Cricket / Round-Up: Croft's best display of season rewarded

GLAMORGAN yesterday secured their first home Britannic Assurance County Championship win of the season when they beat Leicestershire, the second-placed county, by 150 runs at Cardiff. The off-spinner Robert Croft turned in his season's best performance of 5 for 80 to help dismiss the visitors for 261. It was was Glamorgan's first home win over Leicestershire since 1974.

There was little hope of a Leicestershire victory after losing four wickets on Saturday evening. However, Vincent Wells and Adrian Pierson added 86 for the fifth wicket before Wells was caught at long-on for 56 the ball after hitting Croft for four. Pierson, the nightwatchman, was sixth out, caught at slip off Croft for 26, and Phil Robinson and Paul Nixon held up Glamorgan after lunch before Robinson was caught again off Croft.

Nixon and Gordon Parsons added 66 for the eighth wicket until Nixon edged a catch after scoring 34. Parsons was then stumped, swinging at Croft for a useful 26 and the wicketkeeper, Colin Metson, gained his fourth victim by catching Matthew Brimson.

At New Road, Worcestershire, the NatWest Trophy finalists, completed their Bank Holiday weekend by being skittled out for 73, the lowest Championship score of the season, to give Yorkshire victory by an innings and 61 runs. Mark Robinson inflicted the damage, finishing with a season's-best 5 for 48.

Tim Curtis and Matthew Church fell for just one apiece inside the first three overs of the day to leave Worcestershire 6 for 5. It became 11 for 6 with the dismissal of Chris Tolley for a duck before David Leatherdale added some respectability.

Jimmy Daley, the Durham batsmen, hit a maiden century to deny Hampshire their fifth win in six matches at Portsmouth. The 20-year-old was 159 not out at stumps as Durham, with the loss of seven wickets, closed 57 runs adrift of their target of 342 in 78 overs against a Hampshire attack missing Winston Benjamin and Shaun Udal.