Buckinghamshire kept alive their hopes of retaining the NCCA Cluberly Championship with a nerve-jangling 16 runs victory over Suffolk at Chesham.

The Eastern Division champions appeared to be heading for a second successive defeat when Suffolk were 116 for one in pursuit of a target of 215 but Buckinghamshire captain Conner Haddow and former Sussex off-spinner Bertie Foreman then expertly exploited a turning pitch.

Slow left-armer Haddow made the important breakthrough when he had Ollie Burle LBW which broke a stubborn second wicket partnership of 62 with Darren Ironside. Foreman then removed Freddie Heldreich and Alex Oxley in quick succession and the game tilted decisively in Buckinghamshire’s favour when Haddow accounted for Josh Cantrell, Jacob Marston, Tom Harper and Ironside.

From 144 for four, Suffolk slipped to 171 for eight and although Dan Shanks kept them in the chase with an aggressive 23 from 18 balls, he was beaten by a quicker ball from Haddow and Foreman wrapped up a dramatic victory when he beat a defensive push from Chris Steele three balls later.

Haddow finished with six for 71 and Foreman four for 86 with Buckinghamshire’s 21 points haul taking them back to the top of the table with their final Eastern Division One match against Cambridgeshire starting at Peterborough on August 23.

Haddow has now taken 117 wickets in his last 16 Championship matches in four seasons with 13 five wicket hauls.

Buckinghamshire replaced Northumberland as Eastern Division One leaders after the North East county were held to draw by Cambridgeshire at Sawston.

Northumberland’s second innings 290 all out featured half-centuries from three former Durham players, Jonny Bushnell (77 not out), Harry Crawshaw (69) and Ross Whitfield (67) with seamer Mark Saunders taking a career-best four for 74.

Cambridgeshire were set an unlikely target of 386 but Northumberland had a minimum of 67 overs in which to take ten wickets to secure back-to-back wins.

Instead, an opening partnership of 123 between Ben Saunders (53) and Callum Guest (51 not out) settled the outcome with Guest making his second half-century of the match.

There was also stalemate at Blundell’s School where Western Division One leaders and defending champions Devon settled for a high-scoring draw with Berkshire.

Seb Linnitt’s 78 not out was a career-best for the former Somerset Academy batter and his fourth half-century in eight Championship innings.

Sam Elstone (88) and James Horler (59) also made half-centuries before Horler declared on 374 for five.

Berkshire were set an improbable 369 in a minimum of 37 overs and were given a flying start by acting-captain Rhys Lewis with 63 from 45 balls. Berkshire were still rattling along at more than five runs an over when Euan Woods departed for a quickfire 39 having added 62 in 11 overs with Will Hamilton.

Hamilton made 45 on debut but when he followed in the next over and Charlie Dunnett was bowled cutting Sam Read, Berkshire had lost three wickets for nine runs in 13 balls.

Ben Salter (29) and Toby Greatwood (29) rebuilt with a fifth wicket stand of 57 but when they went in the space of three balls of each other, Berkshire were 211 for six and Devon glimpsed victory.

But Eddie Campion (52 not out) and Andrew MacEwen (17 not out) batted out the final hour in an unbroken seventh wicket partnership which ensured the draw.

There were maiden centuries for Cumbria’s Nathan Waterston and Bedfordshire’s Nabil Moughal but they were not enough to deny Norfolkand Lincolnshire eight wicket victories in Eastern Division Two.

At Sprowston Waterston, who was unbeaten on 99 overnight, eventually went LBW to off-spinner Hamidullah Qadri for 117 having for ten minutes short of five hours.

He added 67 for the sixth wicket with Max Winskill (30) before Freddie Fallows continued Cumbria’s resistance with an aggressive 69 in two hours.

But seamer Andy Hanby worked his way through the lower order to finish with five for 79 which left Norfolk with a target of 148 and with plenty of time to get there.

Seamer Sam Sharp ensured that victory was not a formality by breaking an opening stand of 51 between Sam Arthurton and Nath Muggeridge by having Muggeridge caught behind for 24 then holding a return catch to dismiss Ben Wilcox in his next over.

But Arthurton (67 not out) and Alfie Cooper (53 not out) saw Norfolk home without further alarm with an unbroken third wicket partnership of 93. Arthurton’s half-century was his second of the match and Norfolk’s win their second of a successful Sprowston Festival.

At Dunstable Moughal’s polished 134 denied Lincolnshire an innings victory but they chased down a target of 78 for the loss of two wickets to go a point clear of Norfolk.

Moughal batted for four hours and 40 minutes and faced 190 before he fell to Nic Keast with Bedfordshire still in arrears.

Thanks to 44 from captain George Thurstance and a defiant unbeaten 75 from Patrick Harrington were able to make Lincolnshire bat again but a maiden five wicket haul from leg-spinner Seamus Nazir ensured that the victory target was a modest one.

Lincolnshire lost the Keast brothers, Nic and Tom, in successive balls from Abi Sakande but Sam Evans and Ben Wright took them to a second win on the season in 11 overs with an unbroken third wicket stand of 59. Former Leicestershire batter Evans added an unbeaten 42 to his 154 in the first innings.

Cheshire wicketkeeper Liam Clorley missed out by one run on a maiden century in the drawn Western Division Two match against Shropshire at Nantwich.

Clorley and Henry Dobson rescued Cheshire with a fourth wicket partnership of 179 but both fell in the nineties. Dobson was first to go LBW to seamer George McCormick for 91 and Clorley followed run out for 99 after almost three hours and 20 minutes at the crease.

Luke McCoy added an unbeaten 74 to take Cheshire to a declaration at 360 for seven which left Shropshire to chase 311 in a minimum of 37 overs.

The sides were happy to bank the points for a draw with Shropshire reaching 146 for three after Seb Scott (41 not out) and Will Tarrant (37 not out) had added 75 in an unbroken fourth wicket partnership.

NCCA Cluberly Championship

Day Three

Eastern Division One

Chesham: Buckinghamshire 205 (Ewan Cox 66) & 182 (Ewan Cox 55, Jack Beaumont 4-16), Suffolk 173 (Tom Weymes 5-45) & 198 (Darren Ironside 55, Ollie Burle 44, Conner Haddow 6-71, Bertie Foreman 4-86). Buckinghamshire (21pts) beat Suffolk (4pts) by 16 runs.

Sawston: Northumberland 420-8 (John Oswell 177, Jonny Bushnell 53, Oli McGee 50 not out) & 290 (Jonny Bushnell 77 not out, Harry Crawshaw 69, Ross Whitfield 67, Mark Saunders 4-74). Cambridgeshire 325 (Ben Claydon 72, Callum Guest 60, Will Routledge 47, Oli McGee 5-98, Calum Fletcher 4-51) &  132-1 (Ben Saunders 53, Callum Guest 51 not out). Cambridgeshire (11pts) drew with Northumberland (12pts).

Western Division One

Blundell’s School: Devon 342 (Callum Harvey 68 not out, Seb Linnitt 65, Sam Elstone 48, James Matravers 43, Euan Woods 4-63) & 374-5 dec (Sam Elstone 88, Seb Linnitt 78 not out, James Horler 59), Berkshire 348-8 dec (Euan Woods 127, Charlie Dunnett 53, Rhys Lewis 50) &  284-6 (Rhys Lewis 63, Eddie Campion 52 not out, Will Hamilton 45). Devon (11pts) drew with Berkshire (12pts).

Eastern Division Two

Dunstable: Bedfordshire 178 (Matt Taylor 55) & 378  (Nabil Moughal (134, Patrick Harrington 75 not out, Jamie Dunk 44, George Thurstance 44, Seamus Nazir 5-111), Lincolnshire 479-6 (Sam Evans 154, Tom Keast 84, Nic Keast 75, Amartya Kaul 75, Ben Wright 50) & 81-2 (Sam Evans 42 not out). Lincolnshire (24pts) beat Bedfordshire (3pts) by eight wickets.

Sprowston: Cumbria 172 Calum Rowe 43, Hamidullah Qadri 4-37) & 326 (Nathan Waterston 117, Freddie Fallows69,  Matt Sempill 45, Andy Hanby 5-79), Norfolk 351-8 (Alfie Cooper 120, Nathan Muggeridge 57, Sam Arthurton 54, Freddie Fallows 5-107) & 148-2 (Sam Arthurton 67 not out, Alfie Cooper 53 not out). Norfolk (24pts) beat Cumbria (3pts) by eight wickets.

Western Division Two

Nantwich: Cheshire 222 (Dan Wilson 57, David Wainwright 54, Roman Walker 7-41) & 360-7 dec (Liam Clorley 99, Henry Dobson 91, Luke McCoy 74 not out, George McCormick 4-67), Shropshire 272 (Finn Jones 66, Ben Lees 66 not out, Roman Walker 41) & 146-3 (Seb Scott 41 not out). Cheshire (9pts) drew with Shropshire (10pts). 

Finished on Monday

Western Division One

Corsham: Wiltshire 123 (Jack Mynott 41, Max Mannering 6-17) & 166 (Cyrus Shafi 55, Max Mannering 5-52), Oxfordshire 303 (Freddie Smith 93, Luke Hayes 62, Alfie Johnson 4-76, Joe King 4-89). Oxfordshire (23pts) beat Wiltshire (4pts) by an innings and 14 runs.

Western Division Two

Ebbw Vale: Wales NC 129 (Will MacVicar 4-45, Ben Ellis 4-60) & 313 (Cameron Herring 144 , Rhodri Lewis 57), Cornwall 437-6 dec (Paul Smith 114, Alex Blake 102, Will MacVicar 100, Alfie Macdonald 61) & 9-0. Cornwall (24pts) beat Wales NC (2pts) by ten wickets.