Somerset
elected to bowl first and the home side duly made hay. With Ben Foakes away
with the Lions, Ollie Pope took the gloves and scored another century. His
career is still in its youth but a first-class average above 60 is nevertheless
a stat to admire. The total of 459 was large but in theory not unattainable.
The practice was different. At 169-4, Somerset were nibbling away despite Rikki
Clarke dismissing the top order. Enter Ryan Patel. Half an hour later, Somerset
were back in the pavilion and the local lad boasted extraordinary figures of
3.5-2-5-6. He took no wickets in the second innings but the fast men Morkel and
Dernbach each claimed four as all but James Hildreth surrendered meekly.
Nottinghamshire
rose to second after thumping Essex by 301 runs at Chelmsford. Ross Taylor’s
146 dominated the first day then bowlers Luke Fletcher and Matt Carter put
their county even more firmly in control. Notts didn’t enforce the follow-on
and set a target which proved way beyond the champions’ capabilities.
At
the other end of the table, Worcestershire broke their 2018 duck by outscoring
Lancashire. At New Road, after fifteen wickets fell on the first day, it was a
story of two openers. Keaton Jennings scored 55 and 177 but he was eclipsed by
Daryl Mitchell who delivered a century in each innings. With the ball, Ed Barnard
followed his first innings 5-34 with four more wickets as Lancashire chased an
improbable 602 to win.
The
day-night at the Rose Bowl was not the spectacle it was supposed to be. The
batting track gave neither attack any assistance and a draw was the inevitable
outcome. Only Dale Steyn raised the flag for the Hampshire bowlers with a first
innings five-for but Yorkshire’s Gary Ballance and the home team’s Jimmy Adams
each made three figures.
The
big promotion clash in Division Two at Tunbridge Wells was very much a game of
two halves. Twenty wickets tumbled on day one. Then Kent, led by Joe Denly and Sean
Dickson, racked up more than 400, setting Warwickshire a target of 519 which
would have been a championship record. With Sibley and Bell apparently cruising
at 304-1 on the final morning, that record looked vulnerable. However, once
they and Jonathan Trott were dismissed, Warwickshire’s chances ebbed away. Denly himself mopped up the tail and Kent
advanced to within eight points of their table-topping opponents.
Sussex
used their annual visit to bucolic Arundel to gain ground, too, defeating
Durham with consummate ease. Philip Salt and Tom Haines each achieved their
maiden centuries while David Wiese and Danny Briggs starred with the ball.
At
Northampton, the home side emulated Worcestershire by snapping up their first
Div 2 success of the summer. Ben Sanderson’s first innings 5-16 and Brett
Hutton’s 8-57 tell the tale of Gloucestershire’s batting woes. Ben Duckett
raced to 32 off 15 balls to clinch a ten-wicket victory on the final morning.
Their next opponents Glamorgan are also struggling but came within two wickets
of beating Derbyshire. Tailenders Palladino and Olivier had to dig in for the
last fifteen overs to survive. Glamorgan’s chances were enhanced by a 289-run
partnership involving Usman Khawaja and young Kiran Carlsen but unfortunately
for them, the excellent Michael Hogan and debutant Prem Sisodiya were
frustrated at the end.
It
was an even more exciting finish at Leicester. Colin Ackermann’s mighty 196 not
out and a solid team bowling performance put Leicestershire in the driving
seat. However, Tim Murtagh and James Harris shared six wickets to restrict the
home side to 186 all out. Chasing 381 to win, Middlesex looked set to lose on
197-6. However, Hilton Cartwright’s 80 anchored the tail, and right at the death
Harris (58 not out) struck the winning boundary with just one wicket remaining.
Should
Middlesex defeat Kent at Beckenham this week, they’ll be right back in the race
to return to the top tier, but Warwickshire will be optimistic about beating
Durham to hold on to the top spot. In Division One, Somerset visit Essex minus
their high-scoring Aussie Matt Renshaw whose broken finger has ended his stint
down at Taunton. We’re not having much luck with our overseas signings. Surrey
travel to sunny Scarborough and Nottinghamshire host Worcestershire who must
hope to channel their confidence to secure a second consecutive win. Can’t see
it happening, though. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Notts who emerge from the
revolving door and slip into T20 mode in front.
Team of the
Week:
Mitchell
(Wor), Jennings (Lan), Denly (Ken), Bell (War), Ackermann (Lei), Pope (Sur +),
Clarke (Sur), Barker (War), Patel (Sur), Hutton (Nor), Murtagh (Mid)
