Mushtaq mauls Middlesex

Sussex wrapped up a comprehensive 224-run win on the final day against Middlesex at Horsham, thanks entirely to Mushtaq Ahmed who took the remaining five wickets to take his season tally to 42 wickets. Ed Joyce, who resumed on 63, battled hard for three hours and shared in a ninth-wicket stand of 57 with Chris Silverwood who played enterprisingly for his 50. However it was too little, too late and Mushtaq grabbed his fifth wicket - in the process taking his 300th Championship wicket for Sussex since joining the club in 2003 - to hand Sussex their fifth win in six matches.

A superb 98 from Robert Key, the Kent captain, took his side to a convincing nine-wicket win over Warwickshire on the final day at Tunbridge Wells. Warwickshire, resuming on 158 for 7, soon lost Dougie Brown (38) and their tail subsided to leave Kent chasing just 196. Though they lost David Fulton for 31, when Alex Loudon snuck one through his defence, Key and Martin van Jaarsveld combined in an unbeaten second-wicket stand worth 113 to take Kent home with ease.

A magnificent hundred from James Adams, his second in first-class cricket, led Hampshire to a brilliant five-wicket win over Yorkshire after successfully chasing down 404. Resuming on 46 without loss, Adams and Michael Carberry (62) put on 133 for the first wicket before Anthony McGrath removed both Carberry and John Crawley. However, Dominick Thornley (71) starred in another vital stand of 131 with Adams - who struck 13 fours in his 168 - to take Hampshire close. But time wasn't on their side. With the loss of Thornley and Nic Pothas, to Darren Lehmann's left-arm spin, the task was left to Adams and Greg Lamb - and Lamb clobbered a remarkable 32 from 16 balls to seal a famous and unlikely victory.

James Benning hit a match-winning and explosive 63 to launch Surrey to the top of Division Two with a six-wicket win over Essex. Surrey were in trouble at 87 for 3 before Benning and Mark Ramprakash (48) combined superbly with a 68-run partnership. Benning was imperious, smashing James Middlebrook for 15 in one over and launching three enourmous sixes to take Surrey home with time to spare.

Leicestershire opted against chasing down a tricky 372 to beat Northamptonshire as their match at Oakham School ended in a draw. Lance Klusener crunched a characteristically belligerent fifty to set Leicestershire the unlikely target, but the Leicestershire batsmen were never in trouble and were content to bat out a draw. HD Ackerman and Dinesh Mongia both reached fifties, with John Maunders top-scoring with 80.

Gloucestershire's two New Zealanders, Hamish Marshall and Craig Spearman, both hit impressive hundreds to close the gap on Worcestershire's giant first innings total of 587 on the second day at Bristol. Worcestershire finally declared in the 132nd over, after Vikram Solanki had struck a magnificent and breezy 222, and Stephen Davies an equally classy 192. Gloucestershire lost Phil Weston early, but Marshall (102) and Spearman (160*) laid a solid platform for the home side who trail Worcestershire by 297 runs going into the third day.