Tongue Licks Surrey to Leave Nottinghamshire on the Verge
For the penultimate round of the Rothesay County Championship, most eyes were fixed on The Oval where the top two met in what was essentially a title decider. For the first day, there was an additional reason why cricket fans’ attention was drawn to south London: there was no play anywhere else due to the rain. We’ve been fortunate in recent years with often having lovely weather in September; this one has not been like that.
Nottinghamshire were put in to bat, and only Ben Slater (50) made it to a half-century as the away side was bowled out for 231, Matthew Fisher taking five for 61 and Gus Atkinson picking up four for 41. By the end of the first day, Surrey had reached 43 for one in reply and appeared to be in the stronger position. Having reached 101 without further loss, Surrey hearts must have been getting ready for another title celebration, only for the last nine wickets to tumble for just 72 runs, giving the visitors a more-than-handy 58-run lead. When Nottinghamshire slipped to 53 for five (Fisher gaining four more victims), the balance seemed to be moving back to the hosts until Lyndon James (47) and Liam Patterson-White (58) put on 91 for the eighth wicket. By the close of the second day, the Midlanders were 219 for eight, giving them a lead of 277.
Only 26 overs were possible on Day Three. Nottinghamshire were eventually bowled out for 256, after Brett Hutton added a vital 42 not out. Fisher ended up with career-best figures of six for 73, to give him match analysis of 11 for 134 – the first ten-wicket haul of his career. Surrey had 315 to win, and Rory Burns and Dom Sibley took them nicely along that path, reaching 66 without loss by the close. Burns fell early on the last day, but Surrey marched on to 149 for two and looked favourites. The departure of Ben Foakes and Ollie Pope in quick succession changed that, before Dan Lawrence and Tom Curran again appeared to be reasserting home control, as the pair put on 51 for the sixth wicket – before another twist saw both men out within a few balls of each other: 246 for seven, 69 required. Atkinson and Tom Lawes added almost half that target, but when Josh Tongue removed Atkinson it was the beginning of the final twist. Surrey were finally all out for 294, beaten by 20 runs. Tongue finished with five for 100, the hero who had bowled his county to victory and on the verge of claiming their first title since 2010; he is also the leading wicket-taker of the summer (with 54), with three others on 50.
In the relegation battle, Durham chose to field first against the doomed Worcestershire side at Chester-le-Street, knowing a win could prove vital in their survival hopes. But the visitors had other ideas, as Brett D’Oliveira (84) and Gareth Roderick (151) added 170 for the fifth wicket. Durham had recruited Afghan spinner Shafiqullah Ghafari, who has played plenty of club cricket for Richmondshire, taking more than 200 wickets for them since 2022. However, although he did pick up the wicket of Ben Gibbon, he went for 211 runs. Ethan Brookes hit 100 as the bowling tired, and Worcestershire declared on 591 for nine. Emilio Gay made 161, his highest score for Durham, and Will Rhodes, who’d not even reached fifty since joining the county, raced to 151 not out at a run a ball. All ten outfield players had a bowl, and Durham ended on 450 for six.
Hampshire are also in the relegation fight, and they travelled to Taunton where they were asked to field first. At 99 for five, Somerset weren’t making the best of things, but then Tom Abell (118) and Kasey Aldridge (a career-best 180) added 221 for the sixth wicket to put the hosts in charge, despite the best efforts of Hampshire’s new recruit Washington Sundar. They declared on 454 for eight. Jack Leach then raced through the Hampshire line-up, taking seven for 69 as they crumbled to 172 all out. Following on, the away side batted for 126.5 overs in making 201 for eight and just saving the match. Archie Vaughan finished with career-best figures of six for 96, and both he and Leach took nine wickets in the match (Leach has 50 this summer).
Yorkshire started their game at Hove knowing they weren’t safe either, and they chose to bat first. After reaching 100 for two, they lost five wickets for 15 runs and were grateful to Jordan Thompson’s 38 for helping them up to 194 all out. John Simpson’s 66 was the highlight of Sussex’s reply of 250, with George Hill taking four for 43, meaning he had also reached 50 wickets for the summer. Yorkshire were on 109 for three when the game ended as a draw. They have 146 points and will host Durham (on 140) in the final round; meanwhile Hampshire (on 142) host Surrey. One of the three will join Worcestershire in Division Two next season, as Essex and Sussex (both on 150 points) are surely safe.
At Edgbaston, Warwickshire met Essex in the only fixture that had little impact at the top or bottom of the table. Charlie Allison had gone past fifty three times before in his career, reaching his hundred on each occasion, so when he was out for 98 it came as something of a surprise, but he was still the top scorer as Essex made 325 for five before the weather brought the game to a close, with no play possible on the last two days.
With Leicestershire already guaranteed promotion, they were able to confirm their status as Division Two champions in a rain-affected match at Grace Road. Rishi Patel top scored with 114, but there were other useful contributions as the home side declared on 459 for seven. Oliver Curtiss and Corey Flintoff (son of former England skipper Andrew) both made their first-class debut, though neither took a wicket. Kent had reached just 17 without loss by the time the game ended, with no play possible on the last two days; they will finish the season with the wooden spoon.
It was a similar story at Derby where only one day’s play took place. Glamorgan were put in to bat and Kiran Carlson scored 94. The Welsh side was eventually all out for 259, Luis Reece taking four for 67. Derbyshire had also made 17 without loss when the game ended; Amrit Basra made his first-class debut for them, but didn’t bat or bowl. The draw was enough to secure promotion for Glamorgan, back in the top flight after 20 years.
Lancashire welcomed Middlesex to Old Trafford and asked the visitors to bat first. Tom Bailey and Tom Aspinwall each took four wickets as the London outfit was dismissed for 211. In reply, Lancashire raced to 375 for five declared, hoping to give themselves a chance of bowling out Middlesex for a second time, but they finished on 99 for four. Arav Shetty, making his first-class debut, picked up the wicket of Leus du Plooy.
There was a decisive outcome in Bristol, where Northamptonshire were asked to bat and made just 206. Saif Zaib top-scored with 76, and he ended the match as the season’s leading runscorer, with 1305, narrowly ahead of Ben Compton of Kent, on 1275. A score of 63 from Jack Taylor helped the home side up to 241 in reply, a narrow lead of just 35. The visitors’ batting struggled again in their second innings, as they slipped away to 192 all out, leaving Gloucestershire to chase 158. Oliver Price hit 54 and the hosts secured victory by seven wickets.
