Key keeps Kent in touch

Lancashire 284 (Prince 134) and 75 for 0 lead Kent 260 (Key 134, Harmison 59, Parry 3-51) by 99 runs
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Division Two champions Lancashire look set to finish the County Championship season unbeaten after strengthening their grip on their final match against Kent at Canterbury. Lancashire reached the mid-point of the clash on 75 without loss in their second innings - an overall lead of 99.

Having dismissed Kent for 260 to claim a narrow first-innings advantage of 24, Red Rose openers Paul Horton and Luis Reece survived 21 overs through to stumps to dent Kent's hopes of notching a first home Championship win of the season.

Having started the day brightly by taking Lancashire's final two wickets for the addition of just 15 runs - Ashwell Prince failing to add to his overnight 134 - Kent's first-innings batting was again found wanting until their former captain Rob Key dug in for his fifth Championship century of the campaign.

Responding to Lancashire's 284, Kent suffered a miserable start and at 7 for 3 the follow-on looked a real possibility until Key saved face with a 118-ball century.

The hosts lost opener Sam Northeast for a duck after only 13 deliveries when the right-hander clipped firmly into the hands of midwicket against Kyle Jarvis. Eight balls later and with only a single to his name, Daniel Bell-Drummond then allowed one from Oliver Newby to squeeze through bat and pad and pluck out off stump.

Brendan Nash lasted three deliveries before he sparred outside off against Newby to be caught at the second attempt by Tom Smith at third slip as the procession back to the changing rooms continued.

However, Key then found a willing ally in fourth-wicket partner Ben Harmison as the pair batted on either side of lunch to add 158 in 35.1 overs - the highest partnership of the game by far. Harmison posted his fifth half-century of an improving campaign from 103 balls while Key looked comfortable throughout as he eased 10 fours and a six during his three-hour ton.

Harmison celebrated his fifty with a six off Newby but the bowler enjoyed revenge soon after by trapping the left-hander leg before for 59. The slide continued when Darren Stevens went in similar fashion to the lively Jarvis as Kent's last five wickets mustered only 41 runs.

Sam Billings was superbly caught one-handed at second slip by Andrea Agathangelou, Adam Ball also went leg-before and James Tredwell shouldered arms against Tom Smith to lose his off stump. Key then went for 134, snared by spinner Stephen Parry, who also bowled Kent's last man Matt Hunn to give Lancashire a narrow lead.

At the start of the day Kent required barely half-an-hour to polish off the Lancashire first innings. Debutant Hunn had Prince pocketed at second slip to give the rookie from Suffolk figures of 2 for 51, then Stevens bagged his 200th first-class wicket by having Parry caught in the cordon to deny Lancashire their third batting bonus point.

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Promotion seals golden year for Northants

Worcestershire 163 and 155 for 3 lead Northamptonshire 202 (Keogh 57, Richardson 5-70) by 116 runs
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There may be a day or two left of the campaign, but Northamptonshire are already celebrating what may just be the finest season in the club's history.

Essex's failure to secure the bonus points they required to stand any chance of overhauling them means that Northants are assured of promotion to Division One of the County Championship whatever happens in the rest of their match with Worcestershire.

With the FLt20 already secured - only the fourth trophy in the history of a club that played its inaugural first-class game in 1905 - and the club assured of playing in the top division for the first time since 2004, it is easy to understand why the chief executive, David Smith, declared it "the best year we've ever had". They only missed out on a YB40 semi-final due to run rate, too.

Perhaps 1976 was better. That year Northants won the Gillette Cup and were second in the County Championship - long before the days of two divisions or a financial divide between the top and bottom sides - but, whichever way you look at it, 2013 will be remembered as a golden year in the history of a club that has generally been content to live in the shadows.

It is the contrast with last year that is so remarkable. Not only did Northants finish second from bottom of Division Two in 2012, they hardly won a match in limited-overs cricket. Across the three competitions, no side won fewer games. Spectators stayed away in their droves.

As a result, they changed their captain and their coach. David Ripley, the wicketkeeper when Northants last won a trophy in 1992, actually replaced David Capel midway through the 2012 campaign but it was only this year that he had the opportunity to instil his own values upon the side. Stephen Peters replaced Andrew Hall as captain of the first-class side and Alex Wakely became captain in the limited-overs formats, deputising in the Championship side when Peters was injured.

Hall, relieved of the burden of leadership, rediscovered his form as a player and emerged as their "standout four-day performer", in the words of Ripley. No one in the side has scored more runs than Hall's 909, while he has also taken 35 Championship wickets.

The club also recruited wisely. Steven Crook, arguably the signing of the season, was brought in from Middlesex to add pace with the ball and ballast with the bat, while Azharullah was signed from league cricket and Trent Copeland as overseas player. They have so far claimed 113 Championship wickets between them; only Lancashire have taken more bowling points than Northants in the division.

The batting was even stronger. No side in either division can match their 54 batting bonus points and, with 15 men having contributed half-centuries, there were times when a batsman as competent as Copeland, who has scored a first-class century and gone in as high as No. 7 in Australia, went in at No. 11.

But there is more to this improvement than strong batting and bowling. Northants have also instilled in their side a unity and spirit that has seen them overcome two defeats against Lancashire - the only side that beat them and the only side they admit were better than them - and the inevitable stresses and strains of a long county season. The split captaincy idea has resulted in all formats benefiting from increased energy and time for planning, and the momentum of success in all forms of the game has proved self-perpetuating.

Perhaps most pleasing is the emergence of some young players at the club - the likes of Olly Stone, Rob Newton, Rob Keogh, Ben Duckett, David Murphy and even Wakely - who could go on to form the basis of a strong team for a decade to come.

If you really want to pinpoint the change in fortunes of this club, you probably have to go back to January 2012. That was when a new chief executive, David Smith, was appointed and when the ambitions of a club that had seemed content with a supporting role were overhauled. It was Smith who sacked Capel and appointed Ripley and who had the energy and vision to see how the club could regain the relevance it once had in its local community. His job is not complete, but he has made a fine start.

Not only have Northants' on-field performances improved in the last 20 months, the club have bought the ground on which they play, improved their facilities and begun an economic development that will, in time, see their income grow by 30% or more. Only last Sunday, 13,000 people attended a Madness concert at the club, which will have earned Northants around £75,000.

Northants have come close to promotion before. In 2009 and 2011 they missed out by a single point and there were times over the first couple of days of this game when they feared history would repeat itself. Alan Richardson, hailed by Ripley as "still the best bowler in this division" produced a characteristically excellent spell of seam bowling in the morning to reduce Northants to 157 for 8 before Keogh and Murphy helped them secure a bonus point. Richardson, whose 14-over spell was a terrific effort for a 38-year-old, fully deserved his fifth five-wicket haul of the season and 23rd of his career.

In the end, though, Essex's shortcomings rendered the outcome of this game irrelevant to the promotion issue. Quite why Essex would invest in high-profile signings like Monty Panesar and Gautam Gambhir in the finals weeks of a season and then not select senior players such as David Masters, Reece Topley, Owais Shah and, though fitness was a factor, even Ravi Bopara for a game that could have earned them promotion, is anyone's guess. But the achievement means plenty to Northants.

"We're not Manchester United," Ripley said, "but to the 100 people who clapped us off the pitch and all the others following this game at home, this results mean a lot. I had plenty of doubts that we would get here so it's just a relief that we have.

"We know that it will be tough next year. But we've taken heart from the fact that Yorkshire have gone from runners-up in Division Two to runners-up in Division One in a season and the fact that we've been good in all formats and near the top of the Championship table since the first game shows we've deserved this."

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Allenby, Cooke keep contest even

Glamorgan 271 for 9 (Allenby 85, Cooke 50, Gidman 4-64) trail Gloucestershire 275 (Dent 84) by four runs
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Honours were left even at stumps on day two of Glamorgan's Championship Division Two clash with Gloucestershire at Cardiff. Will Gidman starred for the visitors with 4 for 64, while Jim Allenby scored 85 for Glamorgan as they reached 271 for 9 in response to Gloucestershire's 275 all out.

Gloucestershire had resumed their first innings on 228 for 8 after only 82.1 overs had been possible on the first day because of bad light during the final hour.

Glamorgan had probably hoped to wrap up the visiting innings quickly but it took the bowlers almost 23 overs to claim the final two wickets during which Gloucestershire added 47 runs.

Tom Smith and Graeme McCarter rode their luck early on but stayed around to register Gloucestershire's second batting point. Slow left-armer Dean Cosker was twice lofted back over his head for fours by McCarter before Allenby trapped him leg-before .

From 263 for 9, Gloucestershire added 12 more runs before Allenby struck again when Matt Taylor was caught by Ben Wright at backward point.

Glamorgan suffered a setback in their reply as they found themselves reduced to 47 for 3. In the final over before lunch Gareth Rees edged McCarter to Chris Dent at second slip.

Glamorgan lost a second wicket in the third over after the interval as Wright was trapped leg before by Gidman. And the mini-collapse was complete when veteran Murray Goodwin, who had opened, edged Taylor the into Dent's hands at third slip.

But Chris Cooke and Allenby rescued the Welsh county from their shaky predicament, putting on 56 for the fourth wicket. Allenby played positively driving his first two deliveries from Taylor for four but he had a life when Ian Cockbain dropped him at third slip off Gidman.

Cooke also played well in completing a 64-ball half century but, shortly after, Taylor broke through his defences to leave Glamorgan 103 for four which became 130 for 4 by tea.

After the interval, David Lloyd perished when he edged to Dent at second slip off Gidman, who then had skipper Mark Wallace caught behind to leave the home side 147 for 6. But Allenby continued, completing an 68-ball fifty, before he lost Graham Wagg lbw to McCarter.

Ruaidhri Smith brought up the 200 but he lost Allenby, who edged Taylor into the hands of the busy Dent at second slip. Smith was the ninth man out before Cosker and Michael Hogan put on an unbeaten 27 for the final wicket by stumps.

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Essex bid ends in bafflement

Essex 207 (Coles 6-71) and 44 for 0 trail Hampshire 456 (Carberry 85, Wheater 122, Vince 82, Smith 5-58) by 205 runs
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Essex's funny season produced one final baffling episode as they meekly surrendered their chance of promotion at the Ageas Bowl. Their prospects of overhauling Northamptonshire were slim but their effort betrayed the opportunity.

Far from mounting a convincing case for promotion, Essex were made to follow-on and it was evident that Hampshire were the more motivated of the two teams. Bowled out with only one batting bonus point, Essex failed to apply any pressure on Northamptonshire, easing the burden of their tricky task at New Road.

Did Essex genuinely believe they could win promotion this week? In announcing a weakened XI for this match, the club website - a medium where the view of Dr Pangloss is always aired - stated: "Although promotion is still a mathematical possibility, the likelihood is that Northamptonshire will retain their current second position." Far from eternal optimism.

Owais Shah - who has announced his retirement from first-class cricket - and Ravi Bopara - whose contract expires at the end of the season - would surely have given Essex a better chance to obtain maximum batting points, which became a requirement after Northamptonshire claimed a batting point of their own against Worcestershire.

David Masters and Reece Topley, with 99 wickets between them in the Championship this season, would also have been invaluable - particularly when James Foster chose to bowl first, hoping to extract the best out of a wicket with some grass left on it. Bowling first also denied Monty Panesar - and indeed Greg Smith who took 5 for 58 in Hampshire's innings - the chance to bowl in the last innings, although they will now do so if Essex can erase the first-innings deficit of 249. They made a solid start following-on but should have lost Gautam Gambhir, badly dropped at second slip shortly before rain arrived to curtail the day.

Essex's head coach, Paul Grayson, insisted he had a side capable of winning the game, which was true, particularly given Hampshire's poor record in the Championship this season. But a batting performance that lacked application did his comments no favours. They were bustled out by Matt Coles, whose 6 for 71 was the second five-wicket haul of his brief Hampshire loan spell.

The extra bounce he generated proved a fierce weapon; Ben Foakes gloved a lifter to first slip, Foster couldn't control a hook and was caught a deep square leg and debutant Kishen Velani failed to deal with a short ball and popped up a catch to cover on the stroke of tea.

It was the performance of a man playing for a contract and rebuilding his reputation. He was quick and at times hostile. He hit the gloves of Michael Bates hard - Bates enjoying a rare Championship match having stepped aside for Adam Wheater when he joined from Essex at the start of the season.

But further up the order, Essex were guilty of some loose strokes that were particularly irresponsible given their weakened line up. Jaik Mickleburgh played an overconfident straight drive and lost his middle stump; Gambhir flashed at a wide one to be caught behind and Smith totally lost patience with a probing James Tomlinson after lunch and pulled off the splice of the bat to mid-on.

With those three dismissals - for a combined 45 runs - Essex's chance of promotion disappeared and consigned them to a fourth consecutive year in Division Two. Is it the expected return from a season where they were bowled out for 20 in the Championship and booed off in a Twenty20 by their own fans? Or is it a disappointment from a campaign that included a trip to Friends Life t20 Finals Day and a strong run in the Yorkshire Bank 40? No county does chalk and cheese like Essex.

No county also sees so many players leave the club and progress. They can be forgiven for losing Adam Wheater - Foster and Ben Foakes are two fine wicketkeepers - but his run-a-ball 122 would surely have brought pangs of disappointment that they could not have persuaded Wheater to remain at Chelmsford as a batsman.

Indeed, Wheater's future at Hampshire could be purely as a batsman. Although Wheater makes few mistakes behind the stumps, to not utilise Bates is a badly wasted resource. It may even free Wheater up. He has failed to turn a good season into a great one, disappointing in favourable conditions. But the potential for him to develop into a top-order batsman is there, such is his range of strokes and timing shown here in zipping from his overnight 82 in the first hour of play.

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Hall's five puts Division One in sight

Northamptonshire 103 for 4 trail Worcestershire 163 (Shantry 55*, Pardoe 51, Hall 5-30) by 60 runs
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It is remarkable how much can change in a year. Twelve months ago, Northamptonshire finished the season with fewer wins across the three competitions than any side in the land and their lowest Championship finish - eighth in Division Two - since 1978.

Now they are the FLt20 champions and about 150 runs short of promotion. They have, despite a modest budget and a far from glorious history, emerged as the most improved side in the county game and, like Durham, have proved that the cheque book is not the answer when trying to improve results.

Promotion is not yet guaranteed. They came into this game requiring five points to ensure they could not be overhauled by Essex. Now, with three bowling bonus points secure, they require a total of 250 - and the resultant two batting bonus points that will bring - to be certain of elevation. They have not played in Division One since 2004 and, before the FLt20 success, had not won a trophy since 1992.

They were not made to work too hard for their bowling points. Winning an important toss against a weak batting unit on a helpful wicket, they allowed only three men to reach double figures and only two to pass 12. David Willey, with a fine new ball spell, made the vital inroads, but Worcestershire will be disappointed at the lack of opposition they provided.

Northamptonshire were made to work harder with the bat. Though Stephen Peters and Alex Wakely both played some pleasing strokes, the former was beaten by one that nipped back and the latter by one that turned sharply to leave Northamptonshire reliant on their middle and lower order once again. Still 60 behind and 147 from a second batting point, there is plenty of work ahead for them on day two.

These are two clubs of contrasting fortunes. They are similarly financially challenged - Worcestershire actually have a larger cricket budget than Northamptonshire - yet while one club has vibrancy and ambition about it, the other seems prepared to drift into gentle irrelevance. While there is plenty of disgruntled chuntering among the Worcestershire membership, so long as tea is served on time in the Ladies Pavilion, it seems most will put up with the slide.

The continuing excellence of Alan Richardson - who with the wicket of Peters claimed his 250th first-class victim for the club in his fourth season - has masked problems at New Road for some time, but the failure of talented young players to develop as was anticipated suggests danger ahead. The likes of Alexei Kervezee, who cannot get in the first team at present, Richard Jones, who is on loan at Warwickshire, and Aneesh Kapil, who has been released, were, not so long ago, thought to be the future of the club. And while the failure of one such player might be put down to individual problems, the failure of all three suggests deeper rooted issues.

There is mixed news off the pitch, too. While the new facilities - conferencing and the like - built as part of the hotel development will provide additional revenue for the club, it is anticipated that Worcestershire will declare a financial loss of over £100,000 for the year. Bearing in mind they had the benefit of a tourist game against Australia this season and that is serious cause for concern.

Here Worcestershire batted - a ninth-wicket stand of 72 aside - with a fragility that explained their mid-table position in the Division Two table. While negating the new ball was tricky on a misty morning - Willey, nipping the ball around sharply, claimed two wickets in the opening over - it speaks volumes that three batsmen - Thilan Samaraweera, Tom Fell and Shaaiq Choudhry - were bowled leaving straight deliveries. While Daryl Mitchell could console himself in the knowledge he received a beauty, Ross Whiteley simply missed a straight one and Ben Cox was punished for playing slightly across the line.

The chief beneficiary of the weak batting was Andrew Hall, who claimed the 17th five-wicket haul of his career and passed 600 career victims on the way. His pace may be reduced but, he hits the seam, gains some movement and maintains a tight line and length. He will rarely have taken a softer five-wicket haul, though.

It could have been much worse for Worcestershire. From 76 for 7, they recovered somewhat through the efforts of Matt Pardoe and Jack Shantry. With Pardoe, an old-school obdurate opener, making one end safe, Shantry chanced his arm at the other and breezed to a 62-ball half-century with seven fours and one straight six against the offspin of James Middlebrook. It was not all text book, but the pair demonstrated admirable application, nous and fight.

Eventually Pardoe dragged his back foot and was stumped - a fine piece of work by the deeply impressive David Murphy - and the tailenders were blown away, leaving Shantry with a career-best effort with the bat.

There are some clouds on Northamptonshire's horizon, however. It appears they are unable to gain work permits for either Trent Copeland, the Australian seamer who made such an impact this season, or Cameron White, who was so influential in the T20 success. Neither will return in 2014.

It remains to be seen whether David Sales will be back. His dismissal here, slicing to point, leaves him 98 runs short of the 1,000 Championship run landmark that would automatically invoke a clause in his contract ensuring he will be offered a new deal. The smart money suggests he will be back whether he reaches the landmark or not and, for the first time in a decade, playing in Division One.

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Hogan reaches 100 wickets for the season

Gloucestershire 228 for 8 (Dent 84) v Glamorgan
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Michael Hogan claimed his 100th wicket of the season as Glamorgan restricted Gloucestershire on the opening day of their LV= County Championship match at Cardiff.

It was Glamorgan's first game since they went down to Nottinghamshire in last Saturday's Yorkshire Bank 40 final at Lord's.

After Glamorgan won the toss and put Gloucestershire in to bat in helpful bowling conditions, Hogan struck at the start of the seventh over to reach the landmark by bowling opener Gareth Roderick.

Hogan now has 64 wickets in the Championship, 28 in the Yorkshire Bank 40 and eight in the Friends Life t20.

But from 12 for 1 Gloucestershire recovered either side of lunch with Chris Dent reaching his half-century from 77 balls shortly before the interval.

By lunch the visitors looked quite well set but in the afternoon they struggled, going from 90 for 1 to 176 for 6.

With the total on 90 Allenby bowled Alex Gidman and Dent, who had looked well set for a century edged slow left armer Dean Cosker into the Australian's hands at slip.

Cosker struck again next ball to have Iain Cockbain also caught at slip by Allenby from a turning delivery.

With the total on 156 Gloucestershire lost Hamish Marshall, who is 10 short of reaching 1,000 runs for the season, as he edged Wagg behind. In the penultimate over before tea Cameron Herring was trapped lbw by Hogan. Ruaidhri Smith struck twice bowling Benny Howell and then had Gidman caught behind.

Glamorgan took the second new ball, but with the cloud cover having increased, the light deteriorated and forced the players off with 13.5 overs left of the day.

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Hussey and Lumb ease Notts worries

Nottinghamshire 378 for 7 (Hussey 125, Lumb 107) v Somerset
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Most professional sportsman aim to finish their careers on a high but few will beat the achievements of Nottinghamshire's David Hussey in the final few days of his life on the county circuit. Having announced this will be his final season with his adoptive county, it appears to have given him a renewed purpose to leave a legacy at Trent Bridge.

Only days after contributing to Nottinghamshire's YB40 final victory over Glamorgan, their first Lord's final triumph since 1989, Hussey led the revival in their final Championship match of the summer with their future in Division One at stake and ensured they finished the opening day against Somerset, also threatened by relegation, in a dominant position.

Both teams started the final round of matches with a healthy lead over Derbyshire, currently positioned in the final relegation spot, and knowing that a draw with bonus points should be enough to make them safe. It prompted the ECB to send Tony Pigott, the former England fast bowler, to Trent Bridge as a match referee to ensure there was no collusion.

He would quickly have been satisfied with what he saw with Somerset winning the toss in humid and swing-friendly conditions and reducing Nottinghamshire to 76 for 4 when Hussey, now 36, joined Michael Lumb at the crease shortly before noon. They were not separated until mid-way through the final session when Craig Meschede induced an edge behind and Hussey departed to a standing ovation from a healthy crowd after scoring a superb 125, his 23rd first class century for Nottinghamshire in eight seasons.

Their 214-run partnership was a Nottinghamshire record for the fifth wicket against Somerset and was a masterclass from both batsmen on how to combat bowler-friendly conditions. Content to leave as many balls as possible during the early stages, they accelerated as the swing diminished after Lumb contributed only 15 to the first 100 runs they added.

"I felt a bit of responsibility today because you really want to get stuck in," explained Hussey, who plans to play a final season for Victoria before retiring completely from first-class cricket. "It was a bit of a cause today and when we lost the toss and got stuck in on a difficult wicket.

"Michael Lumb and I both wanted to be the role models that showed the younger kids how to play on this sort of wicket. It means a lot to the players to do the hard yards and keep the team up. Being a left, right combination was very helpful and I got quite a few cheap runs off my pads because of that, which was very handy. Michael Lumb stuck to his gameplan and was just sensational."

Both batsmen benefitted from Jamie Overton, Somerset's promising 19-year-old fast bowler, being removed from the attack for excessive short-pitched bowling. He had been warned after bowling a beamer at Hussey before lunch and then effectively ended his shift for the day by bowling two successive short-pitched deliveries, both no-balled by umpire Michael Gough, shortly before tea.

Gough consulted with Nigel Llong, his fellow official, before informing Marcus Trescothick, Somerset's captain, of their decision. Trescothick's anger at his young fast bowler was evident in the aggressive manner in which he returned his cap, throwing it in Overton's general direction for him to pick up while Lewis Gregory finished the over.

Denied the pace and bounce generated by Overton, who stands at six foot five inches, Somerset looked toothless and tired during the afternoon session and allowed both Hussey and Lumb to accelerate and add 133 in 35 overs. Their perseverance was rewarded, however, during the final session when they claimed three late wickets.

Hussey had already been dropped down the leg-side off Alfonso Thomas on 118, with wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter missing the sharp chance, but added only six more runs before giving a more conventional catch. Lumb departed 10 overs later for 107, apparently unhappy at being given lbw to Gregory just as Nottinghamshire increased their scoring rate as they chased maximum batting bonus points.

Chris Read, Nottinghamshire's captain, fell only 12 balls before the close after also edging Meschede behind trying to cut, having taken his side to within 22 points of their fifth batting point, and a step nearer preserving their Division One status for next summer.

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Anyon, Jordan run through champions

Sussex 186 for 5 (Wright 74*) lead Durham 164 (Anyon 5-44, Jordan 4-50) by 22 runs
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James Anyon claimed only the sixth five-wicket haul of his career and Luke Wright hit an unbeaten 74 as Sussex gained the upper hand on the first day of their match against champions Durham at Hove.

Anyon took 5 for 44, including four wickets for 19 in his second spell, as Durham were dismissed for 164 in 52 overs after winning the toss, with their last seven wickets falling for 56. Sussex were reduced to 90 for 5 at one stage before Wright led a counter-attack to take them to 186 for 5 at stumps, a lead of 22.

A win for Sussex should secure third place and they are also chasing their first Championship win at Hove since last August so they had plenty of incentive to avenge the heavy defeat they suffered to Durham three weeks ago.

A pitch offering good bounce and seam movement gave them further encouragement but Durham were in a decent position at 107 for 3 shortly after lunch when Jordan triggered a collapse by claiming wickets in successive overs.

Having been named in the Performance Squad on Monday a week after making his England one-day debut, Jordan bowled with sustained hostility to have top scorer Scott Borthwick caught at third slip fending off a bouncer after he had reached 1,000 Championship runs for the season.

Matt Prior then dived full-length after parrying the ball at slip to remove Will Smith, who is making his last appearance for the county. The third wicket of his spell came when Ben Stokes slashed to point shortly after the ball had been changed. Jordan had earlier claimed opener Keaton Jennings on his way to figures of 4 for 50 which took him to 56 Championship wickets for the season.

Anyon had Mark Stoneman, who also passed 1,000 Championship runs, caught behind in his second over but he was more productive after lunch when he reaped the rewards for bowling a fuller length.

At one stage he took three wickets in six balls with Phil Mustard edging an off-cutter to slip, Michael Richardson lbw playing across a straight one and Usman Arshad losing his off stump before Anyon claimed his fifth victim when skipper Paul Collingwood holed out to deep midwicket.

Durham were the last side to win a Championship game at Hove when batting first more than two years ago and the country's leading wicket-taker, Graham Onions, improved their chances of repeating that by picking up two wickets in his first two overs. Chris Nash was lbw to the third ball of the innings with one that kept a shade low and Michael Yardy played down the wrong line.

Skipper Ed Joyce batted purposefully, dominating a third-wicket stand of 58 with Luke Wells to which his partner contributed just a single. But when Arshad replaced Onions he induced Joyce to play on and then picked up Prior's prime scalp when he edged behind. Wells' vigil ended when he got a thin edge to Stokes' outswinger to leave Sussex 90 for 5.

But Wright and Ben Brown responded impressively. Onions conceded 33 runs in his second spell of just three overs with Wright hitting him over midwicket for six on his way to a 38-ball half-century. He was badly dropped at deep extra cover on 57 by Stoneman and closed unbeaten on 74 from 60 balls with 13 fours.

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Lancashire release Gareth Cross

Gareth Cross has been released by Lancashire, increasing the possibility that they will sign Jos Buttler from Somerset.

Cross, 29, has been dropped in the latter part of this season in favour of Alex Davies, the England Under-19 wicketkeeper, who has played the last two Championship matches against Leicestershire and Gloucestershire. In 13 Championship games Cross made 409 runs at 24.05 with one hundred and two fifties.

He tweeted: "Unfortunately my time at lancs has come to end. Thanks to everyone who ever supported me and everyone I played with. Have made some amazing friends. Its now time to move on and start a fresh somewhere else. Some big points to prove. Thanks again to everyone. Enjoyed every bit of it."

Buttler's future with Somerset has been up in the air for much of the season after he was elevated to England's one-day and Twenty20 keeper, but did not keep in all formats at county level due to the presence of Craig Kieswetter at Taunton. When asked during the one-day series against Australia, Buttler admitted it had been a bit of a distraction for him but hoped progress would be made soon.

Cross had to bide his time for a regular first-team slot after beginning his career while Warren Hegg was the No. 1 at Old Trafford. Luke Sutton's arrival meant he had to wait even longer before he became the main keeper for Lancashire's Championship-winning season in 2011 although had been in the one-day role for some time.

Cross is the second senior player Lancashire have released in recent days following the departure of Stephen Moore.

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BCCI moves Delhi High Court on special general meeting stay

The legal wrangle ahead of what is expected to be an interesting BCCI annual general meeting (AGM) continued on Monday, with developments in two separate court cases. While the BCCI has challenged an order restraining it from holding its special general meeting (SGM) on September 25 to decide the fate of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma has moved the Supreme Court, pleading that BCCI president N Srinivasan not be allowed to contest the board's election.

A Delhi trial court had issued an order on September 21, barring the BCCI's SGM on Wednesday, and expectedly the board has now moved the Delhi High Court. Even though the lower court had stayed the SGM, it had declined to pass an order on Modi questioning the appointment of Sanjay Patel and Jagmohan Dalmiya as BCCI's secretary and head of day to day affairs, respectively, by president N Srinivasan who had stepped aside in the wake of IPL spot-fixing scandal.

After hearing the BCCI's argument against the trial court's order, which was based on the court having no jurisdiction to pass the same, Justice VK Shail decided to continue the hearing on Tuesday and also hear Modi's cross petition against the appointment of Patel and Dalmiya.

Senior advocate CA Sundaram, on behalf of the BCCI, told the judge that since the SGM was slated to be held in Chennai, a trial court in Delhi could not pass an order staying it. "The Delhi court has no jurisdiction to pass such an order as the BCCI headquarters is in Mumbai and SGM was to be held in Chennai where Srinivansan resides. Just because the disciplinary committee meeting [which found Modi guilty on eight different charges] was held in Delhi, Modi has approached the city court," Sundaram was quoted as saying by PTI. "In the SGM, the report of the disciplinary committee will be considered and if the report will be accepted, then a show cause notice will be issued to Modi to make his defence."

Even if the High Court gives the go-ahead for the BCCI to conduct the SGM on Wednesday, the BCCI camp is expecting Modi to move Supreme Court in what is believed to be "delaying tactics".

In the other case, CAB secretary Verma moved an application in the Supreme Court seeking an interim injunction against Srinivasan from contesting the BCCI election pending the verdict on the special leave petition (SLP) filed by Verma against the BCCI. The Supreme Court, on September 12, had run out of time and hence failed to hear the SLP where the BCCI lawyers were expected to enter final arguments against the CAB petition that had challenged the Bombay High Court order for failing to appoint a fresh probe panel to investigate corruption in the IPL despite ruling the BCCI probe panel was constituted illegally.

On Monday, Verma, through his counsel Gagan Gupta, entered a prayer in the Supreme Court asking it to restrain Srinivasan from not only standing for the BCCI president's polls (scheduled to be held during the board's AGM on September 29) but also bar him from being part of any of the board's committees. The court is expected to give a date of hearing on Tuesday.

The Bombay High Court had pointed out in its order that Srinivasan had "prima facie" a hand in the appointment of the two-man probe panel that had cleared the owners of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals of corruption charges. The High Court had called the finding "illegal". The BCCI had filed its own SLP challenging that order. The Supreme Court is yet to announce the next date hearing for this.

The main reason behind the BCCI's SLP was to erase the black mark on Srinivasan left by the High Court order. Lawyers on both sides confirmed that Srinivasan was free to attend the BCCI AGM as well as stand for the president's elections despite the CAB petition.

The significance of the CAB prayer cannot be determined at this stage. Verma's intention from the beginning has been to restrain Srinivasan from performing his BCCI duties till the courts conclusively clear him of all allegations.

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