(3pts) by ten wickets Essex won the match at Chelmsford, where spinners took 24 of the 30 wickets to fall. Batting first, Essex made 506 against Northamptonshire, despite Monty Panesar taking a career best seven-wicket-haul in the innings, but conceded 181 runs in the process from 56.3 overs. The Northamptonshire reply was stifled by four wickets from James Middlebrook, as they lost their first six wickets for 141, but Ben Phillips and Damien Wright added 95 for the seventh wicket before Tony Palladino grabbed three wickets in four balls, and they finished on 247. Following on 259 behind, Northamptonshire had made 203 for 2 when Essex' captain Ronnie Irani brought Alastair Cook on as his seventh bowler. The off-spinner, normally an opening batsmen, claimed his first first-class wicket by dismissing Usman Afzaal lbw for 47, and also got Bilal Shafayat and Riki Wessels out as three Northamptonshire wickets fell for five runs, and Danish Kaneria wrapped up the rest of Northamptonshire's batsmen, ending with six for 74 as Northants bowed out for 261. Chasing a target of 3, William Jefferson hit a four with the second ball of Essex' innings, thus ending the game. (Cricinfo scorecard) National League: Lancashire v Essex (19 July) Essex (4pts) beat Lancashire (0pts) by eight wickets (D/L method) In cloudy conditions at Old Trafford, Essex Eagles grabbed eight Lancashire Lightning wickets and limited seven batsmen to sub-15 scores in a match shortened to 40 overs a side. Only Iain Sutcliffe and Mark Chilton passed 15 for Lancashire, while spinners Danish Kaneria and James Middlebrook shared five wickets between them. Lancashire eventually finished on 154 for 8, and Essex were set 156 to win due to a small rain-interruption in Lancashire's innings. Despite two wickets from James Anderson, Essex made it to the target with more than seven overs to spare, Grant Flower making 66 and Ravinder Bopara an unbeaten 45. (Cricinfo scorecard) County Championship: Lancashire v Essex (21–24 July) Lancashire (10pts) drew with Essex (9pts) Essex batted through five sessions to make 536 for 9 declared at Old Trafford. Grant Flower made 115 before being caught behind off Gary Keedy, while his brother Andy made 138. Australian Andrew Crook got the best figures for Lancashire, three for 71 with his part-time off-spin, but also conceded runs at 7.1 an over – more than any other Lancs bowler. When Lancashire batted, their number three Mal Loye