Surrey’s All-Round Strength Proves Vital to Victory
Rothesay County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire were put in to bat when they travelled up to the Riverside ground. Skipper Haseeb Hameed continued his excellent run of form, carrying his bat for an unbeaten 206 in his side’s hefty total of 407 all out. He was helped on his way by an excellent ninth-wicket partnership of 122 with Brett Hutton (32); Codi Yusuf took four for 99. Durham’s reply made that effort look meagre, as Emilio Gay (104), Ollie Robinson (141) and Graham Clark (121) all scored centuries. The hosts were eventually all out for a mammoth 664, with Liam Patterson-White taking five for 179. Joe Clarke top-scored in the visitors’ second innings, helping them up to 347 all out, but that left Durham to chase just 91 for victory, which they achieved for the loss of only three wickets to inflict the first defeat of the season on Nottinghamshire.
Hampshire’s trip up to Edgbaston to meet second-placed Warwickshire ended in victory for the visitors inside three days. Having chosen to bat first, Hampshire made 300, with James Fuller top-scoring (52 not out) as Ed Barnard took four for 56. That score soon looked daunting as the home team could muster only 194 in reply, Barnard with 58 of them, as Kyle Abbott took five for 47, and he finished the match with 31 for the summer (four more than his nearest rivals, George Hill and Ian Holland). Fletcha Middleton’s 76 was the top score of the match, but Hampshire made only 203 in their second innings, as Ethan Bamber and Beau Webster both picked up four wickets. A target of 310, which would have been the highest score of the match, was always going to be tough, and after Alex Davies fell for 66 their best hope had gone. Fuller finished with figures of five for 56 and Warwickshire were all out for 220, beaten by 89 runs.
After four defeats in their first five games, Worcestershire welcomed Essex to New Road, and the visitors chose to field. Matthew Waite’s 73 was a key late component in the innings, helping the hosts up to 358 all out, despite Shane Snater’s four for 78. It was more than enough, as Essex could manage only 157 in reply, though Brett D’Oliveira decided against enforcing the follow-on. His side stumbled to 134 all out, Simon Harmer taking four 37, leaving the visitors to chase 336. However, Essex folded again as Waite took a career-best six for 19, with Gareth Roderick taking nine catches in the match behind the stumps. A comprehensive win by 225 runs wasn’t enough to move Worcestershire off the bottom of the table, but at least they were back in the mix with the rest.
Somerset were asked to bat first at Taunton, where Archie Vaughan made a career-high score of 80 in the home side’s total of 338. Sussex’s faltering reply of 152 ensured they were asked to follow on and, despite Jack Leach taking four for 51, they made 335 in their second innings, with John Simpson top-scoring (82 not out). A target of 150 might have been a bit tricky, but skipper Lewis Gregory opened the batting himself and made an undefeated 89, providing some stability after the first three wickets fell for just 30. His side eased home in the end by five wickets.
Surrey showed ominous form at The Oval after they put Yorkshire in to bat. Jonny Bairstow made 89, but the White Rose were still all out for 255. In reply, every batter made double figures for Surrey as they piled up a total of 512; Ryan Patel’s 15 was the lowest score, while Australian Kurtis Patterson hit 85 on his debut for the county and George Hill took five for 66. In all County Championship history, only five times has the lowest score from an entire XI been higher than 15 (most recently in 2007 when Andrew Strauss’s 16 for Middlesex was the lowest score in their total of 472 against Nottinghamshire). Bairstow again led from the front in Yorkshire’s second innings, scoring a quick-fire 77, but the rest of the line-up offered little as they were dismissed for 229 to lose by an innings and 28 runs, Jordan Clark taking four for 45. That win moved Surrey into second place, just three points behind Nottinghamshire. The county also announced a record attendance for them in a Championship game this century of 14,853 across the whole match.
In the Second Division, most eyes were focused on Old Trafford, where Derbyshire were the visitors. After their disappointing start to the campaign, Keaton Jennings had stepped down as skipper, to be replaced by Marcus Harris, while the Red Rose were grateful finally to see Jimmy Anderson back in action. Fans had to wait to see him out in the middle as Lancashire were put in to bat, with Luke Wells promoted to opener despite not having made a fifty in nine previous innings this summer. It worked, though, as he hit 141 to set his side on the way to a considerable total of 458 all out. Anderson struck at the end of his third over and finished with three for 53 as Derbyshire hit back with a total of 314. Lancashire then made 184 for seven declared to set a target of 329 in 88 overs. Derbyshire were never in the mix, and Anuj Dal batting for 173 minutes for 13 not out to secure a draw as his side finished on 220 for eight, with just 8 runs scored in the last 18.1 overs of the game. Derbyshire are second in the table, already 30 points adrift of Leicestershire. Meanwhile, Harris is still the leading runscorer of the summer, with 795, exactly 100 clear of Hameed.
At Lord’s, Leicestershire continued their fine start to the summer, completing their fourth victory of the season inside three days. Ian Holland’s five for 35, his best figures for the county, helped dismiss the home side for just 232. In reply, the visitors took a modest lead of 42 as they scored 274, with Naavya Sharma picking up the wicket of Tom Scriven on his first-class debut. When Middlesex could muster only 143 in their second innings, the writing was on the wall, and Leicestershire duly chased down their target of 102 for the loss of three wickets.
Northamptonshire chose to bat at Sophia Gardens but were bowled out for a modest 185, Sam Northeast taking four catches in the field. Marnus Labsuchagne was back in action for the first time this season for Glamorgan, but he was out for a duck. Fortunately for the hosts, the rest of the line-up fared much better, as they replied with a total of 424 to put them in complete control of the game. Ben Kellaway’s excellent start to the season continued, as he top-scored with 95. The away side did much better in their second innings, reaching 304 all out, but it left Glamorgan just 66 to chase, which they achieved for the loss of two wickets.
Finally, Gloucestershire secured a hard-fought win over Kent in Bristol. The away side were put in to bat, and the decision appeared fully justified when they stumbled to 137 for six, but then Grant Stewart (with a career-best 182) came out to join Chris Benjamin and the pair added 264 for the seventh wicket, breaking the record set way back in 1908 by Arthur Day and Edward Humphreys, against Somerset at Taunton (remarkably, they added 248 in no more than 110 minutes. Kent were eventually all out for 424, with Ajeet Dale taking seven for 110, the best figures of his career. Cameron Green (128) and James Bracey (127) put on 222 for the fifth wicket, helping the hosts up to 516 in reply. Ben Charlesworth was the surprise figure in Kent’s second innings, taking a personal best of three for 5 to help bowl them out for 253. A target of 162 proved to be anything but simple to achieve as the home side slipped to 57 for four, but an unbeaten 67 from Green ensured they got there with three wickets in hand.
This coming week’s round of fixtures will take us to the halfway point of the Championship season. It seems extraordinary to think that 50 years ago my home county of Lancashire was completing their third of 20 Championship games on 27 May as opposed to their seventh of 14 by 26 May. Despite (or because of?) this, as Surrey’s crowd figures suggest, the county game is showing plenty of signs of increased popularity.
