Surrey Open Gap at the Top
With only three rounds of the Rothesay County Championship to go after this one, and with a break of more than a month to accommodate The Hundred, there was a real sense that this set of fixtures could shape the final outcome of the title race. With second-placed Nottinghamshire taking on third-placed Somerset, Surrey knew that a win for them at Chester-le-Street would potentially open up a gap in the table, though they still face a potential title decider in the penultimate round against Nottinghamshire.
After Durham chose to bat first, things could hardly have gone much better for Surrey, who bowled out the hosts for only 153, Dan Worrall taking four for 31. Dan Lawrence made 88, while Jordan Clark raced to 82 off only 76 balls as the away side reached 322 all out, despite Ben Raine taking five for 72. Emilio Gay was dismissed for 99, the top score in Durham’s second innings of 344, as they succumbed to Sai Kishore, who took five for 72. That left Surrey to chase 176 runs for victory and, despite losing five wickets along the way, they completed their win inside three days.
At Trent Bridge, there was a curious effort from Somerset after they were put in to bat. Having fallen to 25 for three, James Rew (166) and Tom Abell (a career-best 156) put on a Somerset record 313 runs for the fourth wicket, narrowly eclipsing the 310 put on by Peter Denning and Ian Botham in 1980. Having reached 338 for three, Somerset then fell away to 438 all out. Skipper Haseeb Hameed led the reply, making a mammoth 208 before he was run out, and he is now the leading runscorer in the division, with 1108. With the hosts unable to up the run-rate, they batted into the final day and were eventually dismissed for 544. Somerset had reached 200 for five when the game ended in a draw. Nottinghamshire now trail Surrey by nine points, with Somerset a further 17 points behind and surely out of the reckoning.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, struggling Worcestershire welcomed Hampshire, who were put in to bat. After making 144 for the first wicket, the away side will have been disappointed to have been bowled out for just 293, with Tom Taylor taking five for 55 (he now has 43 this season). Jake Libby was the rock in the hosts’ reply, making an unbeaten 100 as he carried his bat in their total of 249. Sonny Baker delivered a career-best performance, taking five for 72. Hampshire batted well into the final day before declaring on 313 for seven, leaving Worcestershire to chase an unlikely total of 358 in about two sessions. Libby made his second century of the match (106) but the game ended in a more compelling draw than might have been expected, with the home side on 303 for eight. Eddie Jack took a career-best three for 63. Although Hampshire are now fifth, they are just 15 points ahead of Durham in the second relegation spot.
Sussex had to travel the extra distance up to Scarborough and were asked to bat first. The wickets were shared around by the Yorkshire attack as the visitors were dismissed for only 222. In reply, Adam Lyth hit the 40th century of his career (115) and by the time he was third man out his side were already in the lead. In-form Matthew Revis continued his work, making 152 not out, the highest score of his career and his third century in his last three matches. Eventually Yorkshire declared on 545 for nine, leaving Sussex to bat out a day and 44 overs to save the match. Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Jack Carson batted for 34.4 overs, scoring just 47 runs for the eighth wicket, but they could not stop Sussex from being bowled out for 195 to lose by an innings and 128 runs. Matt Milnes took five for 31, his best figures for the county. Although George Hill took only two wickets in the game, he is the season’s leading wicket-taker, with 44.
Warwickshire chose to field first at Chelmsford and came to regret the decision as Essex piled up a mammoth total of 602 for six declared. Skipper Tom Westley led the way with a score of 148, before Charlie Allison (133, his third century in just nine matches) and Michael Pepper (107 not out) put on 195 for the sixth wicket. In the home side’s reply, Ethan Bamber made the most of being nightwatchman and, never having reached fifty before, went on to make a career-best 107 in just over four hours. Vansh Jani made his first-class debut for Warwickshire, scoring a very handy 41 to help his side avoid the follow-on and to help Ed Barnard up to his century (108 not out). Matt Critchley finished with figures of five for 171. Essex had reached 95 for one in their second innings when the game ended in a draw.
In the Second Division, leaders Leicestershire travelled to bottom-placed Kent and were put in to bat. Rehan Ahmed hit 119, his third century in successive matches, taking him past 2000 career runs, before Tom Scriven (a career-best 99) and Josh Hull (35 not out) added 108 for the tenth wicket. Scriven became only the second No 10 batter in first-class cricket to be dismissed for 99. The visitors were eventually bowled out for 471, with Matt Parkinson taking seven for 137, his best figures for Kent. Ben Compton led the reply, making a career-best 221, and he is now the leading runscorer this summer (with 1198), but most of the third day was lost to the weather, while England U19 batter Ben Dawkins made his first-class debut, scoring 7 on the final day. Kent finished on 445 for eight as the game closed out in a draw.
After their recent improvement in form, Lancashire welcomed second-placed Glamorgan to Old Trafford, knowing that a win could put them in the mix for the second promotion spot. The away side batted first and tumbled from 199 for three to 261 all out, with Chris Green taking a career-best six for 82. Lancashire’s decline was even more spectacular. Having made 107 for three, they were bowled out for only 137, Mason Crane doing the damage with career-best figures of six for 19. A third-wicket partnership of 215 between Sam Northeast (132) and Kiran Carlson (108) helped Glamorgan on to a declaration at 348 for seven. Lancashire had plenty of time to chase a target of 473, but despite a positive 102 from Luke Wells, it was too much and they were bowled out for 318 to lose by 154 runs. Glamorgan’s win put them 24 points clear of Derbyshire in third and 28 points behind Leicestershire, ensuring that the two promotion places look almost guaranteed.
Derbyshire chose to bat at Northampton and Martin Andersson top-scored with 105 as they reached 377 all out. On his first-class debut, Joe Hawkins scored 34 not out in 131 minutes, sharing in partnerships that added 125 runs for the last three wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal, who came into the match with figures of four for 355 for Northants, took six for 118. Hawkins picked up a prime scalp for his maiden wicket, the in-form Saif Zaib falling for 2. But he had no answer to Justin Broad (a career-best 171) and Rob Keogh (125 not out) as they added 208 for the seventh wicket. Northants eventually declared on 550 for nine, leaving Derbyshire with plenty to do to save the match. But just 38 overs were played on the final day so the visitors escaped with a draw, finishing on 185 for five.
Finally, Middlesex journeyed to Cheltenham and batted first. Kane Williamson (153) made his second century in two innings for the visitors’ red-ball side, setting them on their way to a hefty total of 445. With rain washing out the third day, a draw was always going to be the outcome. Joe Phillips made the most of the last day, scoring a maiden hundred (136), as Gloucestershire reached 404 for nine.
