Warwickshire rocked the Championship leaders back on their heels with a sensational 26-run win at The AMP Oval. After following on 182 runs behind yesterday, the visitors were indebted to skipper Mike Powell (95) and Jamie Troughton (94) for taking them to 350 in their second innings, leaving Surrey needing 169 to win. Shaun Pollock (four for 44), Neil Carter (two for 37) and Dougie Brown (two for 26) then reduced Surrey, first to 32 for four, and then despite a battling half century from captain Adam Hollioake, to 137 all out. It was Surrey's first Championship defeat of the season.

Leicestershire and Hampshire failed to take the opportunity to dent Surrey's lead, as they could only manage a draw at Grace Road. Robin Smith (104) and John Francis (82) left Leicestershire needing 295 for victory, a target that they never chased seriously, closing on 72 for four.

Sussex and Kent also drew, after a half-century from Amjad Khan extended the visitors' victory target to 247 at Hove. In the end it was the hosts who pushed harder for victory, reducing Kent to 82 for five at the close. Robin Martin-Jenkins and Jason Lewry took two wickets each.

Somerset had the better of their match against Yorkshire at Headingley, but could not force a win after they forced Division One's bottom club to follow on. Ian Blackwell took four for 49 as Yorkshire were bowled out for 323 in their first innings, while Matt Bulbeck took four for 94. But the hosts managed to avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat, reaching 213 for five when the match ended with Darren Lehmann making 75.

Middlesex have leap-frogged Essex to top the Second Division table after Essex went down to their second defeat in a row. Kabir Ali and Graham Batty took three wickets each as the hosts were bowled out for 257 at Southend, leaving Worcestershire needing just 82 runs for victory.

Middlesex reached the 241 they needed for victory at Southgate after Mark Alleyne kept the match alive with a second-innings declaration. Aaron Laraman (82*) and Owais Shah (63) shared a fourth-wicket stand of 149 to give Middlesex see Middlesex to 241 for five and victory with three overs to spare.

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