Malcolm spearheads Derbyshire charge

Round-up

Devon Malcolm helped to bowl Derbyshire to victory at Hove yesterday, putting his side firmly in the reckoning for the County Championship - and himself in line for an England Test recall.

Derbyshire beat Sussex by 47 runs as Malcolm finished with match figures of 10 for 215, taking his total tally of wickets this summer to 61. He has spearheaded Derbyshire's challenge in a wide-open title race. "We're going flat out for the Championship and we've got to be in with a chance," Malcolm said.

World renowned as a batting "rabbit", Malcolm's last-wicket stand of 55 with Adrian Rollins on Saturday proved as vital for Derbyshire in the match as his bowling, and, despite his much-publicised falling-out over the last year with Ray Illingworth, Malcolm feels he is playing the best cricket of his career.

"At the start of the summer I just wanted to put everything behind me and enjoy my game," Malcolm said. "Things are really working out well."

Sussex, resuming on 91 for 2 and chasing a target of 276, had a disastrous start to the day, quickly losing three wickets, including that of the England leg-spinner Ian Salisbury, who was linked at the weekend with a move to Surrey, an approach the south London club has denied. Afterwards, Peter Moores and Keith Newell raised Sussex hopes with a hard-hitting seventh wicket stand of 64 in just 10 overs before lunch but, when Newell was trapped leg before off the first ball of the second session, the Sussex tail was quickly routed.

It was Shaun Udal, another bowler discarded by England, who took the honours in a dramatic finish at Southampton, where Hampshire beat Glouc- estershire by 63 runs.

With a day to score 352, Gloucester were coasting while Andrew Symonds and the promising opener Dominic Hewson were in the middle, putting on 102 for the second wicket. But once Symonds, who hit a six and 16 fours, was stumped for 90 after going down the wicket once too often to Raj Maru, the home side took control, Udal taking 5 for 82, including the final wicket of Jon Lewis with only one more ball of the game to be bowled.

Warwickshire kept alive their outside chance of retaining the county title by sending Durham to a fourth consecutive defeat at Edgbaston. In another desperate collapse, the bottom county lost their last eight wickets for only 106 to lose by 282 runs soon after lunch. Slow left-armer Ashley Giles celebrated the award of his county cap with a career-best 6 for 45.