Reeve Evitts plundered a maiden double century to put Staffordshire within sight of victory over Cambridgeshire in their NCCA Cluberly Championship Division One match against Cambridgeshire at Checkley.

Evitts struck ten sixes – the ninth of which took him to 200 from Matthew Rees’s penultimate delivery of Staffordshire’s innings - along with 20 fours in a superb display of timing and clean hitting.

It was Staffordshire’s first double century against Cambridgeshire and their highest score against anyone in the Championship for 11 years.

Cardiff UCCE captain Evitts shared a second wicket partnership of 248 with Tom Moulton which was Staffordshire’s highest for any wicket against Cambridgeshire. Moulton fell four short of a maiden century he went LBW to Jack Loveday but Cambridgeshire’s delight in breaking the partnership proved shortlived.

Evitts was joined first by Dan Lincoln (25 from 23 balls) and Michael Hill (35 from 17 balls) who helped him add 153 runs in the final 12 overs of their first innings which took Staffordshire to 461 for five, their highest-ever total against Cambridgeshire.

With a lead of 309 Staffordshire were able to attack with Sam Keeling-Wright soon removing Ben Saunders and Ethan Wright to claim his first ten wicket match haul.

A half century from Cambridgeshire captain Ben Claydon and 44 from Alex Peirson delayed Staffordshire but Keeling-Wright extended his match haul to 12 for 92 by the close with Staffordshire needing two more wickets to secure victory.

Defending national and Eastern Division champions Buckinghamshire were rescued by a ninth wicket partnership of 76 between Ed Bragg and captain Conner Haddow against Northumberland at Benwell Hill.

Buckinghamshire were 156 for eight when opener Billy Dodds fell to Jonny Bushnell for a competition-best 79 but Bragg (57 not out) and Haddow (42) frustrated Northumberland for 23 overs before Haddow was bowled by former Durham seamer Bushnell, who finished with a Championship-best six for 88.

Three more former Durham men, Harry Crawshaw (23), Sol Bell (35) and Ross Whitfield (57) laid the foundations for what looked like being a substantial total but slow left-armer Haddow and former Sussex off-spinner Bertie Foreman chipped away. From 111 for three, Northumberland were dismissed for 212 giving Buckinghamshire a handy lead of 45.

They extended it to 62 but lost Dodds LBW to slow left-armer Oli McGee just before the close.

Herefordshire face an uphill battle to avoid a second successive defeat despite a county record ninth wicket partnership between youngsters Joel Cox and Freddie Ammonds against Wiltshire at Eastnor in Western Division One.

The pair added 115 with Cox making 80 and Ammonds 45 which lifted Herefordshire from 91 for eight to 206 all out. They still trailed by 203 on first innings but Wiltshire captain Ed Young did not enforce the follow on, instead opting to pile on more runs before declaring to set Herefordshire a notional target of 522.

Wiltshire’s 323 for eight came in 46.4 overs with half-centuries from Cyrus Shafi, who added 54 to his first innings 146, and Will Naish (70) and Tom Cheater (45) and Jake Goodwin (40) scoring at more than a run-a-ball.

Slow left-armer Taylor Cornall took five wickets although they came at a cost – 110 runs from 18 overs – before he opened the batting and made a quickfire 42 in an opening stand of 82 with Ben Chapman-Lilley.

But after Cornall departed, caught behind off Naish, Herefordshire slipped to 108 for four, eventually ending the day on 122 for four with Chapman-Lilley unbeaten on 57.

Oxfordshire opener Amogh Karpe missed out on a maiden century by just one run against Devon at Banbury.

Karpe left his previous Championship best – 12 – behind and went into lunch 99 not out from 147 balls. But he could not find the single he needed to get to three figures from the first five deliveries he faced in the afternoon session and edged the sixth to slip off slow left-armer Callum Harvey.

Harvey’s five wicket haul earned Devon a first innings lead of 21 which they extended by 148 for the loss of five second innings wickets. They were 65 for four at one stage but the experienced Matt Thompson steered them into calmer waters with 38 not out.

The first result in the second round of Championship matches came in Eastern Division Two at Sprowston where Norfolk beat Bedfordshire by an innings and 62 runs inside two days.

Norfolk piled up 394 for six in their 90 overs with maiden Championship centuries from Charlie Hood (105) and Arthur Wilcox (102) who added 114 for the sixth wicket.

That gave Norfolk a first innings lead of 271 and allowed them to pile scoreboard pressure on Bedfordshire who were dismissed for 209 inside 61 overs with Callum Metcalf taking four for 41.

There were pockets of resistance led by Jake Tarling (46) and Zaid Faleel (43) but not sufficient to take the match into a third day.

There will be a third day at Hitchin thanks to an eighth wicket partnership between Cole Seggery (89) and Jack Plom (65) in Hertfordshire’s first innings against Lincolnshire.

The stand got Hertfordshire to 255 all out but Lincolnshire still enjoyed a first innings lead of 194 which they opted to increase rather than enforce the follow on.

Having thrashed 210 for six in 28 overs, Lincolnshire declared setting Hertfordshire a target of 405 which they  reduced by 27 for the loss of opener Arjun Patel.

Shropshire closed in on a first Championship win in two years against Wales NC at Bridgnorth in Western Division Two.

After half-centuries from Harry Chandler (71) and Seb Scott (60) took Shropshire to 348 in their first innings, and a lead of 182 a two-day finish was in prospect when they had Wales 128 for five.

But Rhodri Lewis (40 not out) and Luke Griffiths (22 not out) dug in for the final eight overs of the day to take Wales to 164 for five, still 18 behind their hosts.

An intriguing final day is in prospect at Wimborne where Dorset’s Finn Gordon replied to a first day century fromCheshire’s Sam Perry with a career-best 172.

Gordon faced 225 balls and struck 21 fours and two sixes and shared a third wicket partnership of 108 with his captain, Luke Webb (50) which took Dorset to 364 all out.

That restricted Cheshire’s first innings lead to 41 which they extended to 151 for the loss of three wickets with in-form Perry back at the crease at the close.

NCCA CLUBERLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Day Two

Eastern Division One

Benwell Hill: Buckinghamshire 257 (Billy Dodds 79, Ed Bragg 57 not out, Conner Haddow 42, Jonny Bushnell 6-88) & 17-1, Northumberland 212 (Ross Whitfield 57).

Checkley: Cambridgeshire 152 (Sam Keeling-Wright 8-60) & 173-8 (Ben Claydon 58, Alex Peirson 44, Sam Keeling-Wright 4-32), Staffordshire 461-5 (Reeve Evitts 207 not out, Tom Moulton 96, James Kettleborough 42).

Western Division One

Eastnor: Wiltshire 404 (Cyrus Shafi 146, Stan Brown 112) & 323-8 dec (Will Naish 70, Cyrus Shafi 54, Tom Cheater 45, Jake Goodwin 40, Taylor Cornall 5-110), Herefordshire 206 (Joel Cox 80, Freddie Ammonds 45) & 122-4 (Ben Chapman-Lilley 57 not out, Taylor Cornall 42).

Banbury: Devon 287 (Sam Elstone 52, Seb Linnitt 51, Ben Privett 49, Jack Warner 4-36) & 148-5 (Sam Elstone 41), Oxfordshire 266 (Amogh Karpe 99, Hayden Rossouw 51, Callum Harvey 5-87).

Eastern Division Two

Hitchin: Lincolnshire 449-8 (Sam Evans 118, Pranav Pothula 113, Sam Jarvis 92, Ben Waring 4-133) & 210-6 dec (Nic Keast 48), Hertfordshire 255 (Cole Seggery 89, Jack Plom 65, Matty Mills 4-47) & 27-1.

Sprowston: Bedfordshire 123 (Andy Hanby 4-38) & 209 (Jake Tarling 46, Zaid Faleel 43, Callum Metcalf 4-41),Norfolk 394-6 (Charlie Hood 105, Arhur Wilcox 102, Enoch Uthayarajan 87, Sam Arthurton 42 not out). Norfolk (24pts) beat Bedfordshire (2pts) by an innings and 62 runs.

Western Division Two

Wimborne: Cheshire 407-9 (Sam Perry 162, Henry Dobson 52, Kesh Fonseka 45, Mo Abbas 4-89) & 110-3 (Henry Murray 42), Dorset  364 (Finn Gordon 172, Luke Webb 50).

Bridgnorth: Wales NC 166 (Roman Walker 8-44) & 164-5 (Rhodri Lewis 40 not out), Shropshire 348 (Finn Jones 78, Harry Chander 71, Seb Scott 60, Roman Walker 52).