Hampshire bounce back at Edgbaston, Somerset secure second straight win

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE ROUNDUP: Yorkshire are facing defeat at the Kia Oval after Surrey after losing a succession of late wickets on day three

ECB Reporters Network | 18/05/2025 at 18:43

Taunton (day three of four): Somerset 388 & 150-5, Sussex 152 & 335 - Somerset won by five wickets

Lewis Gregory led from the front with a brilliant 89 not out as Somerset completed a five-wicket County Championship Division One win over Sussex at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.

Set just 150 to win on a benign pitch, the hosts reached their target in an additional half hour to the scheduled day's play, skipper Gregory taking advantage of his new position as opener to hit 12 fours in a sparkling 118-ball innings.

Earlier, an unbeaten 82 off 164 balls from John Simpson had helped Sussex extend their second innings total from an overnight 127 for four to 335 all out. Fynn Hudson-Prentice contributed 41 and James Coles 39, while Jack Leach finished with 4 for 51.

It didn't prove enough and Somerset took 21 points from a second successive Championship victory, while their opponents had to be content with three.

fullerj180501

^{James Fuller helped get the job done for Hampshire (Getty Images)}

Edgbaston (day three of four): Hampshire 300 & 203, Warwickshire 194 & 220 - Hampshire won by 89 runs

Hampshire hit back from last week's thrashing by Nottinghamshire in emphatic style with an 89-run County Championship win over Warwickshire inside three days at Edgbaston.

Set a target of 310, Warwickshire were all out for 220, unpicked by seamers James Fuller (5 for 56) and Kyle Abbott (3 for 44 - 8 for 91 in the match). Alex Davies (66, 106 balls) and Ethan Bamber (43, 78) offered some resistance, but the rest were blown away by a Hampshire side resurgent after their surrender at Trent Bridge.

Hampshire's second innings had closed in the morning on 203. Beau Webster took 4 for 57 and Bamber 4 for 60, but the match was decided by the visitors outbowling their hosts on a pitch which offered encouragement to seamers throughout.

Kia Oval (day three of four): Yorkshire 255 & 185-6, Surrey 512 - Yorkshire are 72 runs behind with four second-innings wickets remaining

Jonny Bairstow made a belligerent 64 not out and James Wharton an excellent 67, but Yorkshire are still facing defeat against Surrey at the Kia Oval.

Surrey took three wickets late on day three to underline their complete dominance in a Rothesay County Championship match they will expect to bring them a second win of the Division One season.

The champions were held up by Bairstow and Wharton's fourth wicket stand of 84, but then Matt Fisher bowled Wharton, and Tom Lawes removed George Hill and nightwatchman Jordan Buckingham in successive balls to leave Yorkshire 185 for 6 at stumps – still 72 runs adrift.

Lawes had Hill caught at first slip and then pinned Buckingham leg-before, leaving Matt Revis to keep Bairstow – who has hit two sixes and eight fours in his 66-ball effort so far – company until the close.

bairstowj0504

^{Jonny Bairstow stands between Surrey and a second victory of the campaign (Getty Images)}

Chester-le-Street (day three of four): Nottinghamshire 407 & 67-1, Durham 664 - Nottinghamshire are 190 runs behind with nine second-innings wickets remaining

Centuries from Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson and Graham Clark put Durham in a strong position on a record-breaking day in their Rothesay County Championship clash with Nottinghamshire.

Gay and Robinson dominated the morning session as they pushed Durham beyond Nottinghamshire’s total, with Gay notching up a second consecutive home century.

Robinson was then joined by Clark in the afternoon and the pair took the game to the Nottinghamshire bowling attack, with Clark picking up a second consecutive century and Robinson looked back to his best as he got his first hundred of the season.

The hosts kept on going into the evening and broke the county’s record for the highest First Class total, but there was a bright spot for Nottinghamshire as Liam Patterson-White picked up his fifth First Class five-wicket haul, and they eventually bowled Durham out for 664. Nottinghamshire reached close on 67 for one, 190 runs behind the hosts.

Clark has been a consistent performer for Durham this season, impressing with the bat on several occasions already this year. On the other hand, Gay and Robinson both had tricky starts to the season, but their class showed today to give their side a chance of a vital win on day four

Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire will be thinking about what could have been as Joe Clarke dropped both Gay and Robinson in the slip cordon in the early stages of their knocks.

Lead image: Harry Trump