Former Proteas all-rounder Wayne Parnell struck an entertaining half-century, but was unable to prevent Worcestershire’s defeat to Yorkshire in the County Championship Division One at New Road on Wednesday.

Parnell perished for a first-ball duck in the first innings and bowled a mere 14 expensive overs throughout the match, but capitalised with the bat late in the piece.

The hard-hitting left-hander gathered a brisk 58 not out, which spanned just 62 balls, and featured 10 fours. The No 9 batsman, though, severely lacked support. Tail-enders eight, 10 and 11 shared only 18 runs. This ultimately led to Yorkshire’s seven-wicket victory.

Parnell’s fellow Kolpak cricketer Kyle Abbott endured a torrid day for Hampshire against Lancashire at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Abbott’s closing figures of none for 41 across four wayward overs included five consecutive fours at the hands of England Test opener Keaton Jennings. Hampshire lost by eight wickets.

Also in Division One, ex-Proteas Test spinner Simon Harmer toiled for more than a third of Essex’s second-innings overs against Surrey at the Kennington Oval in London. Harmer, who welcomed a maiden century for Essex on Monday, delivered 42 of 116 overs – and managed only one wicket. His lone breakthrough ended England Test opener Mark Stoneman’s stay.

Kent’s Division Two outing against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in Birmingham yielded little success for erstwhile Proteas batsman Heino Kuhn. His first-innings failure was followed by an equally unsuccessful eight in the second.

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