The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action during day three of round 12 of the Vitality County Championship in 2024
Taunton (day three of four): Somerset 492 & 263-5, Durham 336 & 15-3 - Durham need another 405 runs to win with seven second-innings wickets remaining
A Brydon Carse century on his return after suspension was not enough to prevent Durham slipping towards likely defeat on the third day of the County Championship Division One match with Somerset at Taunton.
The visitors began by adding 64 runs to their overnight first innings score of 272 for six before being bowled out for 336, Carse contributing a valiant 104 and Ben Raine making 62. Jack Leach finished with five for 124 off 41.1 overs.
That gave Somerset a first-innings lead of 156. They declined to enforce the follow-on and posted 263 for five in their second innings, Tom Abell leading the way with a top score of 56.
After an hour’s delay for bad light, the home side declared, setting their opponents an unlikely victory target of 420 on a pitch offering increasing assistance for the spinners. By stumps, they had stumbled to 15 for 3 and face a backs-to-the-wall final day.
***
Edgbaston (day three of four): Kent 156 & 243, Warwickshire 420 - Warwickshire won by an innings and 21 runs
Warwickshire banked their first Championship victory of the season in the most emphatic fashion, by an innings and 21 runs over struggling Kent, well inside three days at Edgbaston.
Kent were bowled out in their second innings for 243 on the third morning as Warwickshire's seamers completed the demolition job they start on their opponents on the first morning.
Bowled out for 156 the first time round, Kent mustered little more at their second attempt even against the Kookaburra ball on an easing pitch as Oliver Hannon-Dalby took six for 43 (9 for 74 in the match).
Only Joey Evison (65, 103 balls) offered prolonged resistance as the visitors’ dismal season delivered a sixth successive championship defeat and another shunt towards relegation.
Injuries to key pair Tawanda Muyeye and Grant Stewart only added to a grim three days in the West Midlands for Matt Walker's side.
Related: Kookaburra ball returns for next two County Championship rounds
Brydon Carse hit a century but Somerset remain in charge against Durham (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
Chelmsford (day three of four): Worcestershire 266 & 303-8, Essex 404 - Worcestershire lead by 16 runs with two second-innings wickets remaining
Fifties by Jake Libby, Brett D'Oliveira and Adam Hose ensured Worcestershire would make Essex bat again in their rollercoaster match at Chelmsford.
When bad light took the players off the field with 20 over remaining on day three of the Vitality County Championship match, Worcestershire had turned a 138-run first-innings deficit into a 165-run lead.
Libby laid the foundations for the recovery with a 112-ball 65 at the top of the order. But it was an 80-run stand for the sixth wicket between D’Oliveira (51 from 71 balls) and Hose (64 off 91) – the pair coming together with two runs still required to erase the arrears – that gave Worcestershire hope of securing a third successive victory to move clear of the relegation area.
Simon Harmer spearheaded the mercurial Essex attack, sending down 26 overs in the foreshortened day and taking 3 for 110, including the wicket of Hose to an extraordinary delivery. Essex will be looking for a first victory in four games on the final day to maintain their fading interest in the title race.
***
Old Trafford (day three of four): Hampshire 389, Lancashire 200 & 152 - Hampshire won by an innings and 37 runs
Hampshire's cricketers enjoyed a Super Saturday at Emirates Old Trafford when they defeated Lancashire by an innings and 37 runs with a day to spare in their Vitality County Championship match.
Having dismissed Lancashire for 200 in their first innings and enforced the follow-on, the visitors bowled Keaton Jennings’ side out a second time for 152. Liam Dawson took five for 52 to finish with match figures of 10 for 99 and Muhammad Abbas bagged three for 18. Luke Wells offered the only significant resistance for the home side with 53.
Hampshire gain 22 points whereas Lancashire collect just three.
The victory is only Hampshire's third by an innings in 158 matches against Lancashire, the complete sequence of games stretching back to 1870. The other two hammerings were achieved at Bournemouth in 1922 and Southport in 1973.
And following their loss at The Oval last week, this defeat marks the first time since 1907 that Lancashire have lost successive County Championship matches by an innings.
More seriously for the Old Trafford side's immediate future, the home defeat leaves them still ninth out of the ten teams in Division One and plainly in danger of being relegated to the second tier of English domestic cricket.
Related: Hampshire's leaders deliver Lancashire another ignominious defeat
Jake Libby help Worcestershire into a lead over Essex (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Trent Bridge (day three of four): Surrey 525 & 13-1, Nottinghamshire 405 - Surrey lead by 133 runs with nine second-innings wickets remaining
A maiden century in only his third first-class innings from the 19-year-old, locally raised left-hander Freddie McCann helped take Nottinghamshire's reply to 405 at Trent Bridge despite a career-best 7 for 129 from Surrey spinner Will Jacks. Batting again, Surrey ended the third day of their County Championship match 133 ahead on 13-1.
Play was soured in the afternoon, however, when Jacks, selected in both England's white-ball squads for their games against Australia in September, smartly fielded a pull on the bounce at short mid-wicket and threw the ball hard and high towards the wicketkeeper causing McCann to take evasive action.
Umpires James Middlebrook and Paul Pollard immediately summoned Surrey skipper, Rory Burns, and applied five penalty runs under Law 42.3.1 for “throwing the ball at a player in an inappropriate or dangerous manner”. The matter will also now be referred to Surrey for any further disciplinary action they deem condign.
Join The Cricketer's brand new Whatsapp channel for the latest breaking news, comment and features - click here to become a member
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.