Surrey complete Northamptonshire win by innings and five runs inside three days

Surrey wrapped up victory against Northamptonshire inside three days to strengthen their position at the top of LV= Insurance County Championship Division One.

Replying to Surrey’s 401, Northamptonshire were bowled out for 194 and 202 to lose by an innings and five runs at the Kia Oval.

Colin De Grandhomme took four for 39 in the visitors’ first knock, and Surrey’s five-man pace attack were in no mood to let Northamptonshire off the hook.

All five picked up second-innings wickets with Dan Worrall (three for 37), Gus Atkinson (three for 26) and Jordan Clark (two for 43) doing most of the damage as Surrey picked up 22 points.

Harry Brook upstaged former England Test skipper Joe Root as Yorkshire carved out a first-innings advantage against Essex at Chelmsford.

Brook closed on 110 not out as Yorkshire reached 425 for five and a lead of 22. The 23-year-old has scored 50 or more in every innings so far this season and currently averages over 200.

Root, in what was only his 50th County Championship appearance for the White Rose despite making his debut back in April 2011, made 75 from 88 balls.

Yorkshire’s record books were rewritten later in the day when Brook and Dawid Malan’s sixth-wicket stand reached 201, surpassing the 200 set by David Denton and George Hirst way back in 1902.

Aneurin Donald marked his return from two years of injury misery with a big-hitting 89 as Hampshire and Gloucestershire’s topsy-turvy clash was left delicately poised.

Welshman Donald had not played since September 2019 due to two serious knee injuries and came to the wicket with Hampshire 65 for seven in their second innings.

But his 89 from 97 balls, which included three sixes in a row and a 101-run final wicket stand with James Fuller (32 not