County Championship Division Two roundup: Yorkshire close in on victory at Sussex

The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action on day three of the third round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches in 2023

Worcester (third day of four): Gloucestershire 231 & 172-3, Worcestershire 157 - Gloucestershire are 246 runs ahead with seven second-innings wickets remaining

Ajeet Singh Dale's career-best bowling performance and half-centuries from Chris Dent and James Bracey steered Gloucestershire into a powerful position heading into the final day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Worcestershire at New Road.

Dale bowled with considerable pace to pick up the final three Worcestershire wickets on the third morning to finish with 6 for 41 from 17.1 overs as Gloucestershire established a first-innings lead of 74.

It was his first ever five-for in first-class cricket and then Dent fought his way through a testing time with the new ball before he and Bracey cemented Gloucestershire’s position of strength and extended their advantage to 246 before bad light, and then rain, intervened.

For Worcestershire, there was the encouragement of Josh Tongue working up a good head of pace which brought him three wickets.

But they can still expect to face a daunting target on the final day in what are still bowler-friendly conditions.

It was a landmark day for Ajeet Singh Dale (Harry Trump/Getty Images)

Cardiff (third day of four): Durham 471-9d, Glamorgan 153-5 - Glamorgan are 318 runs behind with five first-innings wickets remaining

Durham continued to dominate their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Glamorgan in Cardiff with a career-best score of 91 for Brydon Carse putting his team in a position where a Glamorgan win is all but impossible.

On a rain-shortened day Glamorgan finished on 153 for 5, still 318 runs behind Durham’s first innings total of 471 for 9 declared.

Carse and Liam Trevaskis put on 128 runs, a record seventh wicket record stand for Durham against Glamorgan before the visitor’s seamers took five wickets to put them in complete control.

Having lost all of day two to rain and another 38.4 overs today it will be very difficult for Durham to force a result but they are the only side who can hope for a win from this game.

Ben Raine helped Yorkshire reduce Sussex's lead before setting to work with the ball (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Hove (third day of four): Sussex 361 & 137, Yorkshire 298, 138-3 - Yorkshire need another 63 runs to win

Yorkshire, well in arrears at the halfway stage of this absorbing LV= Insurance County Championship clash, so turned it on its head on the third day that they are now poised for victory, their first for a year.  

A spirited last wicket thrash in the morning meant their first innings deficit was reduced to manageable proportions. And then they bowled much better than they had in the first innings to dismiss Sussex for 137 and give themselves a victory target of 201 at the 1st Central County Ground.

At the close they were 138 for 3, needing another 63 on the final day. 

Finlay Bean, Saud Shakeel and Dawid Malan all failed to reach double figures before Adam Lyth (69 not out) and Shai Hope (53 not out) – who survived a confident run-out appeal – added an unbroken 99 for the fourth wicket to put their team in control, although the weather forecast for Sunday is bad.

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