Yorkshire check Nottinghamshire as Gay century puts Durham in control

Yorkshire took four wickets in the final 11 overs to leave Nottinghamshire on 242-9 at Trent Bridge on Thursday, while Emilio Gay's 141 helped Durham reach 355-5 against Lancashire at Old Trafford. BBC Sport's reports from the opening day of the County Championship's final round detailed contrasting fortunes for the two batting sides.

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Nottinghamshire recovered from 64-3 through a fourth-wicket stand of 108 between Haseeb Hameed and Jack Haynes, who made 71 and 48 respectively. Ben Cliff had earlier dismissed Ben Martindale and Joe Clarke with successive deliveries. Yorkshire regained control after the recovery, taking five wickets in the final session; Cliff finished with 4-39 and Ben Coad returned 2-42.

The setback further reduced Nottinghamshire's remaining title hopes. The 2025 champions entered the round with a mathematical chance of catching Warwickshire but had collected no batting bonus points by the close. Yorkshire, who beat Somerset at Headingley in their previous match, were pursuing a third consecutive victory to finish their Championship campaign.

In Division Two, Durham had already secured the title before visiting Lancashire, but Gay's fourth century in 10 Championship innings this season kept the champions in command. According to the separate BBC Sport match report, he shared stands of 114 with Ben McKinney and 168 with Mayank Agarwal after Alex Lees fell for three early in the morning.

McKinney scored 71 and passed 1,000 first-class runs for the season before Tom Bailey had him caught behind. Gay completed his hundred from 156 deliveries, reaching the milestone with his 14th four. Agarwal contributed 66, while Lancashire missed four catches involving Durham's leading scorers during a difficult day for the home attack.

Lancashire did take three evening wickets. Ben Walkden dismissed Gay before Noman Ali removed Colin Ackermann and Agarwal, leaving Durham on 306-5. Ollie Robinson and Kasey Aldridge then carried the visitors to a third batting bonus point before stumps. Bailey finished with 2-52 and Noman with 2-110, while Lancashire had yet to begin their first innings.