COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE ROUNDUP: A seventh-wicket partnership worth 133 between centurion James Rew and Craig Overton sees Somerset clinch their first Division One victory of the campaign in unlikely circumstances
Southampton (day four of four): Durham 511 & 61-0, Hampshire 470 - match drawn
Ben Brown reached his third-highest County Championship score as Hampshire and Durham's clash inevitably ended in a draw.
Brown ended up on 162, three shy of his first-class best, as Matthew Potts and Codi Yusuf shared seven wickets to bowl Hampshire out with a deficit of 41.
Alex Lees and Emilio Gay put on 61 around frequent rain breaks before hands were shaken on the assured the result at 3.50pm - only 20 wickets have fallen across four days.
Hampshire remain unbeaten and move up to fifth, having taken 12 points from the fixture, while Durham are three points behind them in the table, with 13 points received from the draw and bonus points.
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Matthew Potts finished with 4 for 84 Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Taunton (day four of four): Essex 206 & 259, Somerset 145 & 325-7 - Somerset won by three wickets
James Rew's 10th first-class century guided Somerset to an unlikely first County Championship victory of the season, a three-wicket success against Essex at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.
Having been 78 for 5 at one stage in their second innings, chasing 321 to win, the home side began the final day on 216 for 6, still needing 105. But Rew took his score from 65 to a superb 116, off 189 balls, with 18 fours, sharing a seventh-wicket stand of 133 with Craig Overton, who contributed 53 not out, to complete a remarkable fightback.
Overton ended the game 25 minutes before lunch with a straight six off Simon Harmer, which took him to a 111-ball half-century notable for unbroken concentration and application in a pressure situation.
Essex had let things slip with some wayward bowling the previous evening, and their bowlers found scant assistance in a last-day pitch that had aided seam and spin considerably in the previous sessions.
They had to settle for three points, having been on top for long periods, while Somerset claimed a welcome 19 after a disappointing start to the campaign.
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