Gillespie aims to exit on winning note

Jason Gillespie's last match as Yorkshire coach could be a County Championship title decider with Middlesex after both clubs won their respective First Division matches on Friday.

Gillespie is bidding to lead Headingley-based Yorkshire – English cricket's most successful club – to a third successive title before returning home to his native Australia at the end of the season.

With Middlesex just a point ahead of Yorkshire and two rounds left to play, it now appears their final fixture of the season at the London club's Lord's headquarters starting on September 20 will decide the destiny of English cricket's first-class competition.

Friday saw Yorkshire beat Durham by 228 runs, while Middlesex's five-wicket victory away to Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge saw the Midlands club relegated.

Somerset, who've never yet won the County Championship in 134 years of first-class cricket, despite once boasting a side featuring legendary England allrounder Ian Botham and West Indies greats Vivian Richards and Joel Garner in the late 1970s and 1980s, are currently third, 21 points behind Yorkshire ahead of next week's match at Headingley.

Durham started Friday's fourth and final day at Headingley on 3-39 in pursuit of a daunting target of 421.

Former Australia fast bowler Gillespie, 41, would have been pleased by the way Ryan Sidebottom, an ex-England left-arm paceman and only three years younger than his coach at 38, took three wickets in the first hour on his way to a return of 4- 34.

Jack Brooks ended the match when he bowled last man Chris Rushworth as Durham were dismissed for 192. 

At Trent Bridge, the match was still in the balance when Middlesex resumed on 3-48, requiring a total of 235 to win.

But fifties from England's Nick Compton (63), wicketkeeper John Simpson (58 not out) and former New Zealand allrounder James Franklin (54no) saw them to victory, with Simpson and Franklin's unbroken stand of 89 proving decisive.

Elsewhere, Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara made an unbeaten 84 as Surrey dented Hampshire's hopes of avoiding relegation with a draw at The Oval.

Surrey started the day on 23 without loss, still needing 230 more to make Hampshire bat again after the visitors had piled up a colossal 582 for nine declared.

But left-hander Sangakkara, who has been in fine form this season, frustrated Hampshire during fifty stands with both Arun Harinath and Steven Davies before rain forced an early close with Surrey 3-248.