Find out what happened across the LV= Insurance County Championship on the third day of the new season
Division One
Chelmsford (third day of four): Essex 514, Kent 405-5 - Kent trail 109 runs with five wickets in hand
Ben Compton, the latest scion of the cricketing dynasty, emerged from relative obscurity to underpin Kent’s understrength batting line-up with a maiden first-class century in England.
The South African-born grandson on Denis, and cousin of Nick, had a previous highest score in this country of just 20, for Nottinghamshire last season, but multiplied that by more than six with a patient 129 as Kent negated Essex’s mammoth first-innings 514.
With Zak Crawley, Jack Leaning, Sam Billings and George Linde all unavailable for this opening fixture – and Joe Denly nursing a hamstring injury – it was the 28-year-old debutant left-hander’s chance to stake a claim for a place at the top of the order. He did not waste it on a flat wicket that gave no encouragement to bowlers.
Once Kent overhauled the follow-on target with only four wickets down, the draw became inevitable with a day to play despite Jordan Cox weighing in with the fifth century of the match. He was unbeaten on 100 at the close with Kent 405 for 5, just 109 in arrears.
Matt Critchley was among the wickets for Essex as his impressive debut continued [Jacques Feeney/Getty Images]
Northampton (third day of four): Gloucestershire 233 & 326-6, Northamptonshire 288 - Gloucestershire lead by 261 runs with four wickets in hand
A Ryan Higgins century revived Gloucestershire’s hopes of claiming an opening-round win to mark their first stint in Division One since 2005.
Higgins put his stamp on a see-sawing LV= Insurance County Championship contest against Northamptonshire with an unbeaten 134 after he had arrived at the crease with his side facing the prospect of defeat inside three days.
Northamptonshire, themselves aiming for a first top-flight win since 2004, had claimed three wickets inside the first hour to reduce the visitors to 21 for 4 and still 44 runs in arears.
Allrounder Higgins, without a Championship century in three years, then set about wiping off the deficit in a 77-run stand with Chris Dent (54) before adding a further 165 with Tom Lace (73). By the close on day three Gloucestershire’s lead had grown to 261 with four wickets in hand.
Edgbaston (third day of four): Surrey 428-8d, Warwickshire 293-7 - Warwickshire trail by 135 runs with three wickets in hand
Matt Lamb's second first-class century underpinned Warwickshire's fightback against Surrey as the opening-round clash between the two LV= Insurance County Championship title contenders heads for a draw at Edgbaston.
Reigning champions Warwickshire closed a weather-truncated third day on 293 for 7 in reply to Surrey's 428 for 8. The visitors are well-placed for a solid first innings lead but, with only one day left, the match appears destined for a draw.
At 41 for 4 early on the third morning, Warwickshire were in deep trouble but Lamb (106 off 138 balls) and Sam Hain (78 off 228) added 157 to stall the visitors' charge. The fifth-wicket pair saw off a menacing burst from Kemar Roach (3 for 82) then put the batsman-friendly pitch back into perspective. Hain's broad bat blunted the bowling while Lamb was more aggressive, most of all with delightful straight and on-driving. The 25-year-old moved fluently to 50 in 68 balls and 100 in 121 before perishing to a brilliant catch in the deep by Will Jacks.
Lamb and Hain had done the hard yards in getting their side to the follow on figure of 279. Once that was reached, a draw became overwhelmingly likely.
Stephen Mullaney top-scored for Nottinghamshire with 192 runs [Warren Little/Getty Images]
Division Two
Cardiff (third day of four): Glamorgan 234, Durham 348-3 - Durham lead by 114 runs with seven wickets in hand.
An undefeated hundred from Alex Lees put Durham in charge of their LV= Insurance County Championship fixture against Glamorgan in Cardiff as the visitors reached 348 for 3, a first innings lead of 114.
Much of the previous two days have been lost to weather but Durham have put themselves in a position where they could push for a win.
Lees was well supported by captain Scott Borthwick who made 64 and David Bedingham who made a quick-fire half-century as just three wickets fell on the third day of this match.
Durham will resume their first innings on the final day tomorrow and will need quick runs and quick wickets if they are to claim a positive result.
Leicester (third day of four): Worcestershire 348 & 234-5, Leicestershire 213 - Worcestershire lead by 369 runs with five wickets in hand
Opener Ed Pollock smashed a maiden first-class century to put Worcestershire in complete control of their LV= Insurance County Championship fixture against Leicestershire at the UptonSteel County Ground.
The former Warwickshire player, who moved to Worcestershire with the aim of playing red-ball cricket, hit ten fours and two sixes as he raced to three figures from 113 deliveries during a protracted final session that closed shortly after 7pm with the visitors leading by 369 runs, and an overnight declaration expected from captain Brett D'Oliviera.
Pollock and fellow opener Jake Libby put together a stand of 163 when they began Worcestershire's second innings, scoring at over five an over after Leicestershire had been bowled out for 213, allrounder Joe Leach taking 4 for 37 to go with his first innings 70.
Sam Conners was happier on day three, picking up Josh de Caires for a duck [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]
Lord's (third day of four): Middlesex 401 & 201-3, Derbyshire 304 - Middlesex lead by 298 runs with seven wickets in hand
Tom Helm’s two wickets in successive balls sparked a Derbyshire collapse to bolster Middlesex’s hopes of a win on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Derbyshire at Lord’s.
With the visitors 304 for 6 in mid-afternoon chasing Middlesex’s first innings tally of 401, Helm trapped Dal lbw for 52, ending a stand of 86 for the sixth wicket with Alex Thomson. Next ball Sam Conners was sent on his way for a golden duck after missing a Yorker and with fellow seamer Toby Roland-Jones taking two in three balls in the next over, including Thomson for 45, one shy of his career-best, Middlesex had taken 4 for 0 in nine balls.
Dal and Thomson kept up their impressive games with a wicket apiece after Middlesex went in a second time, but Max Holden struck a rapid 68 not out sharing an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 141 with Robbie White (79 not out), his second half-century of the game, to leave the hosts 298 to the good with a day to go.
Hove (third day of four): Sussex 375 & 29-1, Nottinghamshire 534-9d - Sussex trail Nottinghamshire by 130 runs with nine wickets in hand
A captain’s innings by Nottinghamshire’s Steven Mullaney, who was well supported by his lower order, turned the match against Sussex on its head on the third day at the 1st Central County Ground.
Mullaney, who had come to the wicket with Notts 52 for 4 in reply to Sussex’s 375, scored a career best 192 and figured in stands of 96 with Tom Moores, 69 with Liam Patterson-White and 144 with Joey Evison, whose unbeaten 109 was also a career highest.
By scoring their runs at four an over Notts put pressure on a young Sussex side and when they eventually declared, at 534 for 9, a lead of 159 after adding 320 in the day, they still had time to bowl 15 overs at their weary opposition. Sussex were 29 for 1 at the close after losing skipper Tom Haines, caught at midwicket for 14.
To make matters worse for Sussex they learned early in the day that they would be without Danial Ibrahim for the remainder of the match. The club announced that the all-rounder would have a scan on his injured shoulder. Sussex were already without Jack Carson, George Garton and Fynn Hudson-Prentice because of injury and illness.
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