Cricket / Round-Up: Hooper rouses Kent

WITH Worcestershire obliging their NatWest final opponents by indulging in that most unusual of pastimes, giving second-best to Yorkshire, Kent took up the baton in the Sunday League with their eighth win on the trot to keep up the pressure on Warwickshire.

At Northampton, Carl Hooper's 122, supplemented by a vigorous 82 from Graham Cowdrey, took Kent to the day's loftiest total, 273 for 6, Curtly Ambrose somehow emerging from the mayhem with head high and 4 for 20 in the book. Despite a defiant 57 from the promising Tim Walton, Northamptonshire fell 40 adrift. With two games remaining, Kent trail Warwickshire by two points.

Yorkshire's 188 for 6 appeared far from sufficient at New Road, whereupon Peter Hartley and young Chris Silverwood reduced the hosts to 55 for 7. Tim Curtis (81 not out) mounted a recovery in consort with Richard Illingworth, the eighth-wicket pair adding 79. Tim Edwards then put on 30 for the last wicket with his captain, but all to no avail, Worcestershire eventually losing by 19 runs.

Nottinghamshire all but erased Lancashire's aspirations with a comfortable win at Trent Bridge, a captain's innings of 119 not out from Tim Robinson securing the spoils with eight wickets and nine balls in hand after John Crawley had followed his 250 in the Championship fixture with 66 out of the visitors' 226 for 7.

Runs aplenty at The Oval, where Mike Roseberry's highest Sunday score (119 not out) was put in the shade by a blistering assault from Ally Brown, whose unbeaten 142, the highest ever 40-over score by a Surrey player, led the home team past Middlesex's imposing 261 for 3 with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare.

Wayne Larkins was only just behind Brown in the plunderers list, the evergreen Durham opener's unconquered 131 spearheading his side's 10-wicket win over Hampshire at Portsmouth. Jon Longley (72 not out) was his less than silent partner in an opening stand of 220 in 34.4 overs.