WORCESTERSHIRE kept alive their faint hopes of promotion from County Championship Division Two with their highest successful home run chase.

They beat Northamptonshire by two wickets after declarations by both teams set up the target of 401 and the County amassed 404-8 with one over to spare.

Centuries by Daryl Mitchell, who made 107 not and 103 in the match, and Joe Clarke (125) were crucial for the hosts, who had 80 overs to chase the total.

Both batsmen were out in a burst of three wickets in five deliveries by Ben Sanderson.

But Ross Whiteley smashed four sixes in a 30-ball 45 and Ben Cox made 34 in their stand of 78 in nine overs at New Road.

The game swayed again with two wickets in three balls but Joe Leach won it from the last delivery of the 79th over.

The vice-captain reached an unbeaten 33 with a match-winning six off Sanderson, restoring confidence ahead of a must-win game at leaders Essex from Wednesday.

After a rain-hit third day, a formula was devised to prevent the game from spluttering into a dead-end.

In the morning, the County declared their first innings 350 behind at 201-3 and Northants halted their second innings at 50-1.

But the home side made a sticky start. In five overs from Rory Kleinveldt, Brett D’Oliveira was caught by wicketkeeper David Murphy and Tom Fell shouldered arms when bowled for 22.

With the score on 48-2, the equation at lunchtime was 353 from 65 overs but Mitchell and Clarke increased the tempo as the partnership developed.

At tea, the requirement was down to 202 from 35 overs.

In the final session, Clarke was first to a hundred with 16 fours from 129 balls and reached 1,000 runs in a season for the first time.

Mitchell, having earlier passed 10,000 first-class career runs, then completed two centuries in a match with nine fours from 160 deliveries.

Their progress in putting on 232 trimmed the requirement to 133 at around six runs-an-over but Sanderson built up the pressure.

From the last ball of the 57th over, Mitchell sliced a catch to substitute Graeme White at point and, from the first of the 59th over, George Rhodes clipped a low chance to Alex Wakely.

Clarke then tried to turn a ball on the leg-side but was given out lbw.

Chad Barrett yorked Whiteley, Cox chipped Rob Keogh to mid-on and Ed Barnard (8) gave Sanderson a fourth success with a catch behind before Leach and Jack Shantry (4 not out) guided the County home.