County cricket: Northants v Surrey, Warwickshire v Somerset – live

A huge hug for George, a first ton of the summer, and a crucial one too. He celebrates by smashing a six shortly afterwards.

The County Ground: Northants 339 and 209-5 v Surrey 421

Edgbaston: Warwickshire 196 v Somerset 219 and 277-4

Headingley: Essex 225 and 162-9 BEAT Yorkshire 134 and 252 by one wicket.

DIVISION TWO

Grace Road: Leicestershire 202 and 198 v Durham 296 and 51-2

Lord’s: Middlesex 390 v Glamorgan 214 and 191-8

Hove: Sussex 220 and 39-1 v Worcestershire 438-5dec

Matthew Potts followed up six wickets in Leicestershire’s first innings with seven for 49 in their second, to assemble a career-best, all-dancing, 13 for 101 and put Durham within sight of victory. Potts, with the air of a man who pulls ploughs for fun, muscled through three spells, decimating winless Leicestershire’s scorecard.

With the scores level at Headingley, and Essex nine wickets down, Shane Snater smeared the winning runs with a leg-side boundary to snatch a one-wicket victory in a thriller against Yorkshire. Snater’s 65 not out in 51 balls propped up Essex after they’d made a hash of chasing 162, slipping from 51 for two to 64 for six.

Steve Patterson, released by Yorkshire at the end of the season, grabbed five for 46. Ben Coad and Finlay Bean had earlier made debut first-class fifties to give the hosts a sniff of a chance.

Somerset, who started the day by issuing a press release criticising the ECB’s current cricket schedule as “unacceptable,” crawled to an advantage on a slowing pitch in the crucial relegation face-off at Edgbaston. As Toms Lammonby and Abell, then George Bartlett (91 not out) and Lewis Goldsworthy, admirably saw off Warwickshire’s bowlers, members chewed over a 300 lead and the club’s statement.

“The current domestic playing programme, which resulted in only four one-day matches being played in Taunton over 43 days in the height of summer this year, with 17 Somerset players unavailable, is unacceptable to the club, its members and the South West’s cricketing public,” it said.

Tom Curran hit his maiden first-class century as title-chasing Surrey grabbed their match against Northamptonshire by the collar. Because of injury, the IPL and Covid, Curran hadn’t played a first-class game since April 2019, but slotted right back in, punting with panache, three sixes flipping the rope in his 93-ball 115.

Surrey’s 82-run first-innings lead looked crucial when Northants lost early second-innings wickets, but half centuries from Luke Procter, and then Ricardo Vasconcelos gave Northants a 100-plus lead by stumps and set up a tantalising final day.

All was smooth sailing at Lord’s for Glamorgan until 10 minutes before tea. From there, they lost eight for 52, after squandering an opening stand of 123 between David Lloyd and Edward Byrom. Just 15 runs in front, defeat looms against their promotion rivals Middlesex in the morning. Toby Roland-Jones took three for 48; Tim Murtagh and Ethan Bamber two wickets a piece.

A double hundred for Jake Libby, his first, put Worcestershire in the driving seat at damp Hove, cracking quick runs once the weather relented. Worcestershire declared with a lead of 218, giving Sussex time to lose their captain Tom Haines before the close.

Good morning! It’s the final day of this round , with Surrey likely to rise back to the top of the table, unless Northants can do something extraordinary. Elsewhere, Matthew Potts’s 13 wickets should ensure Durham tidy things up early this morning; Glamorgan are in deep trouble, and Sussex’s mettle is about to be tested at Hove. Somerset have set themselves up to save the game on a stodgy Edgbaston pitch, while Essex pipped Yorkshire in the CC game of the summer (discuss) yesterday.