Draws across the board as remaining Division One matches peter out

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE ROUNDUP: Nottinghamshire's lead at the top of the table has been cut after they were held by Yorkshire at Trent Bridge; the other three games also reached inevitable conclusions

Chelmsford (day four of four): Essex 296 & 358-6, Hampshire 453 - match drawn

Tom Westley and Michael Pepper combined for a 215-run sixth-wicket partnership that frustrated Hampshire and ultimately saved Essex from suffering their third Rothesay County Championship defeat of the season.

The pair came together at 131 for 5, still 26 runs short of making Hampshire bat again, and were not parted for nearly three-and-a-half hours. Slowly but surely they took the game out of the visitors' grip that had looked strong after gaining a first-innings lead of 157. Pepper was the hare to Westley's tortoise, but both batsmen clocked up contrasting centuries, Westley his 30th in red-ball cricket and Pepper his highest first-class score.

When handskakes were exchanged to signal the draw at 4.50pm, the Essex captain had batted for all but 12 overs of the 119 Essex faced in their second innings. He had struggled for runs this summer but his unbeaten 322-ball 130, with 12 boundaries, showed a high level of self-discipline and application.

While Westley had dug in doggedly, Pepper changed the tempo of the innings with some big-hitting before he was eventually dismissed for 140 from 154 balls, including 20 fours and a six. Pepper had also played a similar key role in partnership with Matt Critchley to help Essex secure an equally unlikely draw against Yorkshire last month.

Hampshire spinner Liam Dawson added two early wickets in the morning to the pair he had in the bag overnight, but while whirling away for a marathon stint of 41 overs could not improve on figures of 4 for 82.

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^{There was a high-scoring draw at Trent Bridge (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

Trent Bridge (day four of four): Nottinghamshire 487 & 148-1, Yorkshire 510 - match drawn

Pocketing 12 points for a draw was enough to keep Nottinghamshire top of the Rothesay County Championship table with eight of 14 matches played, although they now find defending champions Surrey breathing down their necks after the match against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge ended in stalemate.

Nottinghamshire led Division One by 10 points going into this round but Surrey's victory over Worcestershire at New Road has closed the gap to two ahead of next week's second batch of fixtures with the Kookaburra ball, when Surrey meet Durham at the Kia Oval and Nottinghamshire travel to Somerset.

Matthew Revis supplemented Finlay Bean's superb double-hundred for with an unbeaten 93 but with Yorkshire's first innings stretching to lunch on day four before Nottinghamshire could bowl them out for 510 on a generally benign pitch, the chances of a positive outcome were almost non-existent.

Part-time off-spinner Freddie McCann finished with a career-best 3 for 53 before Nottinghamshire, who had made 487 in their first innings, reached 148 for 1 in their second innings, opener Ben Slater passing fifty for the sixth consecutive innings - four of them against Yorkshire - in making an unbeaten 74. The players shook hands on a draw at ten to five.

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^{Dan Ibrahim made his second first-class century (George Wood/Getty Images)}

Chester-le-Street (day four of four): Sussex 361 & 322-6, Durham 327 - match drawn

A watchful century from Danial Ibrahim and a gritty 85 from John Simpson guided Sussex to a draw on the final day of their Rothesay County Championship clash with Durham.

The pair were watchful as they looked to protect their position in the match, with a probing opening spell from Matthew Potts the most trouble the visiting batters faced on a sedate final morning.

Simpson and Ibrahim got the Sussex lead past 200 and resumed after lunch. Sam Conners removed Simpson 15 runs short of another century, but Ibrahim remained calm to reach three figures for the second time in his First Class career.

Sussex finished on 322 for six with the teams shaking hands at 4.50pm.

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