In the County Championship, Warwickshire consolidated their Division One lead in a game of modest scoring against Surrey at The Oval. The home team's former England spinner Gareth Batty took ten wickets but it was Jeetan Patel's 6-95 in the second innings which gave his batsmen a reachable target. MInd you, at 37-4, their prospects were looking gloomy until Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke saw them home by five wickets.
Down in Taunton, the warm sun was shining and on day one, Durham were cruising thanks to Michael Di Venuto and Will Smith. I heard one of the members muttering about 'a 600 pitch' and it was hard to disagree. That Somerset turned the game around said a lot for their resilience. Some beefy shots from Craig Overton, James Hildreth (making Harmison and Plunkett look very ordinary) and Peter Trego established a narrow first innings lead. Vernon Philander has left these shores but Alfonso Thomas was back from a surprisingly inactive IPL stint. But it was 19 year-old George Dockrell whose off spin devastated Durham's middle order in three overs to set up a three-day win. It was his second 'six-for' so far this season and only Somerset's second Championship victory.
It's been a staggered week for fixtures so at the time of writing, Nottinghamshire haven't finished their game with Sussex. Riki Wessels' 199 has given them a platform and, despite runs and wickets from a resurgent Chris Nash, the second place side look good to achieve win number four. At Liverpool, overseas batsmen were in charge, with Ashwell Prince scoring 144 early on. However, a declaration target of 429 in just over a day in scorching weather was made for a draw, Chris Rogers finishing unbeaten on 134.
Next week, with both Warks and Notts without Championship fixtures, Somerset will hope for a successful trip up the M5 to Worcestershire, for whom Phil Hughes has arrived in good nick, at least based on his Pro40 century this weekend. The Cidermen could go top, albeit having played more matches. Middlesex entertain Sussex, while Lancashire and Durham meet at Chester-le-Street. Both counties are currently win-less so I'd bet on a draw!
In Division Two this week, Derbyshire extended their lead to 26 points. Wes Durston's century and eight wickets for spinner David Wainwright led to a ten-wicket demolition of Essex. Kent are second after an even more convincing victory over Leicestershire. In-form Matt Coles took 5-41 then Mike Powell top-scored with 134 to give Kent a first innings lead of almost 400! Darren Stevens and James Tredwell were the pick of the bowlers second time around and their opponents were dismissed for a paltry 113.
Glamorgan gave Hampshire a run for their money at the Rose Bowl, but their run chase fell just 31 runs short on the final day. Only Marcus North, now playing for a record-breaking sixth county, passed 50 when just one decent partnership could have yielded a first win of the summer.
In the other game, Northants advanced to fifth in the table, beating Gloucestershire at home by 121 runs. That same figure was also evident on the scoreboard because it was the number of runs scored by James Middlebrook, justifying his promotion to open with Stephen Peters. He also took 5-63 and bowled 23 maidens in the second innings, rounding off a good week for the spinners. Hot sunshine doesn't always lead to a glut of runs!
