WARWICKSHIRE ARE 2012 COUNTY CHAMPIONS!!
Everything else feels a little superfluous to that, but two other games also reached conclusions today, as well as several other interesting or thrilling moments. We have to start however with Warwickshire.
County Championship Cricket
Day 3
Worcestershire v Warwickshire - Warwickshire win by an innings and 202 runs
Wor - 60 & 209
War - 471-8
Warwickshire romped to victory and the title by bowling out Worcestershire for 209 in their second innings. The match was all but over at lunch on day 1 when the hosts were bowled out for 60 but Warwickshire dominated every moment of the game by compiling 471 yesterday. Worcestershire showed some fight in the evening going to 100-2 overnight.
Only four had been added this morning however when Mitchell was bowled for 42 by Barker, who shortly after had Kervezee lbw for 19. Ali began to put bat to ball but wickets continued to fall through the morning. After lunch the tail also failed to wag, as Wright picked up four wickets and Ali was left not out on 72.
To win in two and a half days is huge and mirrors Warwickshire's very successful season. They've won the Championship with a match to go, which only a couple of weeks ago seemed unlikely. They've won 6 matches and lost just 1, but more importantly have consistently picked up bonus points, and currently have 42 of both batting and bowling points, the highest of any team.
Congratulations to Warwickshire on their first Championship win in 8 years and comiserations to Worcestershire who are relegated to the second division.
Points: Worcestershire 1, Warwickshire 23
Yorkshire v Glamorgan - Yorkshire win by 8 wickets
Gla - 272 & 182
Yor - 344 & 111-2
A few runs from the lower-middle order helped Glamorgan post a target above 100 but it was never going to be enough as Yorkshire charged to victory and the top spot in second division (at least temporarily).
Allenby was the top scorer for the Welsh side with 48, while Patterson took 4 for 47. Lyth then hit 50 from 60 balls but he followed Root (11) as they both fell lbw with the score on 63. Jaques (28*) and Ballance (19*) however saw the home side over the line and into a great position for promotion.
Points: Yorkshire 22, Glamorgan 5
Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire
Glo - 220 & 311
Nor - 100 & 224
Gloucestershire completed their win over Northamptonshire after setting the visitors an improbable 432 to win.
Hall finished well with 5 for 50 in Gloucestershire's second innings as he took the last three wickets all with the score on 311, and the last two in two balls.
Peters was caught fourth ball though to dampen Northamptonshire's spirits again and despite fifties from Sales and Hall wickets fell steadily. Norwell matched Hall's earlier efforts and finished with 5 for 51 as Northamptonshire finished their season on a sour note.
Points: Gloucestershire 20, Northamptonshire 3
Sussex v Somerset
Sus - 221 & 308
Som - 134 & 155-4
Early in the evening session this game was spicing up but four wickets for four runs has all but finished off Somerset.
Sussex began the day on 186-2 and took their total up to 230 before Nash was caught for a splendid 124. Then followed, if not a collapse then at least a steady stream of wickets as batsmen came and went. Thomas was the more successful bowler picking up 5 for 68, but some late runs lifted Sussex past 300 and helped set Somerset a target of 397.
Trescothick and Suppiah are highly talented and experienced batsmen and as it was Somerset you knew they weren't going to lie down, and sure enough they battled away together for most of the late afternoon and evening, scoring slowly but regularly. They went to fifty and then a hundred, both of them bringing up half centuries in the process and started to put a few nerves in the home dressing room.
Suddenly though everything changed as first Trescothick was clean bowled by Panesar for 71 and then Suppiah was caught behind by Prior for 70 as two wickets fell for nothing. Magoffin, who'd taken that second wicket then got on a roll and clean bowled Jones for 1 before having Kirby caught by Nash for 2. Somerset were 151-4 and now faced an even bigger challenge than they started with. All their hard work had been undone and Sussex were able to leave the field with confidence. How much different would it have been if Somerset were 155-0 overnight!
Surrey v Nottinghamshire
Sur - 269 & 304
Not - 227 & 0-0
The morning once again brought wickets while the afternoon didn't as another similar day at the Oval ensued. Fletcher removed Ansari early but after some watchful batting it was White who pulled Nottinghamshire back into the game, taking wickets with the score on 50, 75 and 92, the last of which was Pietersen for 22.
Du Bruyn and Roy however combined to alleviate the danger and together they put on 72 to take Surrey's lead past 200. Wood picked up his first Championship wicket by having Roy (41) caught by Voges, but Surrey continued to take the game away from the visitors as Wilson joined du Bruyn and they added another 90.
White returned to have du Bruyn lbw for 78, before Wood followed up by having Wilson caught for 57. Four runs later he then forced Meaker to edge behind for his third wicket.
More late runs lifted Surrey past 300 however before they were all out. They have set Nottinghamshire 347 to win and after Gurney saw out the final over of the day they have all of day four to try and chase that total.
Middlesex v Lancashire
Mid - 446 & 129-2
Lan - 448
Lancashire have tried their best today to stay in with a chance of survival, but it seems the Lords track is too good for a result.
Incredibly in a score of 448 the highest individual score was 78 by Brown while four other players also scored fifties.
Robson then fell with the score on 5 and Denly was clean bowled for 16 as the northerners tried to turn the tables in this high scoring match. Rogers (57*) and Malan (37*) however saw out the rest of the day adding 85, to leave the game heading for a draw. There will have to be a mind-blowing bowling performance tomorrow by one of the teams if there is to be a result on this wicket.
Kent v Derbyshire
Ken - 261 & 342-8
Der - 200 & 30-1
Derbyshire could only watch in despair as Kent took this game further away from them, and at the same time took big strides towards them in the table. At the start of this round Kent were the outside chance at promotion contenders, but assuming they can finish off Derbyshire tomorrow they will right up there with the others.
Nash made 62 while Powell finished 59 not out, but they were overshadowed by a fantastic innings from Northeast. Hitting fourteen 4s and two 6s he went to 165 and helped Kent from 59-3 overnight to a total above 300, before being caught. In the end Kent set Derbyshire a wopping 404 to win and then removed Madsen fourth ball for 0 to further weaken the visitors' chances and increase their own.
Hampshire v Essex
Ess - 180 & 475
Ham - 229 & 73-3
Things got worse today for Hampshire, as while Yorkshire and Kent head towards the top of the table the south coast side look like missing out this round and being left behind in the title race.
Shah was the one to watch this morning as he crunched the ball around the field moving Essex past 250 and into a lead of more than 200. He was eventually out for 161, out of a total of 281 then. Another wicket fell but ten Doeschate and Foster launched Essex on past 400. Ten Doeschate muscled 69 in 61 balls with two 6s, while Foster made 61 from 70 balls. Wheater then came out and added 42 in 36 balls and finished unbeaten as yet another chase target topped 400, this one was the biggest of all the matches on 427!
Hampshire needed to survive to the close, while also making a dent in that score but only succeeded in losing three wickets for five runs, before 36* by Adams lifted them to 73-3 overnight.
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