Warwickshire's title collapse

Hampshire 141 & 416 Warwickshire 250 & 98 (Hampshire won by 209 runs)

Lancashire are now strong favourites to win their first County Championship for 61 years after beating Worcestershire in Blackpool with Warwickshire's challenge in dangerof falling apart.

Chasing a target of 308 in four sessions to beat bottom-of-the-table Hampshire at Edgbaston and go second in the First Division table, they were bowled out for a paltry 98 after losing their first five wickets for 19.

That was after Lancashire – who shared the title with Surrey in 1950 but have not won in their own right since 1934 – had wrapped up a 98-run victory in less than an hour to displace Durham at the top, seamer Tom Smith taking four wickets as Worcestershire lost their last five for 27 runs.

Warwickshire have four matches left to Lancashire's three but trail by 25 points. Lancashire do not play again for 10 days and Durham, 13 points behind, have a chance to reclaim pole position against Nottinghamshire, at Trent Bridge, starting tomorrow.

However, they will be without Ben Stokes, Graham Onions and Scott Borthwick because of England's one-day international against Ireland on Thursday, the timing of which is also bad news for Warwickshire, who lose in-form Chris Woakes for their match against Yorkshire at Headingley, as well as the Irish pair, Boyd Rankin and Will Porterfield.

Warwickshire's progress on the field went badly wrong as Hampshire, bowled out for 141 in the first innings, amassed 416 second time around, including a fine 145 from James Vince.

Woakes ended with 10 wickets in the match but Vince and Sean Ervine shared a 119-run stand for the sixth wicket that should have been ended 49 runs earlier when Warwickshire allowed both to survive a mix-up.

Chris Wood, the 21-year-old seamer, took Hampshire's lead past 300 by smashing 32 off 23 balls before he and fellow left-armer James Tomlinson ripped through Warwickshire's top order, five of whom perished without scoring, including new overseas player Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Somerset remain ahead of Warwickshire in third place but their title chances have diminished after their rain-disrupted match with Nottinghamshire ended in a draw.

Northamptonshire are virtually certain of promotion from Division Two after beating third-placed Derbyshire by 165 runs.