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Warwickshire clinch Division One title

Warwickshire celebrate their seventh County Championship title © PA Photos

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Warwickshire secured their first County Championship title since 2004, taking less than half the third day at New Road to take the remaining eight wickets in Worcestershire's second innings.

Daryll Mitchell could not carry his second-day resistance long into the third morning as he was bowled by Keith Barker, after which only Moeen Ali - who finished unbeaten on 72 - provided an obstacle to Warwickshire's sixth win of the season.

Again it was Chris Wright and Barker - who shared 10 wickets in the first innings that put Warwickshire firmly on course - that did most of the damage with seven wickets between them; Wright providing the coup de grace by bowling Alan Richardson to secure Warwickshire's seventh County Championship title.

"We're just so proud with what we've achieved," Varun Chopra said. "It's been a great team effort. Everyone has chipped in, everyone has had a major part to play this season."

Four quick wickets in the closing overs of the third day put Sussex in a strong position to beat Somerset and virtually secure runners-up spot in the LV= County Championship. Marcus Trescothick and Arul Suppiah had given Somerset's own hopes of finishing second behind new champions Warwickshire a boost with a stand of 147 for the first wicket after the visitors had been set 396 to win in five sessions.

But Trescothick (71) was bowled off an inside edge trying to hit Monty Panesar over long on and eight balls later Suppiah was held at the second attempt by Matt Prior at second slip to give the exemplary Steve Magoffin the first of three quick wickets. They reached 155 for four at stumps, still needing another 241 runs to win.

Half-centuries by Karl Brown and Gareth Cross helped relegation-threatened Lancashire to a big total on the third day of their encounter against Middlesex at Lord's. The visitors established a two-run first-innings lead on 448 all out thanks in part to the sixth-wicket duo, who added 77 runs in 13 overs to reignite Lancashire hopes after being reduced to 270 for five with the dismissal of Ashwell Prince (71). At stumps, Middlesex had reached 129 for two in their second innings, a lead of 127 heading into the final day.

Zander de Bruyn and Gary Wilson overcame a turning pitch to help Surrey set Nottinghamshire a victory target of 347 on the final day of their clash at the Oval. With seven of the 10 wickets to fall on day three being shared by the spin duo of Graeme White (four for 97) and Sam Wood (three for 64), the stage would now appear to be set for Murali Kartik and Gareth Batty to spin the hosts to victory.

In Division Two, Yorkshire's final home game brought a first LV= County Championship win at Headingley this season to strengthen their position in second place. An emphatic eight-wicket win over Glamorgan was the Tykes' fourth of the season and was secured with a full day and 17.5 overs to spare. They now travel to Chelmsford for their final game of the season against Essex next week looking to wrap up promotion ahead of the club's 150th anniversary in 2013.

Liam Norwell claimed five wickets as Gloucestershire moved off the bottom of the table with a 207-run victory inside three days against Northamptonshire at Bristol. The 20-year-old seamer followed up his three for 23 in the first innings with five for 51 in a Northamptonshire second-innings total of 224 that featured half-centuries from David Sales and Andrew Hall.

The visitors were set an unlikely target of 432 after bowling Gloucestershire out for 311 in the morning session from an overnight 286 for six. Will Gidman failed to add to his 52 as Hall finished with five for 50. Gloucestershire took 20 points from their third Championship win of the season, while Northamptonshire had to settle for three in their final fixture.

Hampshire, having been challenged to make the highest fourth-innings score in an LV= County Championship match at the Ageas Bowl, face an uphill battle to stave off defeat against Essex on the final day. Set a daunting 427 to win, Hampshire were struggling at 73 for three at stumps on day three. They require a further 354 runs to win, with seven wickets intact. Essex, 217 for two at start of play, were eventually dismissed for 475, with Owais Shah taking his unbeaten 124 overnight on to a chanceless 161.

England spin bowler James Tredwell was at the centre of a dispute between Kent and Derbyshire ahead of the match at Canterbury. On the pitch, a championship-best score of 165 by opening batsman Sam Northeast put Kent in command of the fixture. At stumps, visitors Derbyshire had reached 30 for one after 17 overs in pursuit of a mammoth victory target of 404. They will require a further 374 for victory on the final day after losing captain Wayne Madsen to a catch at second slip with only the fourth ball of their response.

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