County Cricket: Dan's the Man!

Whether it was the Blast or the re-emergence of the County Championship, it was certainly a great week for Dan Lawrence. With the red ball, he dominated both Surrey’s innings, with a career-best 218, followed by a destructive 101 from only 64 balls. He took his liking for the Hampshire attack into the T20 by smearing it for an unbeaten 94 at two a ball. The strange thing is, Surrey won neither match. They failed to hammer home their advantage in the fourth day, delaying the declaration until after Lawrence’s century then running out of time to take ten wickets. They did at least advance to second in the table, but having played an extra game. Hampshire sit top of the Blast’s South division after beating their neighbours by just five runs. 

Lawrence’s old club Essex also had a profitable week, defeating Middlesex by sixty runs and Kent by three in a very tight encounter at Northwood. Charlie Allison aggregated 135 across the two fixtures. 

In the North league, Yorkshire remain four points ahead of Nottinghamshire, assisted by a 106-run demolition of Lancashire at Headingley. Jonny Bairstow top-scored with 73 and Moeen Ali fell to a second-ball duck. However, his 3-16 and T20 specialist, leg-spinner Jafer Chohan’s 4-17 destroyed any chance of a Red Rose run chase. Wickets tumbled, too, at Leicester, where Hasan Ali’s 4-18 could not prevent Yorkshire going down by twelve runs. 

Lancashire beat Durham in a ten-over thrash, but also slid to a final-ball defeat to Glamorgan. Another white-ball all-rounder, Liam Livingstone, was in fine fettle in all three ties, taking wickets and scoring more than two hundred runs. His 85 not out off 31 deliveries in the Durham game was the highlight. This form has prompted an SOS to make his first Championship appearance for the county in several years. A good performance against Worcestershire, and who knows? He may end up replacing banned boozer Ben Stokes as a Test all-rounder! 

My Team of the Week would give Messrs Farage, Tice and Lowe a collective fit, because another two bowlers in the Eleven are Sikander Raza and Mohammad Ali. The former excelled with bat and ball for Worcestershire, taking 4-17against Glamorgan and combining a miserly 4-17 with a gallant 47 in pursuit of Gloucestershire’s low target. Had he not been bowled by Jack Taylor, Worcestershire would almost certainly not have lost. Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire seamer Ali was instrumental in the triumphs over Warwickshire and Derbyshire, taking 3-27 and 3-25. 

Top score of the week was Beau Webster’s 112 for Warwickshire against Somerset, whose season continued to unravel. Sadly, their chances of reaching Finals Day yet again are already looking rather remote, desperately needing a post-hiatus recovery . 

Team of the Week:-  Bairstow (Yor +), Jacks (Sur), Webster (War), Lawrence (Sur), Livingstone (Lan), Allison (Ess), Sikander Raza (Wor), Hasan Ali (Yor), Mohammad Ali (Not), Jafer Chohan (Yor), Hunt (Sus).

ONE THOUSAND NOT OUT!!

After eleven years or so, I have finally reached one thousand MikesSpinOnCricket blogs. I started out contributing to a friend’s far more professional and detailed cricket blog, before he helped set up my own. Thanks, Dipesh! In an era when the sport has become increasingly fragmented, I have found it harder to maintain my interest. 

More than ever, cricket is a global, year-round game, which is no bad thing. However, when much of it is seems to be a grotesque imitation of the game I loved as a child, where advertising seems to occupy more airplay than actual play, my enthusiasm has waned. I don’t post as much as I would like. Other personal priorities have played their part but at least my blog has motivated me to stay in touch, especially via the much-maligned county game. 

For this millennium milestone, I have trawled back through my back catalogue.

My previous 999 posts have been mixture of factual, opinion and nostalgia.  I have loved following up on issues, doing my own background research to complement my own memory, rather than merely repeat what other media have produced. What would be the point in that? For example, I studied record run chases in 2019 and in 2018, inspired by Tom Latham’s record-breaking 264 not out, ‘carrying the bat’. That same year, I ruminated over whether a cricketer could ever again win the BBC’s prestigious Sports Personality of the Year award:

“It is surely time for cricket to take centre stage once again on BBC Sport’s gala night of glory”.

I was thinking about Virat Kohli but, of course, after England’s 2019 successes, it was Ben Stokes who deservedly scooped the prize. 

In July 2015, I harked back to the inaugural World Cup in 1975, a tournament which crystallised in this then 15-year-old everything that was great about cricket: different nations coming together, familiar faces and new kids on the block. I wrote: 

“I doubt whether 2015 will create another watershed in world cricket but hopefully there’ll be plenty of drama and excitement for me and all those teenagers out there looking for new sporting heroes, whatever the nationality.” 

Sadly there are no longer West Indians who spark such hero worship around the world, not since Chris Gayle’s retirement, but I daresay millions can be enthused by the likes of Kohli, Bumrah, Babar Azam, Root, Stokes, Williamson and the latest sensational teenage T20 merchants emerging from India. 

There have been my own obituaries, focussing on players from various eras who meant something to me, even if their heyday was before I was born, such as Everton Weekes or Frank Tyson. I was particularly affected by the passing of Martin Crowe (2016), Bob Willis (2019), Clive Rice (2015) and the Aussie pair Rod Marsh and Shane Warne (2022). There have also been notable retirements to remind me of my own inevitable ageing process, featuring stars such as Mitch Johnson (2015), James Taylor (2016), Younis Khan (2017), Alastair Cook (from Tests, 2018) and David Warner (2024). 

Memorable matches or series have occasionally inspired me to start typing, from the extraordinary 2019 World Cup Final and the First Ashes Test of 2023 (“Test cricket is back, folks!”) to England’s disastrous 5^th Test in Australia (2018), the fabulous five-day contests with India last summer and England’s record-breaking ODO total against Pakistan in 2016: 

“There have now been 18 scores of 400 or more, eight of them in the past two years. Can 500 be far away….?”

 Well, as things have panned out so far, not yet, although England have since beaten that record twice, including another Jos Buttler six-athon against Holland, in an innings total of 498-4. 500 really will happen at some point, won’t it?! 

I rarely get to a live match these days. Since moving to Cardiff, I have been fortunate enough to secure a ticket for Sophia Gardens matches at major tournaments such as the 2013 and 2017 Champions Trophy and World Cup. In 2015, I attended a T20 double-header, with the women’s Ashes finale opening for a men’s clash. It prompted me to wax lyrical about the women’s game. Not only was it exciting, but the players, from both sides (such as Charlotte Edwards, Sarah Taylor, Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy), delighted in mingling with spectators for autographs (not many selfies in those days):- 

“Those who couldn’t be bothered to turn up in the morning at the SSE Swalec missed a real treat”. 

I have also added my thoughts on some other key issues of the day, from the perturbing launch of the T10 League, predating The Hundred (ugh!), Brexit’s likely impact on Kolpak players in county cricket and Azeem Rafiq’s action on racism. In 2018, I also relished commenting upon what I called the ‘Fun Factor’ in sport, namely the importance (to me) of players looking as if they are actually enjoying the game and engaging with fans, showing they have a personality as well as a professional persona:- 

 “Even if the Indian skipper responds to fans singing “Kohli, Kohli, give us a wave” with a simple raise of the hand, it means more than a million press conference interviews. That’s the fun factor - and heaven help cricket if it disappears”. 

Readers will know I am a big Somerset fan, so I make no excuses for chronicling Somerset’s trials and tribulations, including the 2025 T20 triumph, and the 2019 One-Day Cup Final at Lords (I was there), Craig Kieswetter’s premature retirement (Jun15), and a 2017 retrospective on the controversial, and damaging rift involving Peter Roebuck and Viv Richards. 

Nonetheless, the mainstay of the blog has been my weekly county cricket reports throughout each summer, featuring my Teams of the Week and Year, giving recognition to those without central contracts or international commitments, including England stars no longer seen to fit the Bazball criteria. The likes of Lewis Gregory, Darren Stevens, Simon Harmer, Steve Magoffin, Tim Murtagh, Michael Hogan and Daryl Mitchell can thank me for keeping the faith, and Ben Duckett owes me an orange juice for mentioning him constantly during his wilderness years! 

Finally, I should state that the Covid era of 2020 allowed me the luxury of compiling my list of 100 Favourite Cricketers. I wallowed in the past (mainly) to celebrate not only my old heroes like Viv, Clive Lloyd, Dennis Lillee, Mike Procter and Zaheer Abbas, but also the likes of Peter Trego, Ray East, Tony Cottee and Ole Mortensen, county stalwarts without whom there would be no cricket worth following, and certainly no blog from me. 

I shall continue as long as such ‘journeymen’ appear on scorecards and websites. Thank you.

County Cricket: Triple Hants, 100% Northants

At the end of the Blast’s second week, Northamptonshire are the only county with a 100% record. James Sales’s 5-21 helped sweep aside close rivals Gloucestershire, then last year’s prolific Chris Lynn steered the Steelbacks to a final-over triumph against Warwickshire with an unbeaten 115. Beau Webster had earlier slammed 97 but the Bears have now lost all four fixtures to date. 

In the same Central & West group, Glamorgan did the double over reigning champions Somerset. In Cardiff, Tom Banton got the latter off to a cracking start, but Nathan McAndrew trimmed the strike rate and capture four wickets. Glammy captain Kiran Carlson wasted no time in tearing the bowling apart, racing to 109 as his side romped home with more than six overs remaining. In the return fixture, it was a much closer affair. Chasing 202 to win at Taunton, it was Somerset old boy Sean Dickson who top-scored with 63, but it was Jimmy Neesham who struck the last ball for a boundary to clinch the win. I am not a happy bunny! Somerset need to rediscover winning ways in the derby against Gloucestershire. 

In the South division, Hampshire reeled off a hat-trick of successes. Liam Dawson had a profitable week. His 76 not out was timed to perfection as Surrey were defeated in the last over, and five cheap wickets helped despatch Middlesex and Sussex, although Scottish seamer Sean Currie’s economy also played its part. Surrey’s stellar batting line-up was also flattened by Kent, but on Wednesday they turned things around at home to Middlesex, Ollie Pope making 51 not out. 

Up North, Derbyshire amassed the highest team total of the week. In the East Mids derby, Aneurin Donald (84) and Martin Andersson (69 not out) blitzed the first eight overs on the way to 234-4. With Tom Moores striking seven sixes, Nottinghamshire made a decent fist of a chase, but finished twenty-three runs short. 

Yorkshire top the table, swatting aside Durham by 58 runs (Moeen Ali taking 2-12 in three overs) before losing their unbeaten record in a cross-table fixture at home to Gloucestershire, for whom D’Arcy Short slammed 82 and claimed 4-31. Leicestershire are bottom, despite a thrilling two-wicket success at Old Trafford. Needing only 146 to win, Saqib Mahmood and George Balderson kept Lancashire in the match until a scrambled single sealed the deal. Last man Sol Budinger could not bat after being stretchered off after a fielding collision so it was closer than the scoreboard suggests. 

Team of the Week:-  Carlson (Gla), Lynn (Nor), Lyth (Yor), Short (Glo), Pepper (Ess +), Webster (War), Dawson (Ham), Sales (Nor), Mulder (Ess), Usman Tariq (War), Currie (Ham)

County Cricket; Rew and Andersson have a Blast

The launch of 2026’s Vitality Blast campaign coincided with record-breaking May temperatures across much of the country, but it wasn’t all about sun-baked featherbed strips. The preliminaries are arranged in three groups of six, but with a few matches crossing over just to confuse matters. 

The North group is led by Durham and Yorkshire, although each had a close finish. Durham had an easy ride against Leicestershire but pipped Derbyshire by only six runs. Derbyshire also pushed Yorkshire to the limit at Headingley. Martin Andersson’s unbeaten 81 pushed Derby to 194-4, then Morley, Potts and Montgomery clipped the Tykes to 139-8. However, Tye and Hasan Ali defied the bowlers and odds to win the match with four balls to spare. At the time of writing, Derbyshire and Leicestershire are the only counties to play three games, and their Wednesday clash finally delivered victory to the Falcons. Their 230-5 was easily the highest total of the week, including another Andersson half-century. He then entered his county’s record books by taking a remarkable 6-23, the final pair caught-and-bowled from successive deliveries. 

Surrey and Kent are unbeaten in the South division. Lancashire were comprehensively Curran-ed at The Oval, and Surrey claimed London bragging rights by defeating Middlesex by six wickets at Lord’s. Sam Curran was there at the end on 71. Middlesex also concede 200 runs against Kent, and Zak Crawley’s 75 not out from a total of 199 versus Sussex was instrumental in a seven-wicket success. Another England big-hitter, Sam Billings, crunched 84 not out at Lord’s, the week’s second-highest score. 

His innings was eclipsed only by the indomitable James Rew of Somerset, who cruised to a couple of seven-wicket triumphs. The 21-year-old dominated his side’s run chase against the Birmingham Bears, caught by Woakes just seven short of a century. Northamptonshire sit top of the Central/West group on net run rate, assisted by a 100-run thumping of Worcestershire ay New Road. Calvin Harrison’s leg breaks earned him figures of 4-17. 

In the same league, Gloucestershire also made it two from two. Left-arm seamer Duan Jansen took seven wickets altogether, including 4-25 against the Bears, who slumped to a miserable 74 all out at Bristol. They were also involved in the most exciting finish so far. Chasing 157 against Glamorgan, they were struggling. Requiring fifteen from the final over, Matt Taylor went for broke but it took a thick edge from the final delivery to take the four points. 

100% records are sure to suffer during the next seven days. Yorkshire meet both Durham and Gloucestershire, who also meet Northants. Surrey welcome Kent (and Middlesex in the return derby clash) to the Oval, and Somerset take on Glamorgan home and away. 

Team of the Week:-  Lees (Dur), Crawley (Ken), Andersson (Der), J Rew (Som), Billings (Ken +), Montgomery (Der), T Curran (Sur), Jansen (Glo), Harrison (Nor), Hartley (Lan), Currie (Ham)

County Cricket: Surrey Thrashed, Somerset Thwarted

It is not often that Surrey get beaten, let alone dismantled by an innings. However, they returned from Leeds with tails between their legs and only two points to their total. Yorkshire had both Joe Root and Harry Brook in their ranks but it was former internationals Adam Lyth (141) and Jonny Bairstow (120) who underpinned the total of 468. In contrast, bowler Sean Abbott was the only batter who reached fifty in either of Surrey’s two innings, and England ‘keeper Jamie Smith contributed a solitary boundary and no catches. At least Brook took his wicket! 

Southern England suffered some unkind weather last weekend, and Southampton was no exception. Consequently, Hampshire and Nottinghamshire played out a damp low-scoring draw. After five half-centuries in six innings, Jake Lehmann finally reached three figures in the second innings but it was the seamers who shone brightest. Notts’ Fergus O’Neill claimed match figures of 8-86 and for Hampshire, England newbie Sonny Baker took 5-45, his best Championship return so far. 

Glamorgan’s fine form continued at Edgbaston, where they had the better of the stalemate with second-placed Warwickshire. After both openers fell with no runs on the board, Ben Kellaway (139) and Kiran Carlson put on 194 and, despite Oliver Hannon-Dalby’s 5-53, Glammy posted a useful 360. Last week’s hat-trick hero debutant Tom Norton took 4-48 to help his side to a healthy first-innings lead. Second time around, it was Colin Ingram with three figures and Ethan Bamber’s five-for, then rain called a halt with Warwickshire way short of their 368-run target and only two men down. 

Monday’s weather was even unkinder to Somerset at Taunton. Tom Abell (119) and Craig Overton (111) were again in the runs, propelling the home side to 526-8. Sussex opener Daniel Hughes’ 107 was the only score of note and, following on, the visitors were again listing badly at 113-7 when the covers came on and remained there. 

At Chelmsford, Essex and Leicestershire were evenly matched until Sam Cook and Shane Snater ripped Ben Cox’s team apart for just sixty runs on Sunday morning. Allison and Critchley saw Essex home by seven wickets with a day to spare. 

Division Two has been a right topsy-turvy affair so far. After six fixtures, all eight sides have won at least one, but only leaders Durham remain unbeaten. Only six points separate third and seventh but Durham were in trouble against struggling Kent at Beckenham for whom teenager Ben Dawkins easily eclipsed his opening partner Zak Crawley. An innings of 180 wasn’t bad for a maiden hundred! Crawley was Ben Stokes’s sole wicket, while Matthew Potts finished with a creditable 6-92. At 288-9 in reply, Durham were facing a likely follow-on, only for Ben Raine and Callum Parkinson to rescue the situation with a stand of 158, ended by Callum’s brother Matt when he bowled Raine for 106. 

Northamptonshire sit second after squeaking home against Gloucestershire by two wickets. Ben Sanderson (Northants) and Matt Taylor (Kent) shone with the ball, until Louis Kimber’s brisk 66 carried Northants towards a hard-won victory, and Gloucester to a fifth defeat. The latter have only three weeks before seeking revenge. With a Saturday washout, there was little to shout about for Lancashire’s clash with Worcestershire at Southport. The highlight seemed to be the break when Jimmy Anderson joined others in searching for the ball in the greenery through a boundary fence. Takes me back to my schooldays! 

At Lord’s, Derbyshire made it two wins in a row, with Ben Aitchison taking centre-stage. He followed a bowling return of 5-47 with a maiden century and a 208-run sixth-wicket stand alongside Wayne Madsen, who also reeled off first-class ton number 44. Leus du Plooy led a Middlesex fightback on Sunday, but Derby had plenty of time to knock off the required 122 to win, captain Madsen unbeaten on 31. 

The County Championship now endures a fortnight’s hiatus for a brief Blast of T20, which should bring some sun-kissed Bank Holiday weekend punters in.  

Team of the Week:-  Dawkins (Ken), Lyth (Yor), Northeast (Ken), Kellaway (Gla), Bairstow (Yor +), Aitchinson (Der), C Overton (Som), Snater (Ess), O’Neill (Not), M Taylor (Glo), Sanderson (Nor)

County Cricket: Duckett Double, Hadley Heroics

The two leading title contenders met at Trent Bridge but the batters dominated to produce a stalemate. Nottinghamshire stay top after Joe Clarke’s prolific form continued, and Ben Duckett notched his first century of the county season, and it was an unbeaten 203, although Surrey bowling Burns, Sibley and Patel at the end probably helped a wee bit. 

Warwickshire leapfrog Surrey into second spot following a 377-run trouncing of Yorkshire. It is a weird scorecard. Three sub-200 totals scattered around the decisive Warwicks second innings of 553-6 declared, in which Sam Hain’s 164 not out headed a succession of solid scores. Oliver Hannon-Dalby was back in the Warwickshire fold after his Worcestershire loan, and claimed match figures of 7-71 against his home county. Harry Brook chipped in with sixty-six runs but couldn’t save his side. 

One-time leaders Somerset continued their miserable May, leading Glamorgan before crumbling in their second innings despite two more Tom Abell half-centuries. Inexperienced Aussie Ryan Hadley took 3-28 but it was his batting which sparked the last-day headlines. Glamorgan still faced an awkward target of 283, and Hadley entered the fray as nightwatchman with four wickets down. Incredibly, he was still there at the death, having persevered for almost five hours, facing more deliveries than in the whole of his first-class career, finally driving to the boundary to bring up his maiden fifty and winning the match by two wickets. His fifty-over 114 partnership with Sean Dickson (76) defied all that the Somerset seamers could throw at them and now the Welsh are above them in the table. 

Sussex achieved victory number three, with Leicestershire their latest victims at Hove. Centuries from Daniel Hughes (the only one by any opener this week) and John Simpson put them out of sight, then three wickets apiece by Robinson and Hudson-Prentice left the batsmen with a simple chase which they won at a gallop. Meanwhile, at Chelmsford, Hampshire’s batting woes continued, their hosts Essex winning by six wickets inside three days. The visitors’ James Fuller took 5-43 in the first outing but Matt Critchley compensated for early jitters against Kyle Abbott (4-36) by thumping fifteen fours in his unbeaten match-winning ninety. Hampshire now have the unenviable task of defeating leaders Notts later this week. 

In Division Two, Durham remain at the helm, comfortably beating Worcestershire by nine wickets at New Road. Despite Ben Raine’s 5-63 and 2-54 by the rarely-spotted Ben Stokes, Worcester claimed a slender led at halfway. However, Callum Parkinson (5-13) induced a collapse which left Gay and McKinney to add to their run tallies and steer their side to victory. 

Middlesex returned from Old Trafford with a win bonus and healthy bowling figures, especially by Ryan Higgins. On the third and final day, Ben Geddes steadied the ship and piloted his side home by six wickets, dropping Lancashire to fourth. Last week, Northants crushed Worcestershire by an innings but this time they were on the end of a similar pasting. Derbyshire recovered from a loss to Kent to compile a formidable 604-7 declared, crowned by a double-hundred stand between Martin Andersson and Brooke Guest. Northants tried to drop anchor, but with Shoaib Bashir sending down more than sixty overs and Guest catching six nicks off the seamers, Derby were patient and took the win. 

Having collected their first triumph for a year last week, Kent made it two on the bounce at Bristol. Gloucestershire pushed them all the way to the closing session, with Bell and Williams taking fourteen of the eighteen wickets to fall. Nonetheless, James Taylor enjoyed his first ten-wicket haul and Tawanda Muyeye (90 and 108) top-scored for Kent in the two-wicket success. 

In the last round before a Championship break, Kent entertain leaders Durham at Beckenham and Middlesex welcome Derbyshire to Lord’s. Northants visit Gloucestershire, and it’s off to the Southport seaside for Lancs and Worcestershire. 

Team of the Week:- Hughes (Sus), Duckett (Not), Clarke (Not), Hain (War), Muyeye (Ken), Guest (Der +), Higgins (Mid), Hadley (Gla), C Parkinson (Dur), Hannon-Dalby (War), J Taylor (Ken)

County Cricket: Champions on a Charge

Both the favourites for the 2026 County Championship won this week, leapfrogging Somerset into the top two positions. Reigning champs Nottinghamshire were too strong for Leicestershire, despite Ben Green’s career-best 7-112 and a Stevie Eskinazi century. For Notts, it’s current England international Ben Duckett who steals the headlines, but Joe Clarke and Ben Slater are making the runs. The latter scored 178 and a rapid unbeaten 52, while Olly Stone continued his recovery from a knee injury with handy match figures of 8-109. 

Surrey broke their season’s duck, defeating Sussex by eight wickets. Adam Thomas had a first-class debut to remember, compiling a neat 120 and sharing a stand of 162 with Sean Abbott. Earlier, Dom Sibley had uncharacteristically struck three sixes in an innings of 187 out of a total of 622. That Surrey didn’t win by a greater margin owes much to a late first-innings partnership of 173 involving bowlers Jack Carson and Ollie Robinson, both of whom reached three figures. 

It was a game of two halves at Taunton, where previous leaders Somerset enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges. Lewis Gregory claimed 6-43, then opener Josh Thomas powered his way to a maiden century as their side opened up a 112- run lead. Then things went wrong. Wharton, Root and Richardson carved half-centuries, to set their hosts a final day target of 260 which proved beyond them. Only Thomas, again, passed fifty, as the Tykes’ spinners dominated, led improbably by Joe Root (4-49)! 

Last month, I would have forgiven for Glamorgan’s realistic ambitions to have been avoidance of immediate relegation. However, after this week’s hammering of Hampshire at Southampton, it is the latter who should be nervously testing the trapdoor’s timbers. Glamorgan captain Kira Carlson led from the front, stroking a smooth 209 and being the dominant partner with Zain -ul-Hassan in a triple-century second-wicket alliance. Carlson even took teenage top-scorer Ben Mayes’ wicket with the only ball he bowled in the first innings but it was the consistent Timm van der Gugten and Hampshire old boy Mason Crane who inflicted most of the damage over both Hampshire’s attempts, securing an innings victory. 

This week, Glamorgan welcome Somerset to Cardiff, while the leading pair, Notts and Surrey meet at Trent Bridge. Leicestershire hope to notch their opening triumph at Hove against Sussex. 

Meanwhile, in Division Two, Kent secured their first victory for a year, outscoring Derbyshire by 225 runs. Daniel Bell-Drummond (129) and ‘keeper Chris Benjamin (56 and 123) stamped their authority on the Derby attack, although inexperienced Rory Haydon can hold his head high with a brace of five-fors. However, the best figures were returned by Kent’s Matt Milnes, whose 6-12 ripped the heart out of the second innings, despite the efforts of Luis Reece. 

Another ‘keeper-batsman, Worcestershire’s Garth Roderick slammed a huge score, 164 not out, yet ended up on the losing side at the hands of Northamptonshire. The home side declared on 597-9, with Vasconcelos, Sales and McManus each registering tons of their own. In the second outing, not even Roderick could save Worcester, as Ben Sanderson tore them apart, ending on 7-31. 

Northants sit in the promotion places but Durham remain in the driving seat despite only drawing with Middlesex at Lord’s. Ryan Higgins struck 131 and took four wickets but Durham went about their batting with greater fervour. Both Emilio Gay and David Bedingham achieved centuries and Kasey Aldridge fell one short. They had a day to finish off the home county but, while Ben Raine took three more wickets, Max Holden held firm and steered his side to safety. 

Next up for Durham are Worcestershire, while Northants visit Derby. Lancashire could advance by defeating Middlesex. 

Team of the Week:- Slater (Not), J. Thomas (Som), Carlson (Gla), Bedingham (Dur), Root (Yor), A. Thomas (Sur), Benjamin (Ken +), Raine (Dur), Haydon (Der), Milnes (Ken), Sanderson (Nor)