• County Championship round-up

Trescothick leads fightback after Hales smashes 183

Stuart Broad came back from a poor first spell to claim Marcus Trescothick's wicket © Getty Images

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A career-best 184 from Alex Hales helped Nottinghamshire build a first-innings lead against Somerset at Trent Bridge.

The hosts resumed on 303 for five and Hales, along with captain Chris Read (48) quickly added runs. Andre Adams (33) also scored quickly before Hales was caught behind off the bowling of Charl Willoughby, who picked up the last three wickets in three consecutive overs.

Somerset started their second innings 106 runs in arrears but the deficit was soon wiped out as Marcus Trescothick (86) scored freely. The Somerset skipper fell Stuart Broad but Nick Compton then made an unbeaten 46 as the visitors took control, closing on 197 for two - a lead of 91.

Yorkshire remain well placed to earn a County Championship double over fellow strugglers Worcestershire although the hosts made heavy weather of their task on the third day at Scarborough. Chasing 134 for victory after stubborn resistance from the visitors took Worcestershire to a second-innings 332, Yorkshire closed on 80 for 3, 53 runs behind.

Sussex's match against Hampshire was finely balanced going into the final day at Hove. A fascinating penultimate day ended with Sussex 82 for 3, needing 233 for a fourth victory of the season after winning promotion back into the top flight last year. But with the south coast derby delicately poised, it is relegation-threatened Hampshire who are more desperate to register what would be their first win of the season.

Spinners Gareth Batty and Zafar Ansari bagged a wicket apiece as Surrey clinched a tense 21-run win over Kent in a nerve-racking finish to their Division Two match at The Oval.

The home victory left visiting skipper Rob Key crestfallen after the former England batsman almost single-handedly steered his side to the brink of success with a captain's innings of 162, only to miss out on the plaudits when his side finally went down 55 minutes into the final day.

Resuming on their overnight position of 270 for 8 and in pursuit of the 52 runs required for a third win of the campaign, Kent made the best of starts as ninth-wicket partners Key and Robbie Joseph clipped 10 runs off their target within two overs, but Surrey made the necessary breakthroughs to claim their third win of the summer and, with it, 23 championship points.

Essex revived their promotion hopes with a crushing 254-run victory over Leicestershire in their clash at Grace Road. Having set Leicestershire a target of 393 Essex bowled them out for 138 in 49.2 overs to clinch their second successive Championship win after beating Northamptonshire in convincing fashion two weeks ago.

Chesney Hughes scored 167 for Derbyshire as they built a lead against Glamorgan in Derby. Derbyshire had been reduced to 22 for four before Hughes' pivotal innings and with Dan Redfern (63) and Luke Sutton (45) also contributing the hosts reached the close on 280 for eight, a lead of 295.

Meanwhile, in the Friends Life T20, big-hitting Kevin O'Brien smashed an unbeaten 58 from 29 balls to help Gloucestershire consign Middlesex to bottom place in the South Group. The Gladiators made 165 for four and it proved too high a total for the Panthers to chase down, as they crumbled to 140 for seven. In Wednesday's other match, Lancashire secured their place in the quarter-finals after edging to a thrilling 12-run win against Warwickshire.

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