Four out of six teams from Group 2 were in action on Day 3 of the sixth round of the County Championship. Let us have a look at how it went for them.
Middlesex vs Hampshire, Lord’s
Middlesex 172 (Gubbins 51; Abbott 6-44) and 101 (Handscomb 24; Abbott 5-41) lost to Hampshire 208 (Barker 84; Murtagh 3-48) and 66/3 (Holland 22; Murtagh 2-29) by 7 wickets
Kyle Abbott returned match figures of 11-85 to help Hampshire beat Middlesex by seven wickets on Day 3 at Lord’s.
Hampshire resumed on 131/7, 41 runs behind Middlesex’s 172. Keith Barker (84) single-handedly lifted them to 208, thereby securing a 36-run lead. Ethan Bamber and Tim Murtagh claimed three wickets each, while Blake Cullen and James Harris had two apiece.
In the second innings, Hampshire bowlers took 29.5 overs to bowl Middlesex for 101. Abbott was relentless throughout the match, while Mohammad Abbas (3-46) provided him support. The pair picked up 17 wickets in between them in the match.
Chasing 66, Hampshire were 40/3 at one stage before Sam Northeast (18*) took them over the line.
Hampshire are now levelled with second-placed Somerset. Middlesex, on the other hand, have remained at fifth, over bottom-placed Leicestershire.
Somerset vs Surrey, Taunton
Surrey 206/4 (Burns 55, Pope 33; Gregory 2-64) vs Somerset
Only nine overs were bowled on the third day of the County Championship match between Somerset and Surrey. Ben Foakes and Jamie Smith resumed Day 3 at 191/4 and were only able to add 15 runs from there.
Earlier, the first four seasons of the contest were lost to rain and wet outfield. Moreover, Somerset only bowled 68 overs across the past three days.