The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action during day three of round three of the Vitality County Championship in 2024
Derby (day three of four): Leicestershire 574-7d, Derbyshire 167 & 224-6 - Derbyshire are 183 runs behind with four second-innings wickets remaining
Wayne Madsen was again a thorn in Leicestershire's side as he rescued Derbyshire from the threat of a three-day defeat in the Vitality County Championship match at Derby.
After Derbyshire were made to follow on 407 runs in arrears, the 40-year-old blocked the visitors' push for victory with an obdurate unbeaten 59 from 114 balls to steer his team to 224 for 6 at the close.
But with rain forecast on the final day, Madsen, who has scored five centuries against Leicestershire, has given his side a good chance of salvaging a draw.
Despite missing several front-line bowlers, Leicestershire bowled Derbyshire out for 167 with Tom Scriven, Ben Mike and Scott Currie all taking three wickets.
When Derbyshire slipped to 144 for 6 in their second innings, Leicestershire sensed an early finish but Alex Thomson, 46 not out, stayed with Madsen for 27 overs to keep them waiting.
Scott Currie is back at Leicestershire for a second loan spell in as many seasons (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Lord's (day three of four): Yorkshire 159 & 244, Middlesex 246 & 158-4 - Middlesex won by six wickets
Leus Du Plooy and Ryan Higgins steered Middlesex to a six-wicket victory over County Championship Division Two favourites Yorkshire on an absorbing day three at Lord’s.
Hungarian citizen Du Plooy and the Zimbabwean-born Higgins, shared a match-winning stand of 59 just as the Seaxes were wobbling at 77 for 3 in pursuit of 158 to win in this low-scoring encounter.
Du Plooy fell eight short of 50 with victory in sight, but Higgins remained 33 not out when Stephen Eskinazi made the winning runs. Ben Coad's 2 for 20 led a spirited attempt by the visitors to defend the tally, but in the end, they didn’t have enough on the board.
The chase came after Yorkshire, who resumed on 216 for 7 were dismissed in the first 40 minutes of the day for 244, George Hill last man out after extending his overnight 52 to 75 with several well-struck boundaries, Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones finishing with 3 for 78.
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Northampton (day three of four): Glamorgan 271 & , Northamptonshire 605-6d - Northamptonshire lead by 43 runs with eight first-innings wickets remaining
Karun Nair's majestic unbeaten double hundred propelled Northamptonshire into a strong position to push for victory in their Vitality County Championship Division Two battle against Glamorgan.
The former India Test player racked up 202 not out from 253 balls to underpin his side's commanding total of 605 for six declared at Wantage Road, a first-innings advantage of 334.
Nair shared a brisk sixth-wicket partnership of 212 with Saif Zaib, who registered his first ton of the season as the pair plundered Glamorgan’s bowling to back up Ricardo Vasconcelos’ knock of 182.
The visitors laboured to 104 for three at stumps, still trailing by 230, although they could be rescued by Monday’s weather forecast for persistent showers.
Karun Nair crushed a double century for Northants on day three (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images for Surrey CCC)
Hove (day three of four): Gloucestershire 417 & 81-6, Sussex 479 - Gloucestershire lead by 19 runs with four second-innings wickets remaining
Ollie Robinson took two wickets in three balls as Sussex put themselves in a strong position to claim their first win of the season in the Vitality County Championship against Gloucestershire.
Having bowled 27 wicketless overs in the match, Robinson was finally rewarded when he pinned Cameron Bancroft and James Bracey leg before as Gloucestershire slumped to 27 for 4 in their second innings. They reached stumps on 81 for 6, leading by just 19 at Hove.
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