Former Test skipper Cooks up county ton

Alastair Cook marked his first match since resigning as England Test captain by scoring a century as Essex thrashed Somerset by eight wickets in Division One of the County Championship on Sunday.

Cook is determined to continue his Test career under new skipper Joe Root and the opener, England's all-time leading Test run-scorer, was in excellent form at Taunton.

The left-hander eventually fell for 110 when he pulled a short ball from South African Dean Elgar, bowling his occasional left-arm spin, to James Hildreth at mid-wicket.

Cook batted for over four hours, facing 214 balls and hitting 16 fours. The match was a personal triumph for Cook, who also made 52 in Essex's first innings 129.

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His exit on Sunday left Essex 2-216 but by then the visitors were in sight of a victory target of 255, which they achieved without further loss.

Cook resigned as England's Test skipper following their 0-4 series loss in India late last year.

Now that he no longer plays international white-ball cricket, the 32-year-old is not due to represent England again until the first Test against South Africa at Lord's on July 6.

While Cook had a hundred to celebrate, it was a different story at Southampton where the Hampshire duo of Michael Carberry and Rilee Rossouw both fell just short against county champions Middlesex.

Former England batsman Carberry, in his first home championship match since being diagnosed with cancer last year, resumed on his overnight 84 not out.

But on 98, Carberry was caught behind off Tim Murtagh.

South Africa's Rossouw got to within one run of a hundred while batting with a damaged left hand before he was run out by Australia-born ex-England batsman Sam Robson going for a non-existent second run.

Fast bowler Kyle Abbott, who like Rossouw has cut short his South Africa career to play for Hampshire, struck a maiden Championship fifty as the hosts made 438 in reply to Middlesex's 356.

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Abbott then removed Middlesex's top three and at stumps they were 4-111, a lead of just 29 runs, with former Australia Test batsman Adam Voges (29 not out) unbeaten at the crease along with nightwatchman Steven Finn (six not out).

In Cardiff, Australia limited-overs seamer John Hastings completed a successful return from injury by taking five wickets for the match and scoring a half-century in Worcestershire’s eight-wicket win over Glamorgan.

The towering Victoria, playing in his first match since undergoing knee surgery in December, backed up his quick-fire 51 in his first hit for his new side by picking up two second-innings wickets.

Glamorgan were bundled out for 223 to leave the Worcestershire needing just 28 to win, which they did with the loss of their two openers.

Nottinghamshire tearaway James Pattinson’s magnificent recent run was halted by rain at Durham, with just 11.3 overs bowled on day three. 

The hosts will resume the final at the Riverside Ground on 7-201, 58 runs ahead, with England opener Keaton Jennings, who had his woodwork rearranged by Pattinson in the first-innings, to resume on 82 not out.

Peter Handscomb’s Yorkshire is one wicket away from an innings-win over Warwickshire, after paceman Ben Coad helped himself to a 10-wicket match haul with five second-innings scalps to help reduce the Bears to 9-85 still 118 runs behind making the visitors bat again.

Meanwhile there was success for two spinners at The Oval as Lancashire slow left-armers Simon Kerrigan and Stephen Parry shared five first-innings wickets as Surrey were made to follow-on.

The days when every county could be relied upon to field two specialist spinners at The Oval, as Surrey did when the England duo of Jim Laker and Tony Lock ran through opposition batting line-ups on turning pitches at the south London venue when the county won seven successive Championship titles in the 1950s, have long gone.

Early season English conditions can often be unhelpful to modern spinners but Kerrigan and Parry played their part as Surrey were dismissed for 319 in reply to Lancashire's 470. 

At stumps Surrey were 1-55 in their second innings, still 96 runs behind.