County cricket: Crushing Wins for Somerset and Warwickshire

It’s all getting rather exciting in the County Championship title race. Warwickshire were quickest off the mark, slamming Glamorgan by an innings, and bowling them out twice for under seventy! Ethan Bamber took 5-25 in the first innings and Ed Barnard’s 5-13 finished the job inside two days. 

Leicestershire did at least force Somerset into a third day, but the leaders triumphed by a massive 377 runs. Josh Thomas and Henry Nicholls each made exactly 100, and the ever-consistent Craig Overton was the pick of the seamers, with 7-56 for the match. Nonetheless, his long-standing partner in crime, Jack Leach, mopped up the final three wickets to clinch the victory at Grace Road. 

Reigning champions Nottinghamshire did not wilt, and their relatively narrow win over Hampshire kept hem in second place, just four points behind Somerset. Joe Clarke gave them a healthy start with 105 before Jake Lehmann responded with an unbeaten 133. Basingstoke’s 17-year-old Manny Lumsden marked his first-class debut with a fab five-for, leaving Hants a modest target of 178. However, Olly Stone and Dillon Pennington destroyed the top order and, despite a 43-run stand for the tenth wicket (Currie and that lad Lumsden again), Notts took the honours by 54 runs, leaving Hampshire rock bottom. 

At Headingley, Yorkshire rocketed out of the relegation mire at the expense of Essex. Dom Bess delivered an excellent all-round performance, top-scoring with 80 not out and nabbing five wickets. Jonny Bairstow favoured his spin attack in the second innings, too, and it was Kuldeep Yadav whose 6-50 took his match tally of victims to ten and Yorkshire to glory by an innings and a hundred. 

On the South Coast, a day one washout spoiled what unrolled as a close encounter between Sussex and Surrey. Charlie Tear top-scored for the hosts, with 89 out of 398, then fifties from Patel, Foakes and Mahipal Lomror limited Surrey’s deficit to 72 and pretty much ensured the draw. 

In the penultimate round of fixtures, Somerset seem to have the toughest task, heading north to Leeds, although Warwickshire’s visit to Essex and Notts at Sussex have no guarantees. 

Durham’s stranglehold on Division Two was maintained, and promotion was sealed with a 93-run defeat of Middlesex at Chester-le-Street. Ben McKinney’s towering 184 placed the home side firmly in the driving seat, while Brendon Carse stayed out of the local nightclubs long enough to pick up nine – expensive - wickets. Harry Duke resisted long enough to reach three figures but Carse and Callum Parkinson dismissed the tail with ease. 

Kent’s promotion ambitions took a hit at Derby, losing heavily. The clamour to restore Zak Crawley to the England opener slot was muted as he contributed scores of 6 and 4. The county’s batting has let them down this season, and Martin Andersson showed them how to do it, aggregating 179 for once out. Kent had no chance of hitting the 434-run target, and Ben Aitchison (5-44) and Brett Randell (3-39) combined to kill them off. 

Northamptonshire leapfrogged Kent by scratching out a six-wicket victory at Worcestershire. Saif Zaib’s ton, a Procter five-for and Chahal’s 4-46 did much of the damage. At the other end, the battle of the basement at Old Trafford went the way of Gloucestershire who nonetheless still prop up the whole Championship. It was a low-scoring affair. George Balderson starred for the home county with eight wickets but Will Williams (6-24) shone against his former employers in the first innings and James Langridge, in only his second appearance, took 5-51 in the decider. 

Northants and Kent next host Derbyshire and Lancashire, respectively. Whatever happens, the second promotion place will surely be up for grabs in the concluding set of fixtures. Kent will welcome Gloucestershire, so Northants will look to grasp maximum points from this week’s encounter. 

Team of the Week: Thomas (Som), McKinney (Dur), Clarke (Not), Lehmann (Ham), Andersson (Der), Barnard (War), Duke (Mid +), Balderson (Lan), Bess (Yor), Overton (Som), Kuldeep Yadav (Yor)

County Cricket: Somerset at the Summit

For the second week in succession, runs were very much in short supply and the only teams to break 400 were the big guns of the First Division. Leaders Nottinghamshire led the way with 451-8, bolstered by centuries by Jack Haynes and Liam Patterson-White. However, having lost much of Wednesday to rain, they needed Leicestershire to capitulate. For once, they didn’t. Josh Hull dug in for 97, then the tenth-wicket pair of Scriven and Davey added a vital 106 to avoid the follow-on. With no time to force a result, Haseeb Hameed helped himself to 109 not out before they called it a day. 

By then, both Somerset and Warwickshire had already clinched victories and the all-important points that entailed. Somerset were first to celebrate, steamrollering Glamorgan by an innings. Tom Lammonby (95) top-scored, and Craig Overton and Jack Leach were the pick of the bowlers. Warwickshire’s margin of victory over Hampshire was even more emphatic, also within three days. Rob Yates made 109 and Indian spinner Manav Suthar claimed seven wickets to leave their opponents rooted to the bottom. A season’s total of three batting bonus points tells the story of their miserable campaign. 

So Somerset sit top, five points ahead of Warwickshire and twelve above Notts, but there is plenty to play for, and I know Somerset will blow it yet again. Below the top three, Sussex edged Essex by 47 runs. In their first innings, Essex lost their last seven wickets for just six runs, including James Crocombe’s second hat-trick in as many matches. That’s a rare achievement. James Coles had another fine all-round performance and opposite number Matt Critchley did his best to maintain the Essex run chase before being last out on 96. 

The Oval witnessed an even more exciting climax. In a very low-scoring affair, with nobody making a half-century, it all came down to a Friday afternoon showdown. Matthew Fisher’s 6-25 in Yorkshire’s second innings left Surrey a target of 185. While still more wickets tumbled, Josh Blake compiled the most important unbeaten 43 of his first-class career but it was number eleven batsman Dan Worrall who clipped the winning boundary at the death for a one-wicket triumph. It was only Surrey’s second of the summer, but their chances of reclaiming the Championship are nil. 

Somerset next travel to Leicester, Warwickshire to Cardiff, while Notts host Hampshire. All might be expected to win but rain and determination to avoid the drop could easily upset the odds. 

Durham continued to run away with Division Two, collecting victory number nine, meaning a win at Middlesex next week will guarantee promotion with two games remaining.  They didn’t have it all their own way at Northants. David Bedingham passed 1,000 runs for the season but the clincher was Callum Parkinson’s 6-20 as the home side were wiped out for a frightful fifty runs. Nobody reached double figures! 

Kent consolidated their second place by defeating Worcestershire by 84 runs. Sam Northeast’s second-innings 132 inflicted much of the damage and, although Brett d’Oliveira stuck around for a 5 ½-hour 103 not out, his colleagues fell by the wayside too readily. Gloucestershire enjoyed a rare moment of glory. After losing nine of their previous ten in the league, they thumped Derbyshire by 213 runs. James Bracey found some belated form, scoring a century in each innings, then handing the baton to slow left-armer Sai Kishore who bamboozled the Derby line-up for eighteen frugal overs and a final analysis of 5-20. 

Lancashire’s woes persisted when they lost heavily to Middlesex. Luke Hollman’s 54 was the game’s top score as bowlers took charge. George Balderson bowled well for Jimmy Anderson’s side but Helm, Higgins and Sharma eclipsed him. Middlesex now have the unenviable task of overcoming rampant Durham if they are to have the slightest chance of promotion. Kent head north to Derbyshire, and Old Trafford hosts a battle between the bottom two, Lancashire and Gloucestershire. 

Team of the Week: Yates (War), Lammonby (Som), Northeast (Ken), Bracey (Glo +), Haynes (Not), Coles (Sus), Pattefrson-White (Not), Fisher (Sur), Sai Kishore (Glo), C Parkinson (Dur), Crocombe (Sus)

County Cricket: Durham Shine amidst the Rain

The week’s rain may have benefitted the parched pitches, but did nothing for cricket as a spectator sport. The players must have been bored to tears, too, with whole days washed out entirely. Only six centuries were made, and each of those who scored them went straight in to my Team of the Week. No-brainers, the lot of ‘em! 

Only one result was possible, and inevitably it was Durham who took advantage of slightly better weather at Chester-le-Street to notch win number seven against bottom county Gloucestershire. In his final game of the season, David Bedingham struck 122 and, as part of a star-studded English seam attack, it was the unsung Kasey Aldridge who again stole the show with match stats of 9-63. If Durham beat Northamptonshire next weekend, promotion will be secured with three games in hand. 

This week, Northants and Kent shared the spoils with Kent, and stand on equal points behind Durham. Zak Crawley and Ben Compton put on 162 for the first Kent wicket, then in reply, Ricardo Vasconcelos and Nathan McSweeney each maintained their consistent summer form by reaching three figures. At Worcester, the home side’s Beyers Swanepoel combined a swift 63 not out and 4-37 against Lancashire, while at Derby, only 87 overs were possible across all four days. 

In Division One, five draws made little impact on the table. Nottinghamshire extended their lead to four points over Somerset thanks to Joe Clarke’s 150 and Olly Stone’s 5-49 against third-placed Warwickshire. Somerset struggled against Sussex on the first few days, but a strong second innings ensured there could be no defeat, even had the sun shone on day four. 

At Chelmsford, Essex had the upper hand over Surrey. Having announced his imminent retirement, Dean Elgar demonstrated his trademark grit to register his 56^th first-class hundred, and the visitors were staring down the barrel at 92-6. Luckily, Ben Foakes improved on his first-innings three-ball duck and clung on for almost five hours in eking out an unbeaten 120. There was another stalemate at Cardiff, where Hampshire seamers Abbott and Baker held sway over the Glamorgan openers, and the Bank Holiday seasiders at Scarborough saw very little action for Leicestershire’s trip to meet Yorkshire. 

In the next round of fixtures, Notts and Warwicks have on paper the easiest opposition (Leicestershire and Hampshire, respectively) but Somerset require a home victory against Glamorgan to remain in the hunt for that elusive maiden title. The winners of the Essex-Sussex clash will also be in the running, but a draw won’t help either of them. Let’s hope the showers stay away. 

Team of the Week: Elgar (Ess), Vasconcelos (Nor), McSweeney (Nor), Bedingham (Dur), Clarke (Not), Foakes (Sur +), T Clark (Sur), Swanepoel (Wor), Aldridge (Dur), Rahul Chahar (Sur), Stone (War)

County Cricket: Notts Too Hot for Surrey

As England’s heatwave faded, the County Championship re-emerged to provide plenty of drama. All nine fixtures produced results, as batsmen found life rather tough. Indeed, Daniel Lategan’s 144 was the highest individual score and, unusually for this day and age, no innings came anywhere near 500. 

Surrey still have only one victory to their name, as leaders Nottinghamshire came away from The Oval with a 145-run pounding. At halfway, the two were neck-and-neck but Joe Clarke’s 95 put the visitors in a strong position. Olly Stone took his match tally to ten wickets as the Surrey batting collapsed again, although Ollie Pope contributed more than half the total, last out for 111. 

Somerset remain second, defeating Essex at Taunton by eight wickets. Josh Thomas (110) and new recruit Henry Nicholls (96) led the way on day one, before Lewis Gregory destroyed the top order and Jack Leach chopped the tail. Allison and Critchley kept Essex in the contest, but there were four ‘c Abell b Leach’ entries on the scorecard. On the fourth day, Somerset knocked off the required 103 in under twenty overs. 

At Edgbaston, Warwickshire and Sussex fought a desperately tight encounter as the seamers made hay on the dry grass. Sean Hunt took nine Warwicks wickets but it was the cool head of Chris Woakes which steered his side over the line to win by just one wicket. Runs were in short supply at Southampton, too, especially on the first couple of days. Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott (4-17) and Yorkshire all-rounder George Hill (5-29) were in top form, then spinners took charge. Dom Bess wheeled away for 46 overs, ending on 5-103 and even opener Adam Lyth chipped in as Hampshire crumbled, 39 runs short. 

Only 770 runs were scored at Leicester, where the home side outlasted Glamorgan by 42. Kiran Carlson’s dismissal on 99 took the puff out of the Welsh dragon and his opposing skipper Ian Holland took charge. He proved almost unplayable, bowling twelve maidens and taking 5-19. Remarkably, Glamorgan still sit in a very respectable fourth place. 

Durham continue to dominate Division Two, and it was another all-rounder, Mr Ben Stokes, who caught the eye as they destroyed Derbyshire by 338 runs. He thrashed two half-centuries and claimed match bowling stats of 7-31. Ben McKinney’s second-innings 140 and Matthew Potts’ first-day 5-46 also played their part. Brydon Carse was less successful but at least he made the headlines in the evening by being led away from a sesh with Stokes and Potts in handcuffs. No drinking problem, eh?

It was very one-sided, too, at Old Trafford where Northamptonshire hammered Lancashire by 316 runs. Ricardo Vasconcelos top-scored but all the bowlers shared the wickets. At Cheltenham, the aforementioned Lategan and Jake Libby shared an opening stand of 244 as Worcestershire wrapped up an eight-wicket victory over bottom county Gloucestershire, but there were no tons at Northwood, where Kent beat Middlesex to occupy the second promotion slot. Matts Milnes and Quinn each eked out six London batsmen but player of the match was arguably the veteran Toby Roland-Jones despite finishing on the losing side. 

On Thursday, Kent travel to Northampton and at Chester-le-Street it is top v bottom, aka Durham against Gloucestershire. In the top tier, Somerset head to Hove but the tastiest tie is the Edgbaston clash between Warwickshire and leaders Notts. If Glamorgan dodge the forecast Cardiff showers and defeat Hampshire, they could yet threaten the top three. 

Team of the Week: Lategan (Wor), Thomas (Som), McKinney (Not), Pope (Sur), Critchley (Ess), Stokes (Dur), Cracknell (Mid +), Holland (Lei), Hunt (Sus), Stone (War), Potts (Dur)

County Cricket: Leicestershire and Middlesex March to the Final

Like the heatwaves and drought blighting most of England throughout August – indeed, most of the summer – Leicestershire and Middlesex held fast at the top of their respective groups in the One Day Cup and survived the knockouts, impervious to the threatened cold fronts of the other counties chasing them. 

In Group B, Leicestershire had no fixture and, although Nottinghamshire and Lancashire achieved the wins they needed, the Foxes evaded the quarter-final hurdle thanks to a superior net run rate. Notts despatched Surrey by six wickets, their pursuit of the 299-run target underpinned by a splendid 138 from George Munsey, aided by half-centuries from his skipper Haseeb Hameed and ‘keeper Kyle Verreynne. 

Lancashire’s batters battered Somerset into submission at Taunton, racking up an uncatchable 443-6. Both Keaton Jennings and Rocky Flintoff blazed their trails past 100, Jennings reaching 156 and the teenager 123, his maiden senior century. Only Tom Lammonby made fifty in reply, and it was all over with ten overs to spare. 

In Group B, Middlesex sailed to another easy victory, this time over Sussex. Joe Cracknell thumped 128 off 112 balls before Sebastian Morgan’s 4-46 sealed the deal. Meanwhile, in their last group tie, Yorkshire made short work of Essex, who slumped to 151 all out. Ben Coad and Dom Bess each claimed three cheap wickets. 

The most significant encounter was Durham’s trip to Worcester. If Durham won, they were safely through but Worcestershire could usurp them by means of a hefty margin that would swing the net run rate in their favour. Tom Taylor’s 86 helped them to a decent total of 291 but, despite bowling Durham out 77 runs short, it wasn’t enough. Durham progressed by a mere 0.057 points. 

On Friday at Old Trafford, they resolved any issues to hand Lancashire a 162-run trouncing. David Bedingham (104) led the way with the bat, and leggie Shafiqullah Ghafari (4-36) inflicted most damage with the ball. At York, Dillon Pennington grabbed a second four-wicket haul, restricting Yorkshire to just 273-9, despite the sterling efforts of local 19-year-old Will Bennison. Notts were reeling at 1-3 (Finlay Bean catching all three) only for Verreynne and Haynes to each hit hundreds and take the spoils. 

Sunday’s semi-finals brought the group winners into the fray and each used the rest to their advantage. At Leicester, Hamza Shaikh’s 104 assisted his team to 303-7. Nottinghamshire lost wickets regularly but, with thirty-odd needed with three overs left and Verreyyne at the crease, success was within their grasp. However, Alex Green and Ian Holland instigated a flurry of wickets and that was that. 

It was another fairly close contest at Radlett, where Middlesex edged out Durham by only two wickets. It came down to a battle between two excellent all-round performances. Colin Ackermann returned 71 not out and 3-46 but the home county’s Luke Hollman combined a useful 3-53 with a List A best score of 83 not out to secure a place in next month’s final. 

As usual, the One-Day Cup has allowed some promising youngsters space to shine, emerging from the shadow of the Hundred, and now its back to the County Championship for them to rub shoulders with various better-known cricketers in the proper four-day stuff. 

Team of the Week: Andersson (Der), Jennings (Lan), Munsey (Not), Bedingham (Dur), Neal (Ham), Flintoff (Lan), Verreynne (Not +), Hollman (Mid), Pennington (Not), Shafiqullah Ghafari (Dur), Coad (Yor)

County Cricket: Four-Ton Libby

With just one round of group fixtures remaining in the One-Day Cup, qualification from Group A is very much up for grabs, but in Group B, three counties have opened up a slight gap on the chasing pack. As was the case last week, Middlesex, Yorkshire and Durham are clinging on to the crucial spots. 

Middlesex are the only team definitely through. They easily defeated Derbyshire but Durham proved a tougher proposition. At Chester-le-Street, the home side passed 300, anchored by Alex Lees’s 103 before Geddes (77) and Cracknell (84) kept up the pace of the chase. However, it needed some late, lusty blows from Roland-Jones and Brookes to take the leaders over the line with three balls to spare. Yorkshire remain second on superior run rate but their five-wicket win over Derbyshire also went to the final over. Two century stands, each involving Aussie Sam Whiteman, the Tykes’ reply, while George Hill’s acceleration to 63 not out off 49 balls ultimately proved decisive. 

Hampshire and Worcestershire can still crash the party with convincing victories this week and a little luck. Worcestershire’s home fixture against Durham is the tastiest and could be a winner-takes-all affair. Skipper Jake Libby has taken a liking to this competition. He followed two centuries last week with another pair against Sussex and Glamorgan: four in a row! 

The Welsh were involved in two cliffhangers. Andy Gorvin’s edge to the third-man boundary from the last ball secured the triumph over Worcestershire, Libby’s 105 notwithstanding, but in the preceding match against Essex, with Timm van der Gugten blazing away to a maiden List A hundred, they fell agonisingly short. Needing only six from McKenzie-Jones’s concluding over, the centurion and Gorvin could scramble just two singles. The Essex innings was lunched in style by Noah Thain – who has exceeded 70 in his past five innings – and Luc Benkenstein, whose 140 was the highest of the week. 

The best team total belonged to Hampshire. Their 383-9 against Sussex was predicated on a 225-run opening partnership between Ali Orr and teenager Ben Mayes. At number three, Toby Albert also enjoyed himself. His 86 included six sixes in successive deliveries, although spread over two overs. In the very tight Group A, Leicestershire lost their last game, against Kent, but sit top of the table. Their four-point margin should see them reach the knockouts but it is not certain. Nottinghamshire beat Northants but surprisingly lost to Gloucestershire. 

A magnificent 114 from Tom Lammonby inspired Somerset to a 188-run demolition of the hated Surrey but hopes of progress were then thwarted by a heavy defeat at the hands of Northamptonshire, with all-rounder Luke Procter in the starring role. Beating Lancashire this week could yet secure a place in the last six but it is unlikely. 

Team of the Week: Benkenstein (Ess), Lammonby (Som), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Libby (Wor), Geddes (Mid), Procter (Nor), Verreynne (Not +), Van der Gugten (Gla), Douthwaite (Gla), B Green (Lei), Lawes (Sur)

County Cricket: No Thain, No Gain

After week 1 of the One Day Cup, Middlesex were looking the strongest outfit in Group B, but a trip to Worcester upset their 100% start. Josh de Caires achieved another career-best, this time a maiden century of 130, but the experienced Jake Libby led the successful run chase with an unbeaten 109. A few days later, he repeated the score against Essex but this time in vain.

It was a strange week for Essex. In their three fixtures, they racked up more than a thousand runs, passing three hundred on each occasion, yet emerged with only four points. Young Noah Thain was in sparkling form, striking successive tons against Sussex and Hampshire, and team-mates Tom Westley and Matt Critchley also filled their boots, each reaching three figures in the week’s highest total of 376-5. 

Middlesex, Yorkshire and Durham all have four wins to their names, and they had to play each other. Halifax-born Benjamin Cliff’s medium pace scuppered Durham’s innings at York before Wharton and Whiteman saw the home side home by seven wickets. However, Yorkshire’s bid to top the table was undone by Middlesex at Lord’s. Cliff, again, took 4-39 but, despite a modest target of 247, their batting wilted against Zafar Gohar’s spin and Noah Cornwell’s pace and they succumbed to a 35-run defeat. 

Durham had earlier beaten Glamorgan in a high-scoring thriller thanks to Will Rhodes’ 148 not out and two wickets and finished the week with a resounding walloping of Hampshire by nine wickets. Emilio Gay (remember him?) rediscovered that early-season form by notching an unbeaten 104. 

Leicestershire Foxes lead Group A. Recovering from last Tuesday’s poor showing against Nottinghamshire, they proceeded to humble Northants by eight wickets and Somerset by a hefty 164 runs. The Outlaws remain second although they suffered losses to Lancashire and Kent. The latter clash went to the final over but Chris Benjamin’s rapid half-century proved decisive. Daniel Bell-Drummond must be one of the finest batsmen in recent years not to have been capped by England but he accumulated two hundred runs this week to keep Kent in the hunt. 

Other notable performances include Ed Barnard’s dominant 140 in Warwickshire’s victory over Surrey and Jack Morley’s 5-28 for Derbyshire in the 188-run demolition of Sussex. 

The next week’s games include Leicestershire v Kent at Beckenham and Derbyshire’s opportunity to disrupt both Group B leaders, Yorkshire and Middlesex. Durham also host Middlesex at Gosforth. 

Team of the Week: Thain (Ess), Bell-Drummond (Ken), De Caires (Mid), Barnard (War), Libby (Wor), Verreynne (Not +), Rhodes (Dur), Critchley (Ess), Potts (Der), Morley (Der), Cliff (Yor)