Middlesex in the fight for the National League title. August started with two wins over Worcestershire – in the National League and the Championship – before going down by 64 runs to Lancashire in the National League. In the Championship, they beat Derbyshire by 182 runs, despite only having made 140 in the first innings of the match. They recovered from the National League loss against Lancashire, too, beating Middlesex by 14 runs on 15 August, but lost to Glamorgan in the same competition two days later. A two-day match with the touring Australians followed, Australia opting for batting practice instead of pushing home the victory. In the Championship, a bottom-of-the-table clash with Leicestershire ended in a draw, before they recorded a four-wicket win over Nottinghamshire in the National League and a 285-run Championship win over Lancashire. They moved up to second place in the already decided National League with a no-result at Glamorgan, before drawing two successive Championship matches, with Somerset and Durham. Monty Panesar and Jason Brown then took ten wickets each in the final Championship game, which Northamptonshire won by an innings and 21 runs, before they rounded off their National League season with a loss to Essex. Players Martin Love Damien Wright Usman Afzaal Gerard Brophy Jason Brown Paul Coverdale Chris Goode Thomas Huggins Kevin Innes Steffan Jones Richard King Johann Louw Monty Panesar Ben Phillips Charl Pietersen Tim Roberts Bilal Shafayat Riki Wessels Andrew White Robert White Tables Championship totesport League Match details Northamptonshire v Bradford/Leeds UCCE (9–10 April) Northamptonshire beat Bradford/Leeds UCCE by an innings and 62 runs The first day of this game at Northampton saw Northamptonshire progress to 373 for 7 declared off only 69 overs. Kevin Innes top-scored with 80 off only 59 balls. The declaration left time for 23 more overs on the first day, in which Bradford/Leeds UCCE slumped to 60 for 5. The second day, Bradford/Leeds UCCE fared equally badly, being dismissed for 137. Northamptonshire chose to enforce the follow-on rather than opt for batting practice, and saw off Bradford/Leeds UCCE for 174 to win by an innings and 62 runs in two days. Spinners Monty Panesar and Jason Brown both got five wickets each in the match. (Cricinfo scorecard) Northamptonshire v Worcestershire (17 April) Worcestershire (4pts) beat Northamptonshire (0pts) by 31 runs (D/L method) At Northampton, Worcestershire Royals captain Vikram Solanki led from the front, scoring 119