22 for 1, but rain then put an end to play and Glamorgan escaped with two points. (Cricinfo scorecard) Somerset v Northamptonshire (7–10 September) Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Somerset (10pts) Ian Blackwell and Arul Suppiah made scores of 98 and 91 respectively, as Somerset made their way to 396 batting first at Taunton, although the lower order struggled against the spin of Monty Panesar – who dug out Richard Johnson and Charl Langeveldt for ducks. Matthew Wood set the pace, adding 63 with James Francis in an opening partnership where Francis only contributed 8 before he was lbw to Steven Crook, who had changed counties from Lancashire to Northamptonshire. That was Crook's only wicket of the match, however, as he finished with match figures of 25–2–107–1. Northamptonshire got off to a bad start, losing the first three wickets for 76 runs, but centuries from Usman Afzaal, who made 112, and David Sales, ending on 154 before being caught and bowled by Richard Johnson, lifted them back with a 175-run stand for the fourth wicket. Fifties from all-rounders Damien Wright (who added 131 with Sales for the sixth wicket), Simon Crook and Johann Louw lifted Northamptonshire to 574. Then, Wright took two wickets and Somerset fell to four runs for two wickets. Francis made his second half-century and James Hildreth also scored 50, however, leaving Somerset at 163 for 4 at stumps on day three. The match was intriguingly poised, but rain ruined a potentially interesting finish, as no play was possible on day four and the match was drawn. (Cricinfo scorecard) Durham v Northamptonshire (14–17 September) Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Durham (8pts) Durham needed a draw in this match to secure promotion from Division Two of the County Championship, and the weather handed it to them, as only 222 overs of play were possible over four days. Northamptonshire went for the victory, declaring both their innings closed, but Durham hung on and escaped with eight points. Centuries from Usman Afzaal and Riki Wessels, along with 84 from Robert White lifted the visitors to 414 for 7 on the first day, despite Durham pacer Liam Plunkett grabbing five for 84 and after the second day was washed out they declared. Northamptonshire broke through immediately, Damien Wright dismissing Jimmy Maher lbw for 0, and Wright got a further three wickets as Durham were 115 for 6 at one point. Gareth Breese and