This really was a week for batsmen. Four scored double-centuries, two of them sharing a 500 partnership, yet one (Steve Smith) couldn’t even squeeze into my Team of the Week!
The White and Red Roses were again in full bloom, as Yorkshire and Lancashire cemented their positions atop Divisions One and Two. The chasing packs must be getting cricked necks gazing up at the distant summits.
Andrew Gale led his side from the front at Scarborough, piling up 164 but it was Jonny Bairstow’s scintillating form making all the headlines. A brisk 139 pushed him into the England squad at Gary Ballance’s expense, then he struck the winning runs in the second innings, too. Worcestershire did at least take the game into a fourth day.
Durham did their best to hold on to second place but Hampshire’s defiance and some final afternoon rain scuppered their hopes. Gordon Muchall’s 145 and nine more wickets for Chris Rushworth were all in vain after 20 year-old ‘keeper Lewis McManus defied the Durham attack for almost three hours. Meanwhile Warwickshire found themselves in the runners-up spot after despatching Somerset by seven wickets. Sam Hain composed another unbeaten century and Jeetan Patel claimed nine victims, although the losers’ Craig Overton took 6-74 and kept his name in the England frame in case the selectors need fresh blood.
Following a disappointing first half of the season, James Taylor rediscovered his appetite for runs, falling just nine short of a triple-century in Nottinghamshire’s innings defeat of Sussex. Chris Read’s 121 and seven catches were also noteworthy, while Harry Gurney’s left arm seam and swing also did a lot of damage to the South Coast side for whom Matt Machan top-scored with 108.
The Colwyn Bay sea air worked wonders for the South African duo of Ashwell Prince and Alviro Petersen. Both passed 250 as they smashed the Lancashire partnership record and accumulated the 13th highest stand for any wicket in first-class cricket history! Facing an overall target of almost 700, Glamorgan unsurprisingly fell short, although a robust first innings tail did its best to frustrate the visitors. Number eleven Michael Hogan even had time to score a career best 57! Nevertheless, Sean Kerrigan and Arron Lilley polished off Welsh resistance in the end.
Kent took the Thames estuary bragging rights, thumping Essex by an innings and 207. Ben Harmison and Sam Billings each reached three figures while Callum Haggett and the evergreen Darren Stevens picked up twelve wickets between them.
Derbyshire beat Northamptonshire in the other Division Two fixture. Mark Footitt collected another five-for, and young all-rounder Alex Hughes achieved his debut hundred. For the visitors, opener Ben Duckett had mixed fortunes. A duck was followed by 154 but the Chesterfield fans enjoyed a seven-wicket triumph.
While the runs piled up in the Championship and Lord’s Test, there weren’t many big scores in last weekend’s T20 Blast. Nevertheless, Jason Roy’s blistering 122 consigned Somerset to another heavy defeat. The County Championship now takes a two-week break as the T20 Group stage ends and the Royal London Cup begins.
Some excellent performances couldn’t get into my Team of the Week: Rogers (Aus), Duckett (Nor), Petersen (Lan), Prince (Lan), Taylor (Not), A Hughes (Der), Read (Not, * +), Patel (Not), C Overton (Som), Gurney (Not), Rushworth (Dur)
