The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action during day three of round 14 of the Vitality County Championship in 2024
Cardiff (day three of four): Yorkshire 361 & 273, Glamorgan 239 & 141-7 - Glamorgan require 255 runs to win with 3 wickets remaining
Yorkshire need three Glamorgan wickets to secure victory on the final day and remain in pole position to earn promotion along with already promoted Sussex.
The Welsh County ended the day 141 for 7, 254 behind, Yorkshire opening bowler Ben Coad picking up his 50th wicket of the season as he finished with 4 for 30.
Glamorgan had managed to bowl Yorkshire out for 273, James Harris taking his 600th first class wicket on the way to 5 for 73. Jersey international Asa Tribe was the only Glamorgan batsman to hold firm with an unbeaten maiden first class half century.
That still set the improbable target of 396 for Glamorgan to win and Yorkshire will feel confident of wrapping up victory given the way wickets have fallen in every morning session of this match.
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Bristol (day three of four): Gloucestershire 109 & 195, Sussex 311 - Sussex win by an innings and seven runs
Jubilant Sussex needed less than a session of the third day to wrap up an innings victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol and clinch promotion from Division Two of the Vitality County Championship with a game to spare.
Resuming on 140 for 3 in their second innings, trailing by 62 runs, the home side were skittled for 195, left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat finishing with 3 for 39 and match figures of 7 for 71, while Henry Crocombe took 4 for 22.
The margin of victory was an innings and seven runs, Sussex taking 21 points to Gloucestershire's three from an eighth Championship win of a memorable campaign and building an unassailable advantage over third placed Middlesex.
When Crocombe claimed the final wicket at 12.08pm it provoked scenes of celebration, the seamer raising both arms in the air before joining in a group hug on the square involving the whole team. The Division Two title awaits for the runaway leaders, who have been far and away the best and most consistent side.
Related: Rehan Ahmed wastes good start and opportunity to push credentials further
Sussex secured promotion with an innings win over Gloucestershire (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Northampton (day three of four): Leicestershire 203 & 316, Northamptonshire 383 & 167-1 - Northamptonshire win by nine wickets
Scott Currie's valiant maiden first-class century proved in vain despite helping to stage a remarkable Leicestershire fightback as Northamptonshire completed back-to-back first-class victories for the first time in five years to the day.
Sent in as nightwatcher, Currie kept his calm as Leicestershire lost three early wickets on the third morning of this Vitality County Championship match at Wantage Road, slumping to 92 for 7, still 88 runs behind. The arrival of Tom Scriven (48 off 66 balls) heralded a complete change of approach though as he and Currie wrestled back the initiative in an attacking partnership of 101 in 21 overs either side of lunch.
With the momentum shifting and Leicestershire building a slender lead, Currie was joined in another big stand worth 110 in 23.3 overs by Sam Wood who smashed 57 off 91 balls (5 fours, 3 sixes). Currie's lengthy vigil eventually ended after more than four hours at the crease, having faced 192 balls and hit 15 fours and two sixes.
Those partnerships allowed Leicestershire to set their hosts 137 to win and while they claimed one early wicket, George Bartlett (54 off 91 balls) and captain Luke Procter (68 off 76 balls) both scored half-centuries in an unbroken stand of 120 to seal victory by nine wickets.
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Derby (day three of four): Derbyshire 173 & 119, Middlesex 358 - Middlesex win by an innings and 66 runs
Middlesex wrapped up their fifth win of the Division Two season to keep their Vitality County Championship promotion challenge mathematically still alive after a dismal Derbyshire succumbed to a three-day defeat by an innings and 66 runs at the Incora County Ground.
With skipper Toby Roland-Jones continuing his impressive streak of form with another five-wicket haul, Derbyshire, 74 for 3 overnight, were shot out for 119 after 87 minutes of the day's only session.
Roland-Jones finished with 5 for 38 for match figures of 10 for 72. The 36-year-old seamer has taken five wickets or more in six of his last nine innings to total 52 wickets for the season. Ethan Bamber and leg spinner Luke Hollman picked up two wickets each, with 20-year-old left-arm seamer Noah Cornwell completing their demise with his maiden first-class wicket.
The result means that the race for promotion goes down to the final round, although last week's defeat against Gloucestershire at Lord's left the odds stacked heavily against Middlesex, handing second-placed Yorkshire a 15-point advantage going into this week's games.
A seventh defeat of the season means that Derbyshire are almost certain to finish bottom of Division Two for the first time since 2016 after a poor season under head coach Mickey Arthur.
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