Frizzell County Championship Division One in 2005

=Table=

The table, showing all completed matches is as follows:

Round three

Glamorgan v Surrey (27-30 April)

"Surrey (18pts) beat Glamorgan (5pts) by five wickets"

Glamorgan batted first at Cardiff, coming out finally at 2.30pm as rain delayed the start. Matthew Elliott was then dismissed first ball. It did get better for the Welsh side though, as Mark Wallace put on 86 from 107 and was still there at the close of play. Surrey probably had the best of the day, which ended with the Dragons on 238 for 9. However, it could have been a lot worse for Glamorgan, as David Hemp was dropped three times. Mohammad Akram got good rewards for his bowling, taking four wickets.

Glamorgan picked up 12 more runs to finish on 250. Then, on another rain affected day, Surrey moved to 162 for 4. The day's highlight was an innings by Mark Ramprakash, Surrey's stand-in captain, who became the second man still playing to pass 25,000 runs. He finished the day on 72 not out. The second day ended with Surrey on 162 for 4.

Ramprakash completed his century on the third day, but only Rikki Clarke (35) gave him any sort of support, and Surrey were bowled out for 248. Surrey had a two-run deficit to catch up with, but they did it, mainly thanks to Jimmy Ormond. Ormond swung his way to 7 for 63, helping Surrey on their way to victory. Ormond reduced Glamorgan to 15 for 2 by lunch and 87 for 7 in the 19th over. Glamorgan recovered, but only to 173, setting a target of 176. Surrey sped towards their target and were 122 for 4 off 26 overs at close, Ramprakash on 49.

It didn't take Surrey long on the final day to wrap up victory, and they only lost one wicket in the 10 overs it took. Ramprakash again was the mainstay of the innings and was not out for 68 when the winning runs came. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/fds/hi/statistics/cricket/scorecards/2005/4/11537/html/scorecard.stm (BBC scorecard)]

Gloucestershire v Kent (27-30 April)

"Gloucestershire (8pts) drew with Kent (11pts)"

Play started at 4.30pm on the first day at Bristol. Kent progressed to 66 for 2 at close, with Robert Key (26) and Matthew Walker (22) the not out batsmen. On the second day, Key and Walker proceeded to their centuries. Key top-scored with 164, an innings which gave him a good shout for the No.3 spot in the England national team. When Walker was third man out with the score on 260, it precipitated a minor collapse, and Kent finished the second day on 339 for 6.

On the third day Kent lost their last four wickets in 40 minutes, finishing on 359. Gloucestershire, however, lost wickets steadily, and would have lost more had Kent not dropped four chances. Chris Taylor, the Gloucester captain, was the mainstay of the innings with a painstaking 66 from 173 balls. They finished the day on 208 for 7, 2 away from saving the follow-on, and most probably the match as well.

Gloucestershire added 40 runs on the last day, and then Kent batted out the day for a draw, finishing on 229 for 5 declared. Walker and Stevens had time to score half-centuries, and Geraint Jones had some useful batting practice in getting to 36 not out, but there was never much prospect of a result once the follow-on was saved. Kent captain David Fulton said, "If there had been any realistic chance of a result we would have been happy to go for it. But the pitch has just got flatter, and it was obvious we couldn't really hope to bowl them out quickly." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/fds/hi/statistics/cricket/scorecards/2005/4/11536/html/scorecard.stm (BBC scorecard)]

Nottinghamshire v Sussex (27-30 April)

"Nottinghamshire (22pts) beat Sussex (6pts) by ten wickets"

Only 36.3 overs were possible on the first day at Trent Bridge. Sussex batted first and, despite losing 2 early wickets, were 116 for 2 at close, with Michael Yardy (38) and Murray Goodwin (33) the not out batsmen. Yardy went on to make a half-century, as did wicket-keeper Matthew Prior and Robin Martin-Jenkins, but no-one went further than 66 on the second day, as Sussex were dismissed for 379. Nottinghamshire progressed slowly, and were 32 for no loss off 15 overs at close.

The third day was all Nottinghamshire's. Jason Gallian made his highest score for the county, 199, while Stephen Fleming, who took over as captain from Gallian this season, made 111. Both were run out by precise throws from Ian Ward and Mushtaq Ahmed respectively. David Hussey (89) and Chris Read (45 not out) gave good support as Notts reached 488 for 6 at close.

On the fourth day, Nottinghamshire declared after 5.5 overs on 509 for 8, a lead of 130. If they were to win, they'd have to dismiss Sussex quickly. This they did. Ryan Sidebottom took 4 for 15 as Sussex were dismissed for 159, despite a two-hour 49 from Martin-Jenkins. Darren Bicknell and Jason Gallian only needed 5.5 overs to knock off the 30 runs needed to win. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/27-30APR2005/NOTTS_SUSSEX_CC1_27-30APR2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Warwickshire v Middlesex (27-30 April)

"Warwickshire (22pts) beat Middlesex (5pts) by seven wickets"

Middlesex batted first at Edgbaston. Their Irish left-hander, Ed Joyce, was the anchor of the innings making 92 as he took his side from 56 for 4 to 253 for 7. He was assisted by a quick-fire half-century from Scott Styris, an innings somewhat out of pace with his team-mates' innings. They were finally all out for 298. Warwickshire lost 2 wickets in scoring 18 by the close.

Only 68 overs were possible on the second day. Ian Bell dominated, setting out his case for an England call-up, with 143 not out. He said, "If I was to play for England, I'd bat anywhere I was told to bat. Just to play would be great. I'm batting at three for Warwickshire and enjoying it. I know there’s some competition [for Test places] and there's a lot being talked about it. I've just got to concentrate on scoring as many runs as I can for Warwickshire." No other player scored so freely though, and Warwickshire ended the day on 277 for 6.

On the third day, England spin bowler Ashley Giles, who notched up 62, stayed with him. Bell was finally run out for a seven-hour 231 as Warwickshire closed on 430. Giles then starred with the ball, taking two wickets as Middlesex finished on 137 for 3 at stumps. On the fourth day, Giles tripled his tally to end with 6, as Middlesex faltered to 246 despite 63 from Joyce. That left Warwickshire needing only 115 to win, and despite Paul Hutchison taking two wickets, Bell led his team to a seven-wicket victory by scoring 47. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/27-30APR2005/WARWICKS_MIDDX_CC1_27-30APR2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Table at 30 April

Round six

Nottinghamshire v Kent (20-23 May)

"Kent (20pts) beat Nottinghamshire (3pts) by 196 runs"

Trent Bridge was lucky to escape most of the rain that ravaged the sixth round of the Championship, as over 100 overs was possible on the first day in which Kent could rack up 301 runs in their first innings, after being put in to bat by Nottinghamshire's captain Stephen Fleming. Kent's David Fulton and Robert Key paired up to score 81 for the first wicket, but former Yorkshire bowler Ryan Sidebottom came back to remove the three top order batsmen. Sidebottom finished with his five for 61, while the Irish wicket-keeper Niall O'Brien top-scored with 64 on season debut for Kent, taking over from Geraint Jones who had been called up to play Tests for England.

In reply, Nottinghamshire collapsed uncharacteristically, with Simon Cook taking four for 38 as only opener Darren Bicknell passed 25 in Nottinghamshire's innings. At stumps on day 2, Nottinghamshire were 169 for 9, just ahead of the follow-on target, and the last pair added a further 15 early on. Kent scored runs briskly, and despite both their South Africans - Martin van Jaarsveld and Andrew Hall - getting ducks, they racked up 298 for 8 in 72 overs - helped by the 32 extras. Nottinghamshire, chasing a massive 416 to win, imploded, Danish bowler Amjad Khan taking the wickets of David Hussey and Chris Read in quick succession to, with the help of Minaf Patel, reduce the hosts from 114 for 3 to 116 for 6. Even a last-wicket stand of 73 between Sidebottom (31) and 20-year-old Oliver Newby (38 not out) didn't help, as Patel eventually had Sidebottom stumped. Hall got the best bowling figures for Kent in the second innings, recording four for 42 including both Nottinghamshire openers. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/20-23MAY2005/NOTTS_KENT_CC1_20-23MAY2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Hampshire v Glamorgan (20-23 May)

"Hampshire (22pts) beat Glamorgan (3pts) by nine wickets"

Amid rains at Southampton, Hampshire batted their way to the big lead they were expected to get against Glamorgan, who had lost four games in the Championship before this. Former England batsman John Crawley crawled his way to a day-long century, while Kevin Pietersen took care of the fast scoring, making a century off 99 balls and ending with 126. Hampshire eventually made 401 for 8 declared to get full batting points before attacking Glamorgan. Chris Tremlett bowled well in the attempt, removing David Hemp, Michael Powell and Jonathan Hughes among others to take four for 42 and reduce Glamorgan to 229 - a score that would have been much lower but for Darren Thomas, who blitzed his way to 63. Following on, Glamorgan batted more casually, getting to 77 for 1 at stumps on day 3, but wickets tumbled in the morning, reducing Glamorgan to 147 for 5. Robert Croft and Mike Powell rebuilt, but when Australian batsman Simon Katich had Croft caught by skipper Shane Warne and Powell went a few overs later, Glamorgan imploded to 250 all out as Zimbabwe all-rounder Sean Ervine picked up the last three wickets, finishing with five for 60, while Tremlett took three for 48. In reply, Hampshire brushed aside the target of 79 inside fifteen overs, with Katich - unusually - opening the batting. With Nottinghamshire losing to Kent and Warwickshire and Surrey not playing, Hampshire took the lead in the Championship with their emphatic full-score win. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/20-23MAY2005/HANTS_GLAM_CC1_20-23MAY2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Table at 23 May

Round nine

Glamorgan v Kent (8-10 June)

"Kent (21.5pts) beat Glamorgan (6pts) by 10 wickets"

Glamorgan went down to another heavy defeat at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. After winning the toss and losing two wickets for 16, Kent fought back to make a mammoth 568, thanks mainly to 262 not out from Martin van Jaarsveld - the highest score of the English county season so far - with Darren Stevens (80) and Min Patel (87) offering valuable support. Although Glamorgan didn't collapse, it was clear they were not going to threaten their visitors' score. A number of batsmen got in with David Hemp and Sourav Ganguly both making 69, but the innings ended on 358. The follow-on was enforced, and Glamorgan went into freefall when they had to bat again. Amjad Khan ripped out three early wickets - for which Glamorgan only scampered five runs, and Kent took the next two wickets for 29 runs, leaving the Welsh team precariously placed at 34 for 5, before Ganguly saved the innings with a thumping three-hour 142. The late rally, however, was only enough to force Kent to make 51 runs in their second innings, which they achieved without loss of a wicket to win inside three days. Kent were deducted half a point for a slow over rate. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/08-13JUN2005/GLAM_KENT_CC1_08-11JUN2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Middlesex v Surrey (8-11 June)

"Middlesex (12pts) drew with Surrey (12pts)"

Surrey edged the first day against Middlesex at Lord's. Initially Surrey reduced their hosts to 148 for 5, but then Jason Dalrymple rescued the innings with 77, supported by Irfan Pathan and Ben Scott. The first day ended with them on 319 for 7. They improved that greatly to 437 on the second day, as Pathan and Scott both made scores in the 60s. Surrey started slowly, moving to 18 for 1 after 15 overs of quality bowling from Pathan and Alan Richardson, but the stranglehold was eased with Richard Clinton scoring freely as he made his way to 73. At close, which came 18 overs early because of bad light, Surrey were 157 for 2, with Mark Ramprakash having retired hurt. Bad light claimed the last 29 overs of the third day too, but an unbeaten 152 from Ali Brown and a Surrey debut score of 81 from New South Wales recruit Dominic Thornely saw Surrey through to 460. The fourth day was always likely to meander into a draw, and exactly that happened; Surrey were simply unable to take wickets quick enough as the hosts were content to bat to 353 for 6 declared. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/08-13JUN2005/MIDDX_SURREY_CC1_08-11JUN2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Gloucestershire v Warwickshire (10-13 June)

"Warwickshire (22pts) beat Gloucestershire (4pts) by an innings and 2 runs"

A massive batting effort from Warwickshire compounded with a remarkable second-innings bowling spell from Heath Streak and a spineless Gloucestershire effort in general, saw Warwickshire move to the top of the Division One table. It started all right enough for the hosts at Bristol, as a marathon three-hour fifty from James Pearson and 23 extras sent them to 254 on the first day. However, a partnership of 151 between Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott lifted Warwickshire into the ascendancy, as no Gloucestershire bowler found the required bite, and everyone of the top ten except Michael Powell went into double figures as Warwickshire amassed 473 in nearly 150 overs. Then, Streak stole the show. As Streak grabbed four wickets in the first hour, Gloucestershire were quickly 20 for 5, and despite a rescuing effort from Mark Alleyne and Ian Fisher, Gloucestershire were all out for 217 - two runs short of making Warwickshire bat again. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/08-13JUN2005/GLOUCS_WARWICKS_CC1_10-13JUN2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Table at 12 June

Round twelve

Hampshire v Sussex (20-23 July)

"Hampshire (19.5pts) beat Sussex (6pts) by 35 runs"

Hampshire's veteran wicketkeeper Nic Pothas made his way to a four-hour 135, his twelfth first-class century, after Jason Lewry, James Kirtley and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan had reduced Hampshire to 102 for 6 in the middle of the afternoon session on the first day. Pothas was well supported by Zimbabwean Sean Ervine, who made 69, and the pair added 191 in three hours before Naved-ul-Hasan broke through with the last ball of the day, having Ervine caught by Ian Ward. Hampshire slumped to 309 on the morning of day two, and solid contributions from the entire batting order - bar number three Michael Yardy who made a duck - lifted Sussex to a slender seven-run lead amid Ervine's swing bowling, which yielded five wickets for 73. However, Mushtaq Ahmed got the early breakthrough for Sussex, and James Kirtley ripped out two quick wickets as Hampshire folded to 22 for 3 overnight.

Kirtley and Naved-ul-Hasan continued to pile on the pressure on the third morning, as they eked out two catches and reduced Hampshire to 28 for 5, a lead of 21. However, once again, the all-rounders fought back. Australian Shane Watson made 82, while Pothas added 74, and number 11 Chris Tremlett made an unbeaten 44 to ensure that Hampshire set a competitive target of 271, despite Kirtley's five for 67. Ian Ward made 60 and Murray Goodwin an unbeaten 51 as Sussex cruised to 167 for 3 after only 38 overs on day three, needing 104 more to win on the fourth day.

Goodwin added 20 more on the final morning before Dimitri Mascarenhas snared him out, but he had stood tall in Mascarenhas' early spell on the morning of day 4, which had yielded three wickets for two runs. Goodwin was eventually caught by Greg Lamb, but Sussex still needed only 55 for the last three wickets - however, Sean Ervine added the wickets of Pakistanis Rana and Ahmed to his tally to help bowl Sussex out for 235. Thus, Hampshire took the victory in a closely contested game, although they were later deducted half a point for a slow over rate. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/20-24JUL2005/HANTS_SUSSEX_CC1_20-23JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

urrey v Kent (20-23 July)

"Kent (21pts) beat Surrey (7.5pts) by four wickets"

At Guildford, Surrey opted to bat first against the league-leaders Kent, and despite losing Richard Clinton for a ten-ball duck early on, the first day belonged to Surrey. Three batsmen passed 90 - Graham Thorpe, Mark Ramprakash and Ali Brown, who top-scored with 107 having been 101 not out overnight - as Surrey eased their way to 452 for 8 declared, never really bothered by any of the Kent bowlers. Kent were not daunted by Surrey's high score, however, not even when Robert Key and Darren Stevens departed in quick succession to see Kent to 202 for 4, but Matthew Walker and Justin Kemp added 233 for the fifth wicket, both making centuries. Kemp was eventually bowled by Azhar Mahmood for 124, but Walker went on to make 173 as Kent racked up 572, a lead of 120.

In reply, Richard Clinton and Jonathan Batty put on 107 for the first wicket, as the match headed towards a draw. However, patient work from spinner Min Patel, who was asked to bowl 47 overs, yielded four wickets (all of whom batted from number six and down) for 110 runs, and Patel was supported by two wickets by Andrew Hall to limit Kent's target to 231. After a frantic 34 overs, during which Mohammad Akram no-balled four times in his six overs while taking two for 30, Justin Kemp showed his skill at hitting quick runs as he made 47 not out, with three sixes, off 37 balls. In the end, Kent won with five balls remaining before the umpire would call time, and Surrey were also deducted half a point for a slow over rate. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/20-24JUL2005/SURREY_KENT_CC1_20-23JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire (20-22 July)

"Nottinghamshire (20pts) beat Warwickshire (4pts) by ten wickets"

An eventful match at Edgbaston looked to give Nottinghamshire the lead in the County Championship, as they swept aside Warwickshire with few problems. The Warwickshire batting line-up sorely missed Ian Bell, who was on Test match duty for England, and after an opening partnership of 101 between Nic Knight and Ian Westwood, an implosion followed. Warwickshire faltered to 168 for 8, and only 21-year-old Luke Parker, playing his seventh first-class match, saved them from a sub-200 score as he made an unbeaten 34.

Warwickshire's bowling, which lacked an injured Heath Streak, also suffered, and despite excellent figures of six for 92 from Alex Loudon the Nottinghamshire batsmen ran away with it as Darren Bicknell, Jason Gallian and Australian David Hussey all made fifties. Then, it was a Nottinghamshire spinner's turn to take centre stage - Graeme Swann. In 23 overs, he took six for 57, including the entire Warwickshire middle order from three to six - only Westwood passed 25, and Warwickshire could only muster 133. As if to make the humiliation complete, Swann was promoted to number 1, and hit one boundary and four additional runs before stumps were drawn after one over. Nottinghamshire were eight for no loss overnight, chasing 12 to win, and Darren Bicknell hit the winning runs off Dewald Pretorius four balls into the fourth day. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/20-24JUL2005/WARWICKS_NOTTS_CC1_20-23JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Glamorgan v Middlesex (21-23 July)

"Middlesex (22pts) beat Glamorgan (4pts) by an innings and 23 runs"

The first day of the match at Sophia Gardens belonged, as expected, to Middlesex. After Ed Smith had dominated proceedings in the first hour, making 29, Ben Hutton and Owais Shah made a partnership of 109 to lift Middlesex, and their entire middle-order made contributions, as the score finished on 534 - Shah finishing on 101, Kenyan-born Jamie Dalrymple scoring 108, and number nine Peter Trego smacking 72 off 54 balls. When Glamorgan batted, Trego took three quick wickets, to end with three for 52, and Scott Styris helped mopping up the Glamorgan tail with three for 42. Only Robert Croft passed 25 - thumping 84 off 76 balls with 72 runs in boundaries - as Glamorgan subsided for 232 and were asked to follow on.

Middlesex seamer Melvyn Betts set back Glamorgan's second innings effort with two wickets to see them to 25 for 2, but opener and wicketkeeper Mark Wallace defied them with 64, and Sourav Ganguly also made 55 as Glamorgan made their way to 208 for 5, with a slight chance of making Middlesex bat again. However, Styris took the last four wickets en route to bowling figures of five for 57 as Middlesex secured the innings victory. [http://www.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/20-24JUL2005/GLAM_MIDDX_CC1_21-24JUL2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Table at 23 July

Round fifteen

Glamorgan v Warwickshire (10-12 August)

"Warwickshire (22pts) beat Glamorgan (3pts) by ten wickets"

Warwickshire took control of proceedings on the first day at Colwyn Bay, as they fielded a bowling attack with no English-born players against Glamorgan. South African international Makhaya Ntini, interestingly, was the least effective, only getting the wicket of number 11 Dean Cosker, and conceding 49 runs in the process. Meanwhile, Scot Dougie Brown took four for 58, but Glamorgan actually recovered quite well from 76 for 6 to their final score of 239. However, their blunt bowling attack were shown up again, as Ian Westwood recorded his maiden first-class century, four batsmen passed fifty, and Warwickshire muscled their way to 545 for 7 before declaring. Jonathan Trott also made 152 for Warwickshire, while Robert Croft was the most effective bowler - with three for 126.

Wicket-keeper Mark Wallace then smashed 68 not out off 50 balls to see Glamorgan to the end of the day at 99 for 1. However, he only faced two balls on the third morning before being lbw to Brown. Most of the Warwickshire bowlers got in among the wickets - part-time medium pace bowler Trott taking two for 19 in four overs, for example - and Warwickshire were set three to win, which they achieved off fourteen deliveries as Nick Knight hit a single off David Harrison. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/10-15AUG2005/GLAM_WARWICKS_CC1_10-13AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Gloucestershire v Sussex (10-13 August)

"Sussex (21pts) beat Gloucestershire (4pts) by 226 runs"

Sussex recorded a comfortable win at Bristol against Gloucestershire, to escape further from the relegation zone - in a match completely dominated by Sussex' overseas bowlers. Murray Goodwin, Chris Adams and Matthew Prior all made quick half-centuries, to propel Sussex to 365, while the Gloucestershire spinners shared seven wickets - Malinga Bandara taking four for 64 and Ian Fisher three for 93. Indeed, spinners were to take the brunt of the bowling, as Gloucestershire had only gone in with two specialist seamers - and one of them, Steve Kirby, broke down with an injury in his fifth over of the day.

Gloucestershire resumed the second day on 28 for 1, and players from the Indian subcontinent were to dominate the day's proceedings, as they took all of the thirteen wickets. Sussex' Pakistani spinner Mushtaq Ahmed took six for 65, while Rana Naved-ul-Hasan added three to his overnight tally of one to end with four for 53. No Gloucestershire batsman passed 50, as they trailed by 141 on first innings. Sussex took on seven overs from the seamers, before Michael Ball and Bandara started another marathon spell. The openers survived to pair up for 67, but then Bandara took a burst of wickets, finishing the day with four for 58 as Sussex closed the second day's play on 128 for 4.

On the third day, Prior and Michael Yardy made a fifth wicket-partnership worth 141 runs, and Sussex could declare with a lead of 405 runs, after Bandara was taken for runs to end with the expensive innings bowling analysis of 26-3-112-4. Again, Gloucestershire subsided to the Pakistani bowlers, but for once an English-born bowler got his name up on Gloucestershire's scorecard - Alex Gidman was lbw to James Kirtley for 7. Rana took five and Mushtaq three as Gloucestershire collapsed to 179, Ramnaresh Sarwan making 117 of those. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/10-15AUG2005/GLOUCS_SUSSEX_CC1_10-13AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Nottinghamshire v Middlesex (10-13 August)

"Nottinghamshire (7pts) drew with Middlesex (10pts)"

Andrew Harris took four expensive wickets for Nottinghamshire on the first day of the match against Middlesex at Trent Bridge. The match was left hanging in the balance overnight as Middlesex made 325, mostly thanks to 128 from Ed Smith, who made his second century of the first-class season. Ryan Sidebottom was economical, but went wicketless in his 15 overs, while Mark Ealham took two key wickets, of Smith and Owais Shah. Nottinghamshire lost no wicket in the 12 overs before stumps, making 33, but on the second day they quickly lost wickets to the medium pace of Peter Trego, which yielded career-best figures of six for 59.

Graeme Swann's 53 lifted Nottinghamshire to a somewhat respectable 181, but batting was easier than Nottinghamshire had made it look. Owais Shah and Ed Joyce added 225 for the third wicket to prove exactly that. Shah ended with an unbeaten 173, while Joyce got his third century of the season with 101, and Jamie Dalrymple also added 45 before he was lbw to Younis Khan. The wicket of Dalrymple precipitated a declaration, which set Nottinghamshire 530 to win in four sessions. Nottinghamshire, however, batted well in the evening session on the third day, making 107 for no loss, and after eight overs on day four rain set in and the two captains agreed to a draw. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/10-15AUG2005/NOTTS_MIDDX_CC1_10-13AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Hampshire v Kent (12-15 August)

"Kent (12pts) drew with Hampshire (10pts)"

Darren Stevens and Robert Key both passed 1000 first-class runs for the season as they lifted Kent to a competitive total at The Rose Bowl. Stevens top-scored with 101, while Hampshire's Australian all-rounder Andy Bichel took four for 122 - but was thoroughly smacked about by Min Patel and Amjad Khan on the second morning. The pair added 65 for the final wicket to take Kent to a first-innings total of 446. Sean Ervine hit plenty of boundaries in reply, as Hampshire eased to 82 for 1 before play was stopped due to bad weather.

On day three, however, Kent hit back. In 33 fiery overs before lunch, Amjad Khan and Min Patel both took two wickets, and despite more runs from Ervine - who finished with 74 - Hampshire crumbled to 182 for 7 at lunch. However, Andy Bichel and Nic Pothas added 138 for the eighth wicket, as Hampshire eked out 325, with Bichel top-scoring from number nine with 87 off 90 balls. Kent got a good start to their attempt to get quick runs and put a big target up for Hampshire, as they moved to 140 for 4 just before the close of play, but Shane Watson took two quick wickets and Shaun Udal one, and all of a sudden it was up to Justin Kemp and Andrew Hall to save Kent, as they were 153 for 7 overnight. Kemp fell on the fourth morning, as Kent rolled over for 185, setting up a potentially exciting finish with 307 runs to get in 83 overs. A 95-run partnership between Sean Ervine and John Crawley put Hampshire into a good position at 139 for 1, but Hampshire failed to score quickly enough, and three wickets from Simon Cook could not quite force a victory as Hampshire hung on to finish on 241 for 8 and draw the match. [http://live.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/10-15AUG2005/HANTS_KENT_CC1_12-15AUG2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Table at 15 August

Round eighteen

Glamorgan v Nottinghamshire (30 August-2 September)

"Nottinghamshire (19pts) beat Glamorgan (3pts) by eight wickets"

Glamorgan were firmly sent back to earth after recording their first Championship win of the season the previous week, as it only took Nottinghamshire's bowlers 48 overs to wrap up their first innings after Glamorgan won the toss and batted. Glamorgan's number five Michael Powell made 62 as the only Glamorgan batsman to pass 25, but left-armer Greg Smith got him and three others out to finish with four for 28 off 17 overs. Glamorgan's final total was only 151, and Nottinghamshire matched that for the loss of only two wickets at the close of the first day, despite losing opener Jason Gallian for a duck. On the second, only 33 overs of play were possible, but Nottinghamshire still marched on to 231 for 2 before Darren Bicknell's dismissal for 123 precipitated a collapse. The last eight wickets fell for 52 runs, as Robert Croft took three wickets and Dean Cosker four either side of stumps on the second day.

Nottinghamshire defended a 132-run lead on first innings, and their bowlers made early inroads, however, as Glamorgan crashed to 94 for 5 with Powell and Alex Wharf at the crease. The pair fought back, adding 118 in just under three hours, as Glamorgan at least gave Nottinghamshire something to chase. Four wickets from Mark Ealham in the late hours of the third day's play, though, reduced Glamorgan to 290 for 9 at the close, and Wharf added 17 on the fourth morning with Huw Waters (who recorded an unbeaten 24-ball duck) before he was dismissed by Andrew Harris for 113, his highest first class score. Despite Wharf's century, Nottinghamshire were set a relatively low target of 176, and fifties from Jason Gallian and Russell Warren carried Nottinghamshire past the target and onto the top of the Championship table with eight wickets in hand. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/30AUG-02SEP2005/GLAM_NOTTS_CC1_30AUG-02SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Gloucestershire v Middlesex (30 August-2 September)

"Gloucestershire (10pts) drew with Middlesex (9pts)"

Gloucestershire recovered well from last week's defeat at the hands of Glamorgan, to give Middlesex a decent fight and take the most points from a drawn game at Bristol. The hosts batted first, and after losing Craig Spearman and Ramnaresh Sarwan early, Gloucestershire fought back with three partnerships worth more than 60. Alex Gidman, Steve Adshead and Malinga Bandara all recorded fifties; the Sri Lankan Bandara, batting at eight, took the liberty to hit two sixes in an 89-ball 70. For Middlesex, Alan Richardson and Jamie Dalrymple took four wickets each, but gave up more than four runs an over in the process as Glamorgan made 333 in 92.2 overs. Middlesex batted to stumps on day one without loss, but William Rudge removed the top three to set them back slightly. Wickets continued to fall, with Malinga Bandara taking four of them, and Middlesex crashed to 248 for 9 before a last wicket partnership between Melvyn Betts and Stuart Clark took them to 297 before Bandara dismissed Betts lbw to end with five for 71.

Betts and Clark then shared five of the ten Gloucestershire wickets to fall, interrupting Gloucestershire's innings rather regularly, but not preventing four partnerships of above 50. Kadeer Ali top-scored with 61, while Mark Hardinges was stranded on 58 to lift the hosts to a total 287, which set Middlesex 324 in five hours to win. Gloucestershire got a breakthrough in the very first over, as Ed Smith hit two fours off Jon Lewis before being caught behind after four deliveries. With Owais Shah dismissed by Bandara, Middlesex went into defensive mode, and eventually the match was declared a draw with Middlesex 121 short of the winning target. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/30AUG-02SEP2005/GLOUCS_MIDDX_CC1_30AUG-02SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Hampshire v Warwickshire (30 August-1 September)

"Hampshire (22pts) beat Warwickshire (4pts) by an innings and 86 runs"

Hampshire dominated proceedings against Warwickshire at The Rose Bowl, occupying the crease for a day and a half to amass 576 runs in their first innings. The top three of James Adams, Sean Ervine and John Crawley set the tone with fifties, and when Crawley departed for 60 the score had moved to 279 for 3. Jonathan Trott and Makhaya Ntini shared three wickets before the end of the day, leaving Hampshire 353 for 6 overnight, but Shane Watson and Dimitri Mascarenhas shared a mammoth 234-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Watson hit a career-best 203 not out, while Mascarenhas took three hours for an unbeaten 102, the first century of his season, before Shaun Udal declared. Warwickshire stumbled early on, falling to 21 for 2, but an unbeaten 97 from Nick Knight lifted them to 145 for 4 at the close of play on day two.

Knight could not save Warwickshire alone, though, and Warwickshire lost sixteen wickets on the third day to crumble to an innings defeat. Knight got his century, ending with 116, but no other batsman passed 30, as they were all out for 258 in the first innings. They were asked to follow on 318 behind, and did rather well initially, getting the score to 110 for 1 after two hours. Then, Jonathan Trott and Ian Westwood fell in quick succession, leaving Jamie Troughton to try and tie together a match-saving innings with the lower order. He made a two-hour 76 before being ninth out, caught off Shaun Udal's bowling, ending Warwickshire's resistance. No further runs were added for the tenth wicket, as Makhaya Ntini was bowled by Udal, and Warwickshire ended on 232 all out - 86 runs short of making Hampshire bat again. Hampshire captain Udal finished with a second innings analysis of 22-8-44-6, after only one wicket in the first innings. The win left Hampshire briefly on top of the Championship, before Nottinghamshire took over the following day. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/30AUG-02SEP2005/HANTS_WARWICKS_CC1_30AUG-02SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Table at 2 September

Round twenty-one

Hampshire v Nottinghamshire (21-23 September)

"Hampshire (22pts) beat Nottinghamshire (2pts) by an innings and 188 runs"

Hampshire were put in to bat by Nottinghamshire, who had won the Championship four days earlier. However, Hampshire's batsmen all put in above 50 scores after Sean Ervine was bowled for 9, James Adams, John Crawley, Simon Katich and Nic Pothas all exceeded 50, and Crawley went on to make 150 not out at the end of the first day - his highest score of the season. Boosted by 75 extras - 38 coming in no-balls, of which 18 were conceded by Mark Footitt alone - Hampshire ended their innings voluntarily on 714 for 5 - a team record - having hit 290 runs for one wicket in 42.3 second-day overs. Captain Shane Warne declared when Mascarenhas got his century, only to later discover that Crawley - who had gone from 200 to 300 with 58 balls - had been denied of the Hampshire highest innings score by five runs, despite a career-best 311 not out [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/England/Firstclass/Hampshire/Batting_Records/Highest_Innings_For.html] . Dick Moore's record from 1937 thus remained. When Hampshire bowled, spinner Shaun Udal celebrated his England call-up with four wickets for 39 runs, while Mascarenhas continued with his all-round effort, taking his second five-wicket-haul of the season as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 213 shortly before the close on day two. Warne chose to bowl eight balls, conceding six runs. Stephen Fleming top scored for the visitors with 42, as they were asked to follow on - 501 runs behind Hampshire.

Nottinghamshire needed 269 to avoid suffering the highest defeat of the Championship season, and amid the rain breaks at the Rose Bowl, they passed that score with one wicket in hand, thanks to 97 from Darren Bicknell and a 49-ball cameo from Chris Read which yielded 63 runs. Captain Stephen Fleming lasted four minutes at the crease, hitting three fours, a single and a dot ball before he was caught by Andre Adams off Udal. Udal took another four-wicket-haul, but conceded 70 in 11.5 overs, and even Warne was expensive, conceding 67 in thirteen overs. Nottinghamshire were eventually bowled out for 313, but Hampshire finished 2.5 points behind Nottinghamshire in the Championship - despite the same win-loss record and two victories in their head-to-head matches. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/21-24SEP2005/HANTS_NOTTS_CC1_21-24SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

ussex v Kent (21-23 September)

"Sussex (20pts) beat Kent (5pts) by eight wickets"

Sussex' three main bowlers won them the game at Hove against Kent - James Kirtley took seven for 103, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan six for 124, and Mushtaq Ahmed five for 173 in the match, as Sussex took an eight-wicket victory. Sussex took three wickets in the first 45 minutes, courtesy of Kirtley and Rana, and for only 28 runs in reply. Matthew Walker and Darren Stevens added 52 together for the fourth wicket, but it was the half-centuries from Min Patel and Niall O'Brien - his second in successive matches - that carried Kent past 200. They finished on 257, with Kirtley and Naved-ul-Hasan taking four wickets each, while Mushtaq had to be content with two for 81 from nearly 28 overs. Sussex, however, ground out 47 for 2 wickets in the 23 remaining overs, the Kent spinners Patel and Jamie Tredwell keeping them from scoring.

On the second day, Sussex accelerated, but after five wickets from Patel they were 192 for 8, still trailing by 65. However, Mushtaq forged partnerships of 86 and 74 with Luke Wright and James Kirtley respectively, hitting an unbeaten 90 himself as Sussex ended on 348. Kent trailed by 89, and in the second innings Robert Key hit eleven fours in a two-hour 84, but he was dismissed by Robin Martin-Jenkins just before the close of the scond day's play to leave Kent with a lead of 53 with seven wickets in hand. Kirtley, Rana and Mushtaq removed the last seven wickets for 94 runs on day three, leaving Sussex 148 to chase, which they did inside two hours thanks to half-centuries from Carl Hopkinson and Michael Yardy. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/21-24SEP2005/SUSSEX_KENT_CC1_21-24SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

urrey v Middlesex (21-24 September)

"Surrey (20pts) beat Middlesex (6pts) by an innings and 39 runs"

Middlesex won the toss and batted first at The Oval in this relegation clash, where Surrey needed to win by 15 points to avoid relegation. After half-centuries from Owais Shah, Ben Hutton and Ed Joyce, however, Middlesex were 200 for 4, and Joyce put on a fifth-wicket partnership of 174 with Scott Styris. Styris hit thirteen fours and a six in his 100 not out, his first century in nine matches for Middlesex in 2005, and once Styris had hit his century Hutton declared the Middlesex innings closed on 404 for 5 - ensuring that Middlesex got all five batting points and Surrey only got one bowling point. Surrey thus needed to score 400 runs in 130 overs for only two wickets if they were to survive in Division One. However, six minutes into the innings, captain Mark Butcher was run out for 5, and Rikki Clarke went shortly afterwards. Surrey closed on 59 for 2, needing 341 without further loss to avoid the drop. Middlesex got the wicket they needed on the second morning, with Yogesh Golwalkar dismissing Scott Newman lbw for 51, leaving Surrey to relegation. Despite that, they accumulated runs to end the second day on 462 for 4, although 33 overs were bowled by Shah, Hutton and Joyce. Mark Ramprakash reached 200 not out by the close, his tenth first class double century.

Surrey passed 600 on the third day, before Shah picked up his second wicket of the match, removing Ramprakash for 252 - ending an all-time record fifth-wicket partnership of 318. [http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/England/Firstclass/Surrey/Batting_Records/Highest_Partnership_Each_Wicket_For.html] Azhar Mahmood, who had shared the stand with Ramprakash, went on to make 204 not out before Surrey declared on 686 for 7 - before leg-spinners Saqlain Mushtaq and Ian Salisbury shared six wickets between them to bowl Middlesex out for 243 and to record an innings victory - to no avail, as Midldesex finished one point ahead in the final table. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/21-24SEP2005/SURREY_MIDDX_CC1_21-24SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Warwickshire v Gloucestershire (21-24 September)

"Warwickshire (18pts) beat Gloucestershire (3pts) by 181 runs"

Warwickshire came back from 18 for 3 and then 90 for 5 to win their last Championship game of the season. A two-hour partnership yielding 70 runs between Jamie Troughton and Trevor Frost took Warwickshire past 150, before Sri Lankan Malinga Bandara removed four of the last five wickets, and Warwickshire ended on 208 all out. However, early wickets taken by Neil Carter and Dougie Brown sent Gloucestershire to 29 for 3 at the close of play on day one. Warwickshire continued to chip away on the second day, as five bowlers shared the remaining seven wickets, and Gloucestershire were bowled out for 118. South African-born first class debutant Grant Hodnett was the only one to pass 20 for Gloucestershire, taking three hours before falling one short of a half-century on debut. Ian Westwood did manage a fifty, hitting 55 in a 94-run stand with Nick Knight, and Warwickshire closed on 197 for 3. Despite four wickets from Malinga Bandara, Warwickshire managed 320 for 9 before declaring.

Gloucestershire attempted to chase a total of 411 to win, but after an opening stand of 80 Naqqash Tahir removed both openers in quick succession, and Gloucestershire closed on 97 for 2. Off spinner Alex Loudon then celebrated his call-up to the England team to tour Pakistan the following winter by taking six for 66 as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 229. [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2005/ENG_LOCAL/CC1/SCORECARDS/21-24SEP2005/WARWICKS_GLOUCS_CC1_21-24SEP2005.html (Cricinfo scorecard)]

Final table