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Lancashire get the job done

Ajmal Shahzad helped his new county secure a tense victory © Getty Images

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Ajmal Shahzad and Kyle Hogg saw Lancashire to a surprisingly tense two-wicket win with four balls to spare against fellow County Championship Division One strugglers Durham.

A half-century by overseas star Ashwell Prince looked to have set the reigning champions on course for a comfortable first win of the season, particularly when they were 156 for four in pursuit of only 200.

But when skipper Glen Chapple was eighth out they still needed 32 to win in 5.4 overs, but Shahzad and Hogg saw them home in a pulsating finish at Chester-le-Street.

Defeat spelt further agony for Durham, who will suffer a points deduction for a slow over-rate and are now further adrift at the foot of Division One.

Steven Finn boosted his claims for an England Test recall with three wickets as Middlesex completed their third County Championship win of the season over Sussex at Lord's.

Finn followed up his three first-innings wickets with three for 66 as Sussex were bowled out for 225 in their second innings. That left Middlesex with a victory target of 18 and they completed a 10-wicket win 40 minutes after tea on the final day.

George Dockrell became the leading spin bowler in the County Championship as Somerset's game against Worcestershire fizzled out into a draw at a gloomy New Road.

The Ireland prospect's second-innings return of three for 56 took him to 29 Division One wickets - two more then Derbyshire's David Wainwright in the Second Division - but a 70-minute hold-up for bad light effectively killed off Somerset's hopes of pushing for a surprise victory.

A combination of courageous batting by Northamptonshire and bad light frustrated Yorkshire in their victory bid on the final day of their match at Headingley.

The 11 points from the draw pushed Yorkshire into second place in the Second Division table but it was still a big disappointment for the home side that they could not sweep aside their opponents and notch a third win of the season.

Northamptonshire were 250 for six and leading by 118 when the umpires brought the players off, despite Yorkshire having two spinners on at the time.

Elsewhere, Group B leaders Surrey continued their unbeaten start to the Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign with a convincing victory over Glamorgan at the Swalec Stadium.

Half-centuries from Steve Davies and Zander de Bruyn helped Surrey to 173 for nine from their 40 overs and then spinner Murali Kartik helped restrict Glamorgan to 107 for nine, before rain ended proceedings 14 overs from the end, with figures of four for 26.

Surrey, who won by 57 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method, have now been successful in all four of their matches while Glamorgan are still looking for a win in any competition.

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