Kashif Ali hit a second century of the match as Worcestershire dominated day three of their Vitality County Championship Division One clash with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Kashif surpassed his stylish first-innings knock of 110 with a superb 133 from just 128 balls to help his side amass 237 for two to lead by 264 going into the final day.

Warwickshire lost their last five wickets for 27 to fold to 333 all out and give the visitors a lead of 27, which they enhanced in highly entertaining fashion as Kashif was supported by Jake Libby’s unbeaten 75.

Nottinghamshire look likely to be chasing a 300-plus target on the final day after Essex hauled themselves out of a tricky situation at Trent Bridge.

At 129 for five shortly before lunch – just 89 runs in front – the visitors appeared in danger of slipping to defeat.

But after Paul Walter (79) and Matt Critchley (68) fought back in a 132-run partnership for the sixth wicket, Tom Westley’s team were 289 in front at 329 for eight when rain forced an early close.

Kent and Somerset look to be heading for a draw at Canterbury.

Tom Lammonby hit 90 and Matt Renshaw 66 as the visitors reached 374 for seven at stumps to overhaul Kent’s first innings score of 284.

Kent debutants Matt Parkinson and George Garrett took three for 31 and two for 61 respectively, but a stand of 101 between Kasey Aldridge and James Rew left Somerset with a lead of 90.

Durham and Hampshire continue to wait for the start of their campaigns as play was abandoned in Chester-le-Street for a third consecutive day due to wet weather.

The match between Lancashire and Surrey also looks certain to end in a draw after only 21 balls were bowled on the third day at Emirates Old Trafford because of rain.

Reigning champions Surrey had progressed to 15 without loss in their first innings in reply to Lancashire’s 202 all out.

In Division Two, Ryan Higgins’ century steered Middlesex towards the safety of a draw in their high-scoring encounter with Glamorgan at Lord’s.

The all-rounder plundered an unbeaten 127 to enable the hosts, faced with the scoreboard pressure of Glamorgan’s first innings score of 620 for three, to move to the verge of avoiding the follow-on with their impressive reply of 460 for five.

Higgins was ably assisted by wicketkeeper-batter Jack Davies, who contributed 60 during a fifth-wicket stand of 153, after opener Mark Stoneman fell three shy of a century.

Sussex opener Tom Haines made 133 but his side’s game against Northamptonshire at Hove looks likely to end in a draw.

The left-hander eased to the 10th first-class hundred of his career as the home team reached 351 for six at stumps, trailing by 20.

Sussex had been in a spot of bother at 94 for three but James Coles produced a stylish 78 in a fourth-wicket stand of 137 to add to his three wickets.

England batter Harry Brook’s first competitive innings of the year was delayed by the weather as Yorkshire’s clash with Leicestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled.

The hosts remain on 72 for two at Headingley in response to Leicestershire’s 354, with Adam Lyth unbeaten on 43 and George Hill on 13.

There was a similar story at Derby where there was no play for the third day running in the match between Derbyshire and Gloucestershire.

West Indies cricket stalwart Jason Holder is set to bring his wealth of experience and formidable skill set to Worcestershire County Cricket Club, bolstering their lineup for the opening five matches of the season in the Vitality County Championship.

The 32-year-old, a former top-ranked all-rounder in ICC Test rankings and Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2021, will join Worcestershire in time for their clash against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, commencing on Friday, April 5.

Holder's signing marks a significant addition to Worcestershire's squad as they prepare to make their mark in Division One action. His impressive track record in international cricket, coupled with his versatility as an all-rounder, makes him a valuable asset for the team.

Renowned for his leadership on and off the field, Holder has captained the West Indies in over 100 internationals across all formats. His stellar performances, including a memorable double century against England in 2019, underscore his ability to make a significant impact in crucial encounters.

Speaking on his signing with Worcestershire, Holder expressed his enthusiasm for the opportunity to contribute to the team's success. "I always enjoy my time in England, and I'm looking forward to helping Worcestershire get off to a good start in Division One," he remarked.

Holder's presence is expected to provide a significant boost to Worcestershire's campaign, both in terms of performance and morale. Worcestershire CEO Ashley Giles expressed his delight at securing Holder's services, emphasizing the positive impact he will have on the team.

"When someone of Jason’s experience and quality becomes available, even for a short window, we just had to jump at it," said Giles. "We know on the field as a cricketer he is a world-class all-rounder but off the field a world-class individual as well."

With Holder's signing, Worcestershire aims to lay a strong foundation for the season ahead, knowing that his presence in the lineup will provide a significant advantage. As they embark on their Division One journey, Worcestershire looks to capitalize on Holder's talent and leadership to achieve their goals on the field.

Durham clinched the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two title after bowling out Worcestershire shortly before the close of a rain-affected third day at New Road.

With promotion already secured last week without bowling a ball when Leicestershire failed to get a batting point against Sussex, Durham required a maximum of five points to clinch top spot.

The three secured for dismissing Worcestershire for 313, plus the ones dropped by the home side for batting, ensured Durham finished in pole position to be back in Division One for the first time since 2016, when they were relegated over financial issues.

Ben Raine and Bas de Leede finished with three wickets each, while captain Brett D’Oliveira was Worcestershire’s top scorer with 63 off 75 balls.

At the Kia Oval, Ben Foakes and Jamie Overton led a fightback from Division One leaders Surrey against bottom-of-the table Northamptonshire on another rain-affected day.

Title rivals Essex had cut into Surrey’s 18-point lead by taking two more bonus points against Hampshire.

Northamptonshire – who will be relegated if either Middlesex or Kent win – put the pressure on as they reduced Surrey to 79 for six before a spirited response from Foakes and Overton, who made an unbeaten half-century, helped move them on to 158 when bad light and rain ended play early.

Surrey still trail by 199, but a draw still looks the most likely outcome heading into the final day’s play.

At Chelmsford, Hampshire batter Tom Prest scored his maiden Championship century to frustrate title hopefuls Essex despite a five-wicket haul for Simon Harmer.

Prest scored an unbeaten 102 to guide Hampshire past the follow-on score with vital contributions from openers Toby Albert (39), Fletcha Middleton (47), James Vince (46) and Keith Barker (42).

South African Harmer claimed five for 143, but Hampshire ended the day on 322 for eight, now 125 runs adrift and with potential to set up a result on the final day.

Somerset’s Tom Kohler-Cadmore celebrated his England call-up with a savage assault on Kent’s injury-hit bowling attack on day three at Taunton.

Kohler-Cadmore – set to feature in the one-day international series against Ireland – hit eight sixes in a rapid 68 as the hosts extended their first-innings total to 404 for four before rain washed out the last two sessions.

Lewis Goldsworthy marked his first Championship appearance of the season with 122 and Andy Umeed contributed 49 as Somerset increased the pressure on relegation-threatened Kent, who have secured just one bonus point, before play was eventually abandoned at 4.50pm.

At Lord’s, another half-century from Sam Robson helped keep alive relegation-battlers Middlesex’s hopes of a draw on a truncated day three against Warwickshire.

Former England opener Robson made 51 not out as the hosts reached 96 for one in their second innings, still 98 short of making Warwickshire bat again.

Earlier, Will Rhodes completed his ninth first-class hundred, but Danny Briggs fell one short as Warwickshire made a first innings total of 315. Tim Murtagh, in his final game at Lord’s, finished with six for 83.

Lancashire made 225 for six against Nottinghamshire on a rain-shortened day at Emirates Old Trafford in a game steadily heading towards a draw having already lost two days to the weather.

Steven Croft top-scored for the hosts with 45, while Matty Hurst, 20, made an assured unbeaten 35 on debut after openers Keaton Jennings and Luke Wells had posted 84 for the first wicket.

Stephen Mullaney and Asitha Fernando both claimed two wickets apiece for the visitors.

Elsewhere in Division Two, Harry Swindells kept alive Leicestershire’s promotion hopes, top-scoring with 73 in his first appearance of the year in the Foxes’ red-ball team, against Yorkshire at Grace Road.

Swindells, who scored an unbeaten 117 in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final win over Hampshire, shared a 10th-wicket partnership of 93 with Will Davis (44 not out) as the hosts recovered from 140 for nine to reach 233, a first-innings lead of 78.

In reply, Yorkshire closed 35 runs in front on 113 for one with opener Adam Lyth 51 not out.

Brooke Guest marked his 100th appearance as a wicketkeeper for Derbyshire by taking seven catches against Sussex to equal the county’s record dismissals in an innings.

Sam Conners and Zak Chappell both took four wickets as Sussex were dismissed for 100 before the home side closed on 94 for one, with Luis Reece unbeaten on 50.

England bowler Ollie Robinson stole the show with a seven-wicket haul against Worcestershire on a day where Sussex team-mate Steve Smith was forced to wait before he made his LV= Insurance County Championship bow with the bat.

All eyes were on Australian great Smith at New Road in the first of three games for Sussex ahead of this summer’s Ashes series, but away captain Cheteshwar Pujara decided to field first after he won the toss on Thursday.

It proved a wise decision with England seamer Robinson ripping through the Worcestershire top-order on his way to figures of seven for 59 in a pleasing sign for the hosts’ chances of winning back the Urn in July.

Worcestershire did stage a recovery from 44 for five to eventually make 264 thanks to half-centuries from Adam Hose (59), Matthew Waite (59) and Joe Leach (53), but there was still enough time left for Sussex to bat on day one of the Division Two encounter.

Smith stayed in the pavilion though with opener Ali Orr and number three Tom Alsop able to get the away side through to the close on 63 for one with the Aussie set to bat at number five on day two.

Jonny Bairstow took a positive step in his bid to prove his fitness for the Ashes by claiming three catches for Yorkshire against Glamorgan.

Bairstow, fit again after an unfortunate leg break last October, kept wicket at Headingley and produced a superb grab down the leg-side to dismiss Kiran Carlson.

Glamorgan were all out for 245 and indebted to another Australian with Marnus Labuschagne top-scoring with 65 before Yorkshire suffered a late collapse to finish on 62 for five with Bairstow not out on two.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yorkshire County Cricket Club (@yorkshireccc)

Elsewhere in the second tier, Leicestershire were skittled for 122 with Derbyshire’s Henry Brooks claiming six for 20, which included the scalp of England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed for 23.

Hosts Derbyshire managed to wipe out the deficit before bad light brought proceedings to an early end with Haider Ali scoring 54 to lead them to 144 for three.

Both Stuart Broad and James Anderson were overshadowed by Brett Hutton at Trent Bridge on a good day for Nottinghamshire opener Haseeb Hameed against his old club Lancashire in Division One.

England seamer Broad picked up two wickets and Olly Stone also claimed a brace as Lancashire were all out for 214 but it was Hutton who did the majority of the damage for the home side with five for 66.

Lancashire, largely through Tom Bailey with 48 not out from 29 balls, had scored at almost five an over and it allowed Anderson time to get stuck into Nottinghamshire on the first day but Hameed came through unscathed to close on an unbeaten 57.

While Anderson finished wicketless from his seven overs, his team-mates fared better to reduce the hosts to 119 for five on a good day for bowlers at Trent Bridge.

Chris Woakes caught the eye for Warwickshire at the Ageas Bowl to dismiss Hampshire for 229.

Woakes picked up three scalps but Hampshire captain James Vince stood firm with 75 not out before Warwickshire reached 82 without loss at the close with Alex Davies unbeaten on 46.

Essex saw Alastair Cook (51), Tom Westley (62) and Matt Critchley (60) all pass fifty against Surrey but Gus Atkinson’s six for 68 along with Will Jacks’ two-fer saw them all out for 314 at Chelmsford.

Rain badly affected the other Division One match at Taunton where Northamptonshire closed on 137 for four thanks to Ricardo Vasconcelos’ 70 against Somerset on a day where only 37.4 overs were possible.

Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo helped Worcestershire secure a 29-run win over Lancashire in their Vitality Blast North Group fixture at New Road on Friday.

Worcestershire posted a formidable 178-6 from their 20 overs after being sent in by Lancashire.

Opener Brett D’Oliveira (33) along with captain and England all-rounder Moeen Ali (31) were the main scorers while Kashif Ali (27) and New Zealander Colin Munro (26) also made valuable contributions.

Bravo, batting at number eight, played a decent cameo of 10 not out from five balls including one six.

Leg-spinner Luke Wells led the way with the ball for Lancashire with 2-26 from his four overs.

Lancashire’s reply can only be described as top-heavy as openers Phil Salt (44) and newly appointed England white ball captain Jos Buttler (42) were the only batsmen to pass 20 as they were dismissed for just 149 in 19.3 overs.

D’Oliveira capped off a fine all-round display with 4-20 from his four overs of leg-spin while Pat Brown and Moeen Ali took two wickets each.

Bravo, the leading wicket-taker in T20 history with 594 in 540 matches, added another to his tally with 1-26 from 3.3 overs.

Worcestershire remain at the bottom of the North Group with two wins, 10 losses, and one no-result from 13 games while Lancashire stay second with seven wins, four losses, and one no-result.

Legendary West Indies fast bowler, Andy Roberts, is hopeful developing young pacer Alzarri Joseph has learned a thing or two from his recent stint in English County Cricket.

The 24-year-old Joseph has spent a little over a month representing Worcestershire, where he made his debut following the West Indies home series against Sri Lanka.  As per the arrangement, the player is now back in the Caribbean for the team’s upcoming series against South Africa.

In his six matches there, Joseph did make some impression, claiming 15 wickets, the second most in the team and adding 148 runs, with a high score of 61.  In addition, he claimed an innings best of 2 for 22 and match best of 4 for 106.   

The English championships is typically lauded as a good place for young cricketers to develop, not only due to the difficult and different conditions, but also the volume of cricket played in a short period of time.  During the West Indies spell as the top cricketing nation, several of the players took part in the competition.

“He spent some time in England which everyone feels like that is the bedrock for development because of the amount of cricket that you play, but gone are the days when you use to play seven days or sometimes, 12 to 14 days in a row, and if you can’t develop from that system then you can’t develop,” Roberts, who represented Hampshire and Leicestershire, told the Antigua Observer.

“I am just hoping that he spent most of his time in the nets learning to hone his craft because there is no point to playing County cricket and you don’t learn nothing from playing County cricket. For years I’ve been saying the same thing over and over like the record is stuck; personal development is the key to success.”

West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has credited increased mental focus on his batting with improved performances at the crease.

Over the past several months, the bowler has made the headlines for positing solid totals at the crease, as much as if not more than multiple wicket hauls.

Against New Zealand, in December of last year, Joseph recorded his highest total of 86, which was his maiden half-century. The Antiguan then went on to add another after scoring 82 in February this year against Bangladesh.

Fast forward a few months later and the player has taken his form with the bat to a debut season of English County cricket for Worcestershire.  With best scores of 46 and 61, Joseph has shown plenty of ability to be handy with the bat when the team needs it.  In four matches to date, Joseph has scored 128 runs and claimed 10 wickets.

“Whatever I could contribute to the team I am happy to do, so it’s good that I have been getting a few scores but for me, I think it’s also about being consistent doing it,” Joseph told the Antigua Observer.

“I have always enjoyed batting but it was just down to me being a bit more focused on it so I think for me it’s just about staying focused, being consistent in any aspect of the game.”

West Indies fast bowler, Alzarri Joseph, admits that getting used to conditions on a debut English County cricket season has been challenging, but that his only true focus remains continuing to improve as a player.

The 24-year-old Joseph, who signed with Worcestershire, for the first seven games of the 2021 County Championship season, has had a fairly solid debut spell so far.

In four games, Joseph has scored 128 runs, with a high score of 61, as a lower-order batsman, and taken 10 wickets.  According to the player, things have, however, not been easy as conditions are very different to the Caribbean.

 “I wouldn’t say it’s been the best or that I am extremely satisfied, but it’s improving as I go along. It’s a lot different to the Caribbean, it’s different conditions in terms of different grounds, different types of surfaces, and different types of players, so it’s also about adjusting to everything at once.  It’s helping me to improve as a player in terms of adjusting to situations a bit quicker,” Alzarri told the Antigua Observer.

“Some days you turn up and it’s like three degrees and very cold in the mornings and then it goes from three to 12 degrees, to 15 and then back down to three. So, it’s just really difficult sometimes, but it’s all part of the job.  All part of the learning experience,” he added.

Joseph signed up with the league last month, following the West Indies series against Sri Lanka.

 West Indies bowler, Alzarri Joseph, added a tidy two-wicket haul to a maiden half-century to help put English County club Worcestershire in a commanding position against Nottinghamshire at New Road.

Chasing a sizeable first innings score of 436, Nottinghamshire crumbled for 276, despite 111 from opener Haseeb Hameed and not losing their first wicket until they had put 115 runs on the board.

Charlie Morris had the best bowling figures for Worcestershire, after taking 3 for 30 but Joseph chipped in with 2 for 33.  The West Indies accounted for top-order batsman Ben Duckett and Nottinghamshire were then forced to follow on still some 160 runs short of the target.

In the first innings, Joseph was part of a staunch lower-order effort that ballooned the tally late on.  Joseph recorded his first half-century in the competition with 61, Ed Barnard added 58 and captain Joe Leach 84.

The total adds to Joseph’s debut innings of 46 from 55 against Derbyshire last week.  On that occasion, the bowler also chipped in with 3 wickets.

West Indies fast bowler, Alzarri Joseph, put in another solid performance for English County Cricket club Worcestershire, against Nottinghamshire, at New Road One cricket ground on Thursday.

At the end of the first day, Joseph remained unbeaten on 46 from 81 balls and sharing in an eighth-wicket stand worth 89 runs with Ed Barnard.  The partnership took Worcestershire to 305 for 7, after looking in some trouble at 216 for 7 earlier on.

The total marks Joseph’s second 40+runs innings of the young season, having opened up with 46 from 55 against Derbyshire last week.  On that occasion, the bowler also chipped in with 3 wickets drawing commendation from Worcestershire coach, Alex Gidman, who praised the player's mentality.

When play resumes Joseph could be looking for his first half-century in the competition, having signed a seven-game deal with Worcestershire for the first part of the season a few weeks ago.

The 24-year-old has taken 37 wickets from 15 Tests and shown plenty of ability with the bat of late, scoring half-centuries on successive Test tours of New Zealand and Bangladesh.

West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has signed to play for Worcestershire in the English County Championships as their overseas player.