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First Division
Click here to read John Ward’s report of the clash between Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire at Headingley, where Jacques Rudolph posted a century.Click here for the full report of Sussex against Surrey at Hove, where Carl Hopkinson and Murray Goodwin both fell just short of centuries.
Second Division
3rd dayGloucestershire are hoping for a gettable final-day run chase after they declared behind on the third day of their rain-affected match against Glamorgan at Bristol. Glamorgan will enter the fourth morning with a lead of 243 and with more showers possible, David Hemp will be left with an interesting call on when to let Gloucestershire have a bat. Matthew Wood picked up a half-century in the second innings as the hosts gave their part-time bowlers a run. They conceded the first-innings advantage when they closed their innings at 141 for 4, still trailing by 136 on a day that was, like the first two, interrupted by rain. Gloucestershire began the morning hoping to quickly wrap up Glamorgan’s tail but Robert Croft frustrated them with 45 as the visitors moved along to 277.Tim Ambrose showed his readiness for the international season with an unbeaten 156 as Warwickshire collected a full hand of batting points against Leicestershire at Edgbaston. He built two significant stands, 152 with Jonathan Trott (82) and 157 with Neil Carter who clubbed 82 off 94 balls. Ambrose needed 162 deliveries for his sixth first-class century, but when Garnett Kruger bowled Ian Salisbury it looked as though Warwickshire may fall short of 300. However, Carter put bat to ball as he does in one-day cricket while Ambrose moved onto the second highest score of his career, behind the unbeaten 251 he made against Worcestershire last season. But with so much time lost to the weather forcing a victory remains unlikely without some agreement between captains. Leicestershire reached 124 for 1 at the close, although both Matt Boyce and HD Ackerman were both dropped at slip by Ian Salisbury.2nd dayStephen Moore’s second century of the season put Worcestershire in charge against Northamptonshire at Northampton but a couple of late wickets to David Lucas kept the hosts in the hunt. After only 10.2 overs were possible on the first day, Moore’s 109 ensured the visitors took a comfortable first-innings lead on day two. Moore and Vikram Solanki (64) compiled a 130-run stand before Lucas removed them both late in the day to leave Worcestershire 216 for 3 at stumps. It had been a struggle for the Northamptonshire quicks until then, unlike their visiting counterparts Steve Magoffin and Kabir Ali. Kabir had Rob White lbw from the first ball of the day before Magoffin added two more with no addition to the score. The hosts were 33 for 4 when David Sales led a rally of sorts with 50 but once he and Lance Klusener (30) fell to Magoffin the rest dropped away quickly. Magoffin, the Western Australia import, finished with 4 for 49 and Kabir grabbed 3 for 44.
