The County Championship has come down to the wire and will be won on the very final day. It is a three-horse race, with Somerset hoping to win their first title in 141 years and Middlesex and Yorkshire facing each other at Lord’s as they do battle to claim the trophy.
Somerset are now top of the table with 226 points having beaten Nottinghamshire in three days, however they will rue the fact they missed out on a fifth batting point in their first innings which would have made Yorkshire’s task harder. The players will gather at Taunton on Friday to watch proceedings at Lord’s.
Middlesex, who have banked five points in the match so far, are second with 218 and Yorkshire, who have claimed seven, are third with 211. There are three possible scenarios from the match: a result (which is worth 16 further points to the winning side), a draw (which is worth five further points to each side) or a tie (which is worth eight further points to each side).
A draw would not be enough for either side at Lord’s, so they must both go for the win in order for the victorious side to clinch the 16 points on offer to overtake Somerset.
A tie would put Middlesex level with Somerset on points although, under tie-breaker rules, Somerset would still then win the Championship as they would have won more games this season (six) than Middlesex (five).
