Middlesex end 23-year wait for championship title

Toby Roland-Jones sealed the County Championship title for Middlesex with a hat-trick as Yorkshire collapsed in their second innings and succumbed to a 61-run defeat.

Elsewhere, Durham and Warwickshire won their encounters in Division One while Worcestershire beat Derbyshire in Division Two.

Meanwhile the encounters in Bristol between Gloucestershire and Sussex and in Canterbury between Kent and Essex ended in draws, bringing an end to the 2016 County Championship.

Specsavers County Championship Division One

Lord’s, London: Day Four - Middlesex 270 & 359-6 dec beat Yorkshire 390 & 178 by 61 runs

Middlesex resumed their second innings on the total of 81 for two. Nick Gubbins (93) and Dawid Malan (116) shared a 198-run stand for the second wicket. Gubbins fell short of his hundred while Malan completed his. Stevie Eskinazi’s (78 not out) unbeaten knock helped Middlesex score 359 for six before declaring, setting a target of 240 runs.

In their chase, Yorkshire lost their way early as they were reduced to 48 for three in 12.4 overs. Tim Bresnan (55) scored a fifty and shared crucial stands with Gary Ballance (30) and Andrew Gale (11) before Toby Roland-Jones (6-54) reduced the opposition to 160 for six.

A short while later, Roland-Jones took a hat-trick to remove AzeemRafiq (4), Andy Hodd (17) and Ryan Sidebottom (0) bowling Yorkshire out for 178 runs in 35.2 overs. This 61-run win gave Middlesex the County Championship title while Yorkshire finished third.

The Rose Bowl, Southampton: Day Four - Durham 361& 297-4 beat Hampshire 411 & 245-9 dec by six wickets

Hampshire resumed their second innings on the overnight score of 176 for seven. Mason Crane (1) fell early but Lewis McManus (67) and Gareth Berg (36 not out) pushed the score to 245 for nine before declaring.

Chasing a target of 296 runs for a win, Durham got off to a solid start with a 75-run opening stand in 26.5 overs. After the fall of Keaton Jennings (25), Mark Stoneman (137) and Scott Borthwick (88) shared a 162-run stand to keep the chase right on track.

Stoneman completed his ton and fell in the 66th over which triggered a mini collapse. However, Ben Stokes (23 not out) and Paul Collingwood (6 not out) ensured that Durham chased the target in 78 overs to register a six-wicket win. Durham ended the season in the fourth spot while Hampshire finished eighth and were relegated.

Edgbaston, Birmingham: Day Four - Warwickshire 219 & 279-7 dec beat Lancashire 152 &109 by 237 runs

Lancashire resumed their second innings on the overnight total of 28 for three. Day four was no different as Lancashire continued to lose regular wickets with Rikki Clarke (4-20) and Jeetan Patel (3-46) sharing seven wickets between them. Only Haseeb Hameed (27), Simon Kerrigan (10) and Arron Lilley (27 not out) crossed double digits as Lancashire were bowled out for 109 runs, giving Warwickshire a massive 237 run win. Warwickshire finished on the sixth spot while Lancashire were placed seventh at the end of the season.

Specsavers County Championship Division Two

County Ground, Bristol: Day Four - Gloucestershire 229& 337-7 dec v Sussex 435, match drawn

Gloucestershire started off the final day on the overnight score of 88 for three. Danny Briggs (5-93) removed Josh Shaw (2) and Chris Dent (55) early in the day. However, Hamish Marshall (77) and Phil Mustard (90 not out) shared a 135-run stand to rescue the innings.

With a handy knock from Jack Taylor (33), Gloucestershire scored 337 for seven in 111 overs before the game ended in a draw. Sussex finished in the fourth spot while Gloucestershire managed to end up in the sixth place.

St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury: Day Four - Kent 441& 288-5 dec. v Essex 292, match drawn

Essex started day three on the overnight score of 289-9 and were bowled for 292 runs just into the second over of the day. In their second innings, Kent lost Daniel Bell-Drummond (0), Joe Denly (9), Sean Dickson (14) and Sam Billings (2) in quick succession and were reduced to 40-4 in 17.1 overs.
Sam Northeast (178 not out) and Darren Stevens (18) had a brief partnership before the fifth wicket fell. Northeast completed his ton and along with Will Gidman (63 not out), he added an unbeaten 185-run stand for the sixth wicket before the game ended in a draw. Kent took 13 points to finish second while Essex added 10 more points to their tally, consolidating their number one spot.

County Ground, New Road, Worcester: Day Four - Worcestershire 475-7 dec & 43-1 beat Derbyshire 248 & 266 (f/o) by nine wickets

Derbyshire started off on 15 for one on day four. Two quick wickets followed but Wayne Madsen (100) scored a century at a brisk pace to give momentum to the innings. After Madsen’s departure, Harvey Hosein (59) scored a ton while Tom Milnes (36) chipped in with a handy score.

However, Derbyshire lost quick wickets towards the end and were bowed out for 266 runs in 80.5 overs, giving Worcestershire a target of 40 runs. Though Brett D’Oliveira fell in the first over, Daryl Mitchell (28 not out) and Tom Fell (15 not out) chased the target down in 9.3 overs to register a nine-wicket win.

Worcestershire took 23 points in total to finish third while Derbyshire ended the season at the bottom of the table without any wins against their name.

© Cricket World 2016