Essex beat Worcestershire, Warwickshire and rain frustrate Notts

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE ROUNDUP: What started as an intriguing final day of round three in the top division ended with a succession of draws as the inclement weather prevailed

Chester-le-Street (day four of four): Yorkshire 307 & 277-6, Durham 427 - match drawn

Captain Jonny Bairstow posted an unbeaten 86 as Yorkshire thwarted a depleted Durham attack to secure a County Championship draw during a shortened fourth day at the Riverside.

Impressive Bairstow shared half-century partnerships for the fifth and sixth wickets with all-rounders George Hill and Matthew Revis during the morning session as Yorkshire, who started the day on 132 for four in their second innings, leading by 12, reached 232 for 5 at lunch.

With a lead of 112, Yorkshire had taken the sting out of the situation and continued to build their lead after lunch, when rain arrived just before 3pm with them at 277 for 6 from 105.3 overs and 157 ahead. 

When rain hit the North East venue to leave them with a 13-point haul from this third round match, added to an earlier defeat and victory to start the season.

Durham will rue the loss of injured seamers Paul Coughlin and Brendan Doggett throughout this fixture, which saw them claim 15 points and end a two-match losing start.

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Chelmsford (day four of four): Essex 179 & 317, Worcestershire 202 & 266 - Essex won by 28 runs

Jamie Porter helped wrap up a nervy first County Championship victory of the season for Essex on the final day against Worcestershire with the 22nd five-wicket haul of his career.

The 31-year-old pace bowler, the leading wicket-taker in Division One last season, added three more wickets to the three he had taken the day before as Worcestershire were bowled out for 266, 28 runs short of their target. Porter finished with 6 for 52 from 24.4 overs.

However, the victory was not achieved without some belated anxiety. The 23-year-old allrounder Ethan Brookes, patience personified earlier in his innings, threw caution to the wind when the ninth wicket went down and launched a one-man pyrotechnic show that included seven sixes in a scintillating 88 from 105 balls before becoming Porter's final victim.

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^{Jonny Bairstow kept Yorkshire at bay (SWPix.com/Yorkshire Cricket)}

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Utilita Bowl (day four of four): Somerset 184 & 163-2, Hampshire 338 - match drawn

Hampshire continued their unbeaten start and Somerset their winless opening to the County Championship season with a draw at Utilita Bowl.

Sean Dickson, Tom Abell, and the weather quelled any chances of a final day route to a positive result in either direction – with a total of 175 overs, or around five sessions, lost in the match.

Dickson ended up unbeaten on 77, and Abell 27, after a 56-run partnership which had wiped out Hampshire’s lead and taken Somerset away from any danger of losing.

Ben Brown's side took 13 points from the match, to Somerset's 11, to display a healthy 43 points from their opening three rounds and remain within touching distance of the Division One pacemakers.

Hove (day four of four): Sussex 435 & 132-0, Surrey 490 - match drawn

Champions Surrey are still looking for the first win of the season in the County Championship after they drew with Sussex at Hove.

Surrey's hopes of putting pressure on their hosts on the final day evaporated when they lost their last seven wickets for 100 runs in the morning session. 

They still took a first-innings lead of 55 after being dismissed for 490, but Tom Haines followed his first-innings 174 with an unbeaten 69 (nine fours) and Dan Hughes contributed 49 to an unbroken first-wicket stand of 132. Haines took his aggregate for the season to 449 and is averaging 89.8.

Surrey needed early wickets to put pressure back on Sussex, but the openers wiped out the arrears in the 17th over, by which time Surrey had to employ spin at both ends because of the poor light, with skipper Rory Burns bowling three overs and Dan Worrall and Dom Sibley sending down some exploratory leg breaks. 

Bad light stopped play at 3.25pm, and there was never any chance that the players would return. In the end, the loss of 83 overs during the first three days to bad weather and a pitch which hardly deteriorated ended up frustrating both teams. Surrey took 15 points and Sussex 14, and both sides remain unbeaten after three matches.

Related: Hampshire do the chasing, Somerset do the surviving but the weather does the winning

^{Tom Haines continued his impressive start to the season (Getty Images)}

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Edgbaston (day four of four): Warwickshire 93 & 181-6, Nottinghamshire 367 - match drawn

Dominant Nottinghamshire ran out of time and had to settle for a draw against Warwickshire after rain took out much of the final day of their County Championship Division One match at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire, trailing by 274 on first innings, entered the final day on 163 for 6 second time around, with the visitors four wickets away from the win their command of the match deserved. But rain prevented play until 3.45pm, leaving Nottinghamshire's bowlers just 36 overs at their disposal on a flattening pitch.

Overnight pair Ed Barnard (40 not out, 149 balls) and Olly Hannon-Dalby (seven not out, 62 balls) blocked their way to safety as Warwickshire ended on 181 for 6.

Warwickshire ended with much relief at a draw, having been outplayed. Nottinghamshire's frustration, after seizing control with some brilliant bowling on the second day, was deep, though they did not help themselves with pedestrian batting on the third morning.

With heavy rain always likely on day four, there was a clear case for pressing home their advantage in a more proactive fashion and trying to force victory before the final day.