Durham make their move

Ian Bell hit a superb 215 to help Warwickshire take charge over Gloucestershire

Durham bagged a share of the lead at the top of a congested LV County Championship Division One table by wrapping up an eight-wicket win over fellow title-chasers Yorkshire inside three days at Headingley Carnegie.

On a day when England batsman Ian Bell hogged the Division Two headlines with a double-century for leaders Warwickshire, Australian seamer Callum Thorp was among the star turns for Durham as he finished with 5-71 against the White Rose.

Yorkshire were bowled out for 273 in their second innings, despite a 138-run third-wicket stand between England captain Michael Vaughan (72) and Adam Lyth, who made a career-best 80.

Both fell to the bowling of former England paceman Steve Harmison, and after Liam Plunkett had taken three wickets, Durham wasted little time racing to victory in pursuit of only 111.

England batsman Paul Collingwood finished unbeaten on a season’s best 44 in an unbroken century stand with Michael Di Venuto (65no) after two early wickets for Matthew Hoggard.

Like Durham and Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire also had 77 points by stumps tonight, and, granted fair weather against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl tomorrow, the visitors have good prospects of going clear at the top.

Notts began day three on 337 for seven and managed to bank only one more batting point as left-arm seamer James Tomlinson took two of the last three wickets in a first-innings 354 all out.

New signing Andre Adams then claimed 4-45 to take his match haul to 8-108 in Hampshire’s 248 all out, with 54 at the top of the order from Michael Brown and 52 from tailender Chris Tremlett.

Read and company therefore need 187 to win, as long as the forecast rain stays away on the final day - and by the close they were 54 for one.

Michael Di Venuto helps ease Durham to a comfortable victory over title rivals Yorkshire

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Along the south coast, Lancashire find themselves in a similarly advantageous position against champions Sussex at Hove, where victory would take them a point above Durham and Yorkshire.

Lancashire managed to turn a start-of-play 382 for eight into only 392 all out, Mushtaq Ahmed ending up with three wickets.

Sussex then needed all Murray Goodwin’s stickability in an unbeaten 77 to close on 223 for six - with a vulnerable lead of just 84 - after seamer Glen Chapple had taken 4-49.

Andrew Flintoff again bowled well but was luckless and wicketless as he strove to prove form and fitness in time to be considered for England’s first-Test squad, which will be picked on Thursday.

The other top-flight match concerns Surrey and Kent at the Brit Oval, where Martin van Jaarsveld’s all-round abilities kept the visitors in contention for the win they need to lift them above the Londoners at the bottom.

Van Jaarsveld made an unbeaten 114 from 159 balls - he hit 14 fours - as Kent reached 270 in reply to 397, with Saqlain Mushtaq taking 5-79.

It was the South African’s unheralded bowling which then came to the fore in Surrey’s second-innings 130 all out, to leave Kent needing 258 to win.

Fresh from his 5-33 in a Surrey innings which contained only two double-figure scores - from Scott Newman (72) and Chris Schofield - van Jaarsveld was once again the key with the bat, finishing unbeaten on 70 out of 166 for five after Darren Stevens had contributed a handy 63.

Bell’s 247-ball 215 in Warwickshire’s 528 for eight, against Gloucestershire at Edgbaston, declared took the Bears’ points tally into three figures for the summer.

Surrey off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq bowls Martin Saggers on an action-packed day at the Brit Oval

Bell’s third-wicket partner Jonathan Trott made an unbeaten 164 off 247 balls, hitting 20 fours and a six to his team-mate’s 32 boundaries, before Gloucestershire reached 36 for none second time round, to trail by 156 runs overall.

While Gloucestershire and others may need help from the weather tomorrow, any deterioration in the elements will be no good to Leicestershire, who have already lost by 10 wickets to Worcestershire at Grace Road.

A much-improved second-innings 346 all out owed most to 92 from captain Paul Nixon and 54 from number nine Claude Henderson.

But after Kabir Ali had taken 4-87 to finish - like the resurgent Simon Jones - with seven in the match, Worcestershire knocked off a paltry target as openers Daryl Mitchell and Stephen Moore steered them to 92 without loss.

Derbyshire’s lower order must bat well against Essex at Chelmsford. The hosts moved from 59 for three to 238 all out today, on the back of 71 from Ravi Bopara and an unbeaten 55 from first-innings centurion Ryan ten Doeschate. Seamers Charl Langeveldt and Graham Wagg each took four wickets.

Chasing 372, the visitors replied with 188 for five by stumps - thanks to 69 from Dominic Telo.

Middlesex recovered from a start-of-play four for two in their second innings against Northamptonshire to post 377 for eight and lead by 340 at Uxbridge.

Despite descending to 105 for six at one stage as Johan van der Wath (5-55) took his match tally to 10 wickets, Eoin Morgan (93) and then wicketkeeper Ben Scott (141no) dug in for the hosts, the latter hitting 22 fours and a six from 178 balls.