Nottinghamshire seemed in all sorts of trouble at Edgbaston in the battle between the bottom two sides, but managed to escape with a draw. A maiden century from Adam Hose (111) was the highlight of Warwickshire’s first innings, as they reached 391 for nine declared. The visitors had no answer to Jeetan Patel, who spun them out for 97 in their reply, taking six for 16 and immediately enforcing the follow-on, as plenty of time had been lost to the weather. Ben Duckett (140) and Chris Nash (85) put on 199 for the second wicket to give Notts a chance. Gritty resistance the middle order ensured that they reached the safety of passing the hosts’ total and finally ended up with 354 for eight, the match saved. Patel took four for 72 in 47 overs to complete match figures of ten for 88 – but it wasn’t quite enough.
At Leeds there was little chance of an outright result, due to the weather and some pretty slow scoring. Yorkshire batted first and reached 390 all out, Dom Bess making 91 not out and going past 1000 runs in first-class cricket. William Buttleman was called up by Essex to make his debut after a keeping crisis and took three catches behind the stumps. Essex were in danger of having to follow on at 223 for nine, but Peter Siddle (with 60, his highest score for the county) and Sam Cook, with a career-best 37 not out, put on 86 for the last wicket. Yorkshire had reached 107 for one in their second innings when the match ended, with Gary Ballance on 51 not out, thus ending his run of five consecutive matches with a century.
In the Second Division, league leaders Lancashire were unable to force a victory over Leicestershire at Liverpool. The home side batted first, and a century from Liam Livingstone (114) and a career-best 98 not out from Josh Bohannon saw them up to a total of 449. Richard Gleeson continued his excellent recent form, taking four for 58 as the visitors succumbed to 288 all out and had to follow on. The visitors showed huge resilience to save the match, making 151 for five in 98 overs. Harry Swindells had a successful debut for the Foxes, taking four catches behind the stumps and making 37 in the first innings.
A thumping victory by an innings and 143 runs for Glamorgan at Northampton ensured they hold second place. Northants scored only 209 in their first innings, before the visitors hit back. The star of their reply was Billy Root, who made a superb career-best 229 in just 252 balls, all his runs coming on the second day. At lunch that day, Glamorgan were 115 for four, with the game more or less in the balance, and Root unbeaten on 55. The middle session, however, changed all that as he added 92 runs to take his side into a comfortable lead, still with four wickets remaining. Even after he fell, the tail wagged fiercely as the tiring bowlers allowed the last pair to put on 95 runs to take Glamorgan up to 547 all out. The hosts couldn’t muster up much of a rearguard, and were bowled out for 195, with Michael Hogan the pick of the bowlers, taking four for 32.
Just one point behind Glamorgan are Sussex, who recorded an emphatic win over Middlesex at Lord’s, by an innings and 50 runs. The hosts were skittled out for only 138, as David Wiese finished with figures of five for 26, his best for the county and the last of them taking him to 100 for Sussex. Wiese’s fellow Kolpak signing Stiaan van Zyl backed him up with an innings of 173, his best for Sussex, before Ben Brown made 107 – his third century in as many matches (contrastingly, in the first two Championship games of the summer he scored 0, 0, 0 and 1*). Brown now averages more than 40 in first-class cricket. A total of 481 for nine meant that Middlesex needed to make 343 to avoid an innings defeat. A magnificent effort from Ollie Robinson, who took seven for 98 to finish with match figures of ten for 148, ensured the hosts didn’t get that far, and were bowled out for 293.
The closest game of the round came at Chester-le-Street, where Durham recorded their first win of the summer, beating Derbyshire by 29 runs, though it wasn’t enough to see them off the bottom of the table. Ravi Rampaul was the star of the first innings, taking five for 77 as Durham made 293 all out. An unbeaten 79 from Matt Critchley helped the away side up to 268, as the game remained finely balanced. Gareth Harte was the surprise package in the Durham attack, taking a career-best four for 15. In the hosts’ second innings, Alex Lees carried his bat for 107 to guide his side up to 242 all out, setting a target of 268. Critchley threatened to see his side home, making 71 – but even when he fell, the score was still 234 for seven and all to play for. A run out two balls later was crucial, and the last four wickets all fell in eight balls
