Hat-trick secures Surrey's promotion

Off-spinner Gareth Batty has secured Surrey's promotion to the top division of English county cricket with a hat-trick in a six-wicket haul against Derbyshire.

Batty, who played seven Tests for England between 2003 and 2005, took a wicket with the final three balls of the match at The Oval to complete his hat-trick and wrap up victory by an innings and 98 runs.

The London-based side, which this year boasted the likes of Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara and former England batsman Kevin Pietersen on their playing roster, returns to Division One after two seasons in the second division.

Batty took 6-51 in the second innings as Derbyshire were bowled out for just 149 after Surrey had taken a 247-run lead on the first innings.

"That's my first hat-trick in first-class cricket," Batty said.

"My only other one came for Yorkshire Under 11s against Lancashire Under 11s at Woodhouse Grange School back in the late 1980s. I think Freddie Flintoff may have been one of my hat-trick victims that day - he was certainly one of my seven wickets! It's difficult to remember, it's a very long time ago.

"Of course it's a nice thing for me, and a great moment, but the hat-trick is really irrelevant because it's winning this match and getting promotion to Division One that matters.

"To have won this game of cricket and got the points is what's important. It was a must-win game for us, we felt, and I thought we played some magnificent cricket as a team to win it."

Quick Single: Yorkshire close to Division One title

Lancashire, who won the domestic T20 title last week, managed a draw against Kent to also secure promotion to the top division after they were relegated last year.

Lancs, who boasted Australian allrounder James Faulkner on their roster for a lot of the year, had to fight hard on the final day of the match in Canterbury; they were forced to follow-on after Kent amassed 579 in their first innings, but defended admirably and lost just two wickets on the fourth day.

It was a bittersweet match for Lancashire coach and former England spinner Ashley Giles, who said it was the county's worst first-class performance of the season.  

"It was a strange week because we should be absolutely over the moon, but there are parts of this game that we're a bit disappointed with how we've played," Giles said.

"It's probably our worst game in the Championship, although we've come away with a draw. We lost to Gloucester at home, but probably played better cricket.

"We've done what we came to achieve, which at the start of the year was promotion and winning the T20 at the start of the week was an amazing feeling for everyone.

"Today, I thought they were brilliant. This morning we asked for that resilience and fight. Good sides win a lot, but they also become very difficult to beat."

Surrey and Lancashire will replace two sides in Division One next year, with Worcestershire likely to be one of the sides relegated.

Worcestershire's heavy defeat against Sussex last week means they are 13 points from safety with two games remaining in the season.

The two sides above them, Somerset and Hampshire, each have a match in hand meaning Worcestershire will need to win their final two matches to have any chance of staying in the top division.

Somerset and Hampshire face-off in a crucial match at Taunton next week that could well decide which team is relegated to Division Two.