Surrey will go into the final week of the LV= Insurance County Championship title race in pole position after Essex fell to a three-wicket defeat against a Hampshire side inspired by Liam Dawson.
Continuing an outstanding season, Dawson made 119, contributing to a fifth-wicket stand of 184 alongside James Vince as they took the game away from second-placed Essex at Chelmsford.
Dawson had come to the crease with Hampshire, set 267 for victory, having been reduced to 32 for four but went on to make his third century of the season while Vince made 89.
It means Essex will go into their final fixture 20 points behind reigning champions Surrey, who held on to draw against winless Northamptonshire at the Kia Oval.
With relegation looking inevitable, Northamptonshire gambled against the leaders as they enforced the follow on with a first-innings lead of 172, but they could not make it pay.
Surrey openers Dom Sibley and Rory Burns batted diligently in the hour before lunch against some testing new-ball bowling from the visting seamers and throughout the final two sessions in some of the best batting conditions of a rain-affected four days.
By the time bad light brought about an early close, they had reached 142 without loss, with Burns on 71 and Sibley 67.
Relegation-battling Kent salvaged a draw from their rain-hit match against Somerset after being made to follow on at Taunton.
The visitors were bowled out for 235 in their first innings, 169 shy of Somerset’s total, after being reduced to 31 for four before Joe Denly pitched in with 73.
Somerset put them back in with the hope of some quick wickets with a possible 41 overs remaining, but Kent made it to 44 for two before the players shook hands early.
The draw was enough to put Kent one point above Middlesex, who dropped into the bottom two after an eight-wicket defeat to Warwickshire.
Opener Sam Robson carried his bat for an unbeaten century but it was not enough for the hosts, who were bowled out for 251 in their second innings.
Following afternoon rain, Warwickshire had only 10 overs in which to chase 58, but Rob Yates and Ed Barnard made it across the line with nine balls to spare.
There was an early end to play at Old Trafford where rain forced a draw between Lancashire and Nottinghamshire.
There were only 15 overs played on the final day, with Lancashire reaching 272 for seven in their first innings. But with Nottinghamshire yet to bat there was never any prospect of a result.
In Division Two, Worcestershire moved within touching distance of following Durham into Division One after their match with the newly-crowned champions ended in a draw.
With a result out of the question, Worcestershire were restricted to adding one bowling point as Durham captain Scott Borthwick made a chanceless century and Ollie Robinson contributed 84 to a first innings score of 371 for four at the close.
Worcestershire go into the final week as strong favourites to go up after closest challengers Leicestershire saw their match against Yorkshire ruined by the weather.
More rain on the final day robbed Leicestershire of the chance to chase the win they realistically needed to stay in the hunt.
It also finished as a draw between Derbyshire and Sussex after rain brought about an early finish at the County Ground.
Karthik announces retirement from cricket
Dinesh Karthik has announced he is retiring from all cricket, bringing an end to his nearly 20-year career.
Karthik represented India in 180 matches across all formats, making his debut in September 2004, but has not played for his national side since the 2022 T20 World Cup.
He has been a part of the Indian Premier League since its inaugural season in 2008, representing six teams, including two spells at Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
His most recent stint with RCB saw him play a vital role in their run to the playoffs, where they ultimately lost to Rajasthan Royals.
In a social media post on Saturday, his 39th birthday, Karthik announced his decision to retire from the sport.
"Having given it plenty of thought for some time now, I have decided to move on from playing representative cricket," Karthik said in his statement.
"I officially announce my retirement and put my playing days behind me as I square up for the new challenges that lie ahead.
"I'd like to thank all my coaches, captains, selectors, teammates and members of the support staff who have made this long journey pleasant and enjoyable. Among the millions that play the sport in our country, I consider myself among the lucky few to have had the chance to represent the nation, and luckier still to have earned the goodwill of so many fans and friends.
"My parents have been pillars of strength and support over all these years, and I wouldn't be what I am without their blessings. I also owe plenty to Dipika [Pallikal], herself a professional sportsperson who often put her career on hold to walk my journey with me.
"Of course, to all the fans and followers of our great game, a massive thank you! Cricket and cricketers wouldn't be the same without your support and good wishes."
Karthik is one of just seven players to feature in every edition of the IPL so far, playing 256 games across that run.
He also played for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders.
Overall, Karthik scored 4816 runs, striking at over 135 with 22 half-centuries. As a keeper, he is second only to MS Dhoni in overall dismissals (172) as well as stumpings (36).
IPL: Mumbai Indians condemned to last-place finish after 18-run defeat to Super Giants
Rohit Sharma's half-century was not enough for Mumbai Indians as they slipped to an 18-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants at Wankhede Stadium.
The defeat consigned Mumbai to bottom place in the Indian Premier League for the second time in the space of three seasons, after losing 10 matches this year.
LSG were also left to lament their misfortune, as despite reaching 14 points, they did not qualify for the play-offs.
KL Rahul's 55 got the ball rolling for Lucknow, but their innings was ebbing out until Nicholas Pooran's dazzling 29-ball 75 took them to 214-6, despite the efforts of Nuwan Thushara (3-28) and Piyush Chawla (3-29), who stepped up in Jasprit Bumrah's absence.
Rohit's 38-ball 68 set the tone for what looked set to be a promising Mumbai chase, as he struck 13 boundaries around a short rain delay.
However, Mumbai went from 88 without loss to 120-5 in the space of six overs, leaving the tail with too much of a mountain to climb.
Data Debrief: Lucknow miss out
While Mumbai sit bottom of the pile yet again, it is a case of what might have been for LSG, who for the first time in their three-season history, failed to make the top four.
Fourteen points is often enough to get over the line and into the play-offs, but their poor net run rate of -0.667 means they miss out.
Tape ball programme can help England find unorthodox talent – Richard Gould
The England and Wales Cricket Board hopes to unearth a new seam of talent beyond the game’s traditional league structure with a national tape ball scheme that allows players to thrive without “whites, willow and leather”.
The practice of using a soft ball wrapped in electrical tape to aid swing and variable bounce is a common one in Asia, where it has helped produce express pace bowlers like Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi and spinners such as Rashid Khan and Shakib-al-Hasan, but has been slow to enter the mainstream conversation in the United Kingdom.
The Chance to Shine charity has long pioneered tape ball cricket as part of its engagement hubs and now, with the ECB keen to live up to its lofty aspiration of becoming the most inclusive team sport in the country, it is at the heart of a new core cities programme designed to engage ‘diverse communities in urban areas’.
Speaking at a launch event where games were hosted in a warehouse space in Birmingham, ECB chief executive Richard Gould was optimistic about reaching out to those with an interest in cricket but limited access to the pavilions and prepared pitches in the club setup.
“We talk about clubs with picket fences around them. In the past that has been seen as the preserve of the ECB. We’ve missed a complete trick on that,” he said.
“When we talk about the recreational game we’re not just talking about Premier League clubs and village cricket clubs now. We’re talking about all forms of cricket that take place.
“You can play the game anywhere, any time, with anybody, in any environment you want. You don’t have to have whites, willow and leather to do it. You can just pick up a bat and a ball and have some fun.”
As well as fulfilling its remit of reaching out to all comers at a grassroots level, Gould also believes there are benefits to finding cricketers with different styles who have learned the game outside the traditional, private-school heavy pathways.
“Without doubt there are,” he said. “We have to get out and try to find the talent. More to the point, we have to try and find talent in areas that we haven’t normally looked for it.
“I do think county pathways will be looking to make sure they don’t miss out on this talent. It’s just about punching through all of our normal procedures and finding ways to both get people in the game and unearthing that talent which may be unorthodox and great.”
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