County Cricket

After the disappointment of losing the first Test against South Africa today, three of England's batsmen are thrust back into county action tomorrow as Ravi Bopara, Alastair Cook and Matt Prior have all been made available by the ECB for Friends Life t20 quarter-final duty.

A round-up of all the action from a busy day on the county circuit.

There were a couple of dramatic finishes today in the LV= County Championship as Warwickshire suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Somerset, and Durham almost pulled off an unlikely win over Sussex.

Moeen Ali took another six wickets to condemn County Champions Lancashire to defeat inside three days at Old Trafford.

Sixteen of the counties were in action today as the LV= County Championship continued after its mid-season break.

A round-up of all the play that was possible on another rain-lashed day of action on the county circuit.

The rain relented to allow Glamorgan and Gloucestershire to record important wins in the LV= County Championship and Clydesdale Bank 40. There was also a win for Nottinghamshire over Hampshire in the evening CB40 fixture at Trent Bridge.

Rain ruined virtually all of the county action that was due to take place today, with Sussex's Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Kent and the third day of Northamptonshire's match against Glamorgan both abandoned without a ball bowled.

Wins for Warwickshire and Hampshire meant that they leapt to the top of Division One of the LV= County Championship and Group B of the Clydesdale Bank 40 respectively on another entertaining day on the county circuit.

Leicestershire's seventh-wicket pair of Robert Taylor and Will Jones hit 29 off the last two overs to record a thrilling win over Worcestershire in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Grace Road. Worcestershire left-armer David Lucas looked to have won the match for his side as his sixth over yielded three wickets, including the key one of Ramnaresh Sarwan for a dazzling 86-ball 100. However, Gareth Andrew's last over went for 13 as Will Jones played an audacious ramp shot to the first ball he faced to earn a boundary and leave the Foxes needing 16 from the final over.

A combination of more rain and already sodden outfields meant that not a single ball was bowled in any of today's LV= County Championship matches.

Generations of England batsmen present and hopefully future made their mark in today's LV= County Championship matches. Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen both found form in the first division ahead of next week's first Test against South Africa, while Joe Root - seen by many as Strauss' successor at the top of England's order - hit an undefeated 222 for Yorkshire.

A round-up of all the latest news and action from the county circuit.

Paul Horton and Andre Adams were among the best of the performers as the LV= County Championship resumed in earnest after its break for the Friends Life t20.

A round-up off all the latest county news, plus previews of tomorrow's Championship matches.

Durham CCC have confirmed that Australian batsmen Michael Di Venuto has been forced to retire from county cricket with immediate effect due to persistent injury problems.

The other teams to make it through on the final day of group matches in the Friends Life t20 were Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire, with Yorkshire, Sussex and Hampshire joining them in the last eight.

Essex kept their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals alive - and in doing so ended Kent's - with a commanding performance at Canterbury.

As the Friends Life t20 programme moves towards the end of the group stage, the 'Stand up for Friends Life t20' tour - led by Rory Bremner is also heading to its conclusion. One of the nation's favourite comedians and impressionists Rory Bremner has teamed up with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to front the comedy festival campaign which will see a host of comedians visiting Friends Life t20 games across the country.

There were Friends Life t20 wins today for Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Essex and Kent.