep title-chasing Surrey at bay (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Trent Bridge (day four of four): Surrey 525 & 177-9d, Nottinghamshire 405 & 121-0 - match drawn
Surrey saw their romp towards a third consecutive Division One title lose a little momentum as they were forced to settle for a draw against relegation-threatened Nottinghamshire in the Vitality County Championship at Trent Bridge.
Teenage off-spinner Farhan Ahmed's 10-wicket match haul claimed a 159-year-old record set by no less a cricketing legend than W G Grace,
Notts, who had been set a target of 298 to win from a minimum 48 overs when Surrey declared at 177 for 9 in their second innings, were 121 without loss when the sides shook hands on a draw at 5pm, openers Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater having each made half-centuries.
The result means that Surrey's lead of 35 points at the start of this round of matches, after winning seven of their previous eight matches, is cut to 24 thanks to Somerset's victory over Durham at Taunton. Surrey and Somerset meet at Taunton next week.
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