County Championship round-up: Ten Doeschate turns over Hampshire

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Promoted Essex pulled off a thrilling victory with the penultimate ball of the match to stun Hampshire in an extraordinary finish to their First Division fixture at Chelmsford as all six matches in the opening round of the County Championship produced positive results.

Hampshire, fancied to challenge Durham for the title, looked to have given themselves a chance of reaching their 248-run target as captain Nic Pothas hit 39 off 40 balls to take them to 170 for 4 with 10 overs remaining.

But the Essex seamer Ryan ten Doeschate turned the match on its head with five wickets for 13 runs, David Masters claiming the other one as Hampshire collapsed to 185 all out, South African ten Doeschate dismissing last man David Griffiths with just one ball to spare.

Matthew Hoggard matched his former Yorkshire team-mate, Andrew Gale, in marking his debut as captain with a victory as Leicestershire beat Northamptonshire by six wickets in the Second Division despite a bit of a wobble on the final morning at Grace Road.

Needing 51 with nine wickets in hand at yesterday's start, Leicestershire slipped to 29 for 4 as David Lucas and Jack Brooks combined to fire out their top-order. But Tom New and Josh Cobb guided them over the line.

Derbyshire celebrated their first win at The Oval since 1966 when Robin Petersen, the South African left-arm spinner newly signed as a Kolpak player, took the last three Surrey wickets to complete a 208-run victory.

Surrey were bowled out for 165 as Derbyshire claimed 23 points to lead the Second Division table, rewarding their captain Chris Rogers, who became the first Derbyshire player to score a double hundred and a hundred in the same match.

Relegated Sussex crushed Glamorgan by 201 runs at Cardiff after the part-time off-spinner Chris Nash took four wickets in an innings for the first time. Worcestershire had beaten Middlesex on Sunday.