Kuhnemann’s Instant Impact for Glamorgan

Nottinghamshire recorded a fourth win of the season to maintain their position at the top of the Rothesay County Championship at the halfway point of the season. They travelled up to Headingley and were put in to bat. A score of 228 was nothing special, and they found George Hill again in fine form, as the medium pacer took five for 40 (his third five-wicket haul in three matches). Hill now has 32 wickets this summer, equal top with Kyle Abbott. Anything Hill could do, Muhammad Abbas could more than match, as the Pakistan international picked up six for 45 to bowl out Yorkshire for only 159. A knock of 94 from Joe Clarke in the visitors’ second innings was the centrepiece of their effort, and a score of 393 for eight declared left Yorkshire to chase 463 for victory. They made a decent fist of it, but were bowled out for 299, with Dillon Pennington taking five for 106 and Kyle Verreynne taking six catches to give him nine in the match. Nottinghamshire won by 163 runs, despite the final pair of batters holding out for 19.1 overs.

Essex were asked to bat first at The Oval and relied on Michael Pepper’s 75 to reach a total of 217. At 144 for seven in reply, Surrey were in danger of ceding a first-innings lead, before Sam Curran (70) and Jordan Clark (54) helped them to recover to 279 all out, with Kasun Rajitha taking five for 87, his best figures for Essex. But the balance changed in the second innings after Paul Walter (118) and Dean Elgar (64) put on 188 for the first wicket, before Charles Allison (previous top score 28) batted for more than five hours to score a career-best 140 and help his side to a formidable total of 479, leaving Surrey to chase 418 in eight overs and a day. Jamie Porter (five for 88) ensured they got nowhere near, and the hosts saved the game with a bit of help from the rain, finishing on 289 for seven, with Curran again top-scoring (77). The draw left Surrey ten points adrift of Nottinghamshire.

Meanwhile, Sussex moved into third place after a three-day, nine-wicket win over south coast neighbours Hampshire at Southampton; they are ten points behind Surrey. The hosts chose to bat first, but made only 154 as Henry Crocombe took four for 27. Sussex took charge thanks to a 173-run sixth-wicket partnership between skipper John Simpson (106 not out) and Fynn Hudson-Prentice (74, his highest score for Sussex – astonishingly, he has reached 63 ten times in 71 innings but even 75 still eludes him). Hampshire needed to improve on their first-innings efforts, but 165 wasn’t much better, as they struggled to cope with the off-spin of Jack Carson (five for 26). A target of 23 was achieved in 4.4 overs.

Warwickshire chose to bat first at New Road but made only 227 as Tom Taylor picked up four for 37. But Worcestershire struggled against the returning Chris Rushworth (four for 37) and Chris Woakes (three for 34), as both men made their first appearances of the summer, and were dismissed for 181. Sam Hain, who had top-scored in the first innings with 86, went one better in the second effort, making 87 not out from a total of 280. Jacob Duffy took five for 75. A target of 327 always seemed unlikely, but the home side were helped by the weather as they held out for a draw, finishing on 181 for eight.

Durham lost by seven wickets inside three days against Somerset at Chester-le-Street. The home side chose to bat first, but found Matt Henry (four for 60) hard to handle as they made 277 all out. In just his third game, Mitchell Killeen took five for 36 to dismiss the visitors for only 172. But Somerset hit back by bowling out Durham for just 159 to give them a target of 265 for victory. Tom Lammonby’s unbeaten 104 set them on the path to a comfortable win in the end.

In the Second Division, leaders Leicestershire welcomed struggling Lancashire to Grace Road and duly wrapped up victory inside three days by an innings and 3 runs. The Red Rose outfit were put in to bat and made 206, despite a 74-run opening partnership. Rehan Ahmed (a career-best 136) and Lewis Hill (119) put on 256 for the third wicket to put the hosts in complete control, and their side eventually made 457, with Jimmy Anderson having been rested after his comeback match. Keaton Jennings (112) showed some fight, but the next highest score was only 26 and Lancashire crumbled away to 248 all out, unable to avoid the innings defeat. Despite two moderate scores, Marcus Harris is still the leading scorer after seven games, with 825, ahead of Haseeb Hameed (734) and Adam Lyth (728).

Leicestershire’s nearest challengers are Derbyshire, 31 points adrift despite also winning by an innings against Kent at Derby. The decision to bat first proved an excellent one as Caleb Jewell hit a career-best 232 to help his side up to a mammoth 587 for five declared, with veteran Wayne Madsen (100) making the 41st century of his career. Matt Parkinson finished with figures of one for 204. Ben Compton scored 156 in reply, but Kent made only 326 and so had to follow on. In their second innings they reached 247 to lose by an innings and 14 runs. Kent lie bottom of the table just a point behind Lancashire

Glamorgan welcomed Middlesex to Sophia Gardens and were asked to bat first. Sam Northeast (122) and Kiran Carlson (109) put on 228 for the fourth wicket as the home side made 383 all out, despite Ryan Higgins taking five for 59 (his best figures for the county). Glamorgan welcomed Australia’s left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann to their side, but it was Andy Gorvin who did the damage, taking four for 39 as Middlesex fell away to 155 all out and had to follow on. In the second innings, Kuhnemann had a much bigger impact, taking six for 53, the best figures of his career, as Middlesex were bowled out for 235, leaving Glamorgan just 8 to win, which they achieved without loss.

The hosts chose to bat first at Northampton and Saif Zaib hit a career-high 159 as his side made 469 all out, with Aadi Sharma scoring 10 on his first-class debut. Cameron Green hit 118 not out in Gloucestershire’s reply of 379 for eight declared. Northamptonshire raced to 259 for six declared in just 49 overs to set a target of 350. It could have set up an interesting finish but the weather intervened with the visitors on 214 for six and so the game ended as a draw.