Problem pitch is switched

Lancashire's Sunday League title hopes dipped at Grace Road where they suffered their fourth defeat of the season after the match had to be switched to a new pitch.

The original match was abandoned after the umpires, Bob White and Graham Burgess, decided the pitch was dangerous. On an adjacent wicket, Lancashire ran up 198 for 7 off their 40 overs, which proved an inadequate total. Leicestershire's South Africa Test captain, Hansie Cronje, hit 93 not out off 89 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, to carry his side to a six-wicket victory.

It is the second time in three seasons a Sunday League match at Grace Road has been abandoned because of a dangerous pitch. The same thing happened in July 1993 when the game was called off after 11 overs.

Glamorgan snatched a four-wicket win over the leaders, Essex, with an overthrow off the penultimate ball to ensure the top of the table is even more congested. Chasing 237 Glamorgan needed 10 from the final over and, with the help of a streaky four and that disastrous overthrow, they just made it.

Aravinda de Silva scored an 80-ball century to guide Kent to a nine-wicket victory over Somerset at Taunton. With Glamorgan's unlikely win that took Kent to the top. The Sri Lankan hit five sixes and 15 fours, inflicting particularly painful punishment upon Mushtaq Ahmed, whose 6.1 overs cost 61 runs.

Somerset were in tatters after 45 minutes, having won the toss. Mark Lathwell, Peter Bowler, Richard Harden, Keith Parsons and Andy Hayhurst were back in the pavilion with the total on 18.

Worcestershire stepped up into the reckoning with a 10-wicket victory over Derbyshire at New Road, where an unbroken stand of 164 between Tim Curtis (58) and Tom Moody (99) saw them home.

Warwickshire's ninth successive win, by 67 runs against Hampshire, came courtesy of their captain, Dermot Reeve, who scored 50 and took three wickets.