They
had to survive a spirited challenge from Worcestershire, notably by opener Tom
Fell, but it was fitting that Morne Morkel and Rikki Clarke were at the crease
to wrap up the three-wicket triumph which propelled them to an unassailable
62-point lead at the top. In a dismal week for county wicketkeeper-batsmen,
Ollie Pope picked up a couple of near-50s but Burns’ first-outing 122 and
Morkel’s second innings 5-24 were the crucial contributions. Surrey may have enormous
resources but they had by far the best blend of youth and experience,
sufficient to withstand various international call-ups for the Curran brothers
and Pope and, like Essex in 2017, had a trouble-free cruise to the title. Strange
that they were so useless in the one-dayers!
Surrey’s
only obvious rivals in Division One were – amazingly – Somerset. However,
having escaped censure for last week’s spinners’ wicket at Taunton, we were
hammered inside two days at the Rose Bowl, where South African seamers Kyle Abbott
(5-31 and 6-40) and Dale Steyn ran riot through the Somerset batting, for whom
only Marcus Trescothick reached double-figures twice. With his county destined
to be runners-up yet again, I wonder if Tres will now relinquish any smidgeon
of hope of winning the elusive crown and call it a day.
Essex
leap-frogged Nottinghamshire into third place, defeating their rivals by eight
wickets at Trent Bridge. An opening stand of 204 by Tom Westley and India’s reject
Murali Vijay finished things off. It seems odd that the Headingley Roses clash
should be such a 32-pointer, as it were. Had Lancashire won, they would have
left Yorkshire in deep do-do. However, it was the White Rose blooming proudly as
Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s runs then Ben Coad’s wickets helped secure a 95-run
victory. Jack Brooks’ Leeds farewell resulted in nine more wickets. The ‘Headband
Warrior’ may be 34 but hopefully he can do a great job for Somerset, too, next
season.
If
Yorkshire beat Hampshire next week, Lancashire and possibly Worcestershire will
be doomed. If Somerset can end Surrey’s spectacular sequence of successes, they’ll
be confirmed as runners-up: an unwanted consolation prize.
The
Division Two promotion race saw Sussex stumble on as they approached the finishing
straight. They were well-beaten at Chester-le-Street by Durham, for whom
Cameron Steel struck the county week’s highest score (160) and Chris Rushworth
claimed the best wicket haul (12-100). Skipper Paul Collingwood subsequently
announced his retirement at the end of the month. He has bowled infrequently
this year although still capable of some decent innings.
Elsewhere,
Warwickshire beat Leicestershire by an innings, Keith Barker starring with the
ball, and Kent recorded their ninth victory of the summer, ending Middlesex’s hopes
of a sift return to the top flight. Darren Stevens showed he’s not yet ready to
slip over the horizon, taking seven cheap wickets and striking a 64. They now
sit 21 ahead of Sussex with two games to go.
Derbyshire
had a gutsy Harvey Hosein half-century to thank for their exciting one-wicket
triumph at Northampton, while at Cardiff Glamorgan sank to another innings
defeat, Gloucestershire this week’s beneficiaries. The Welsh side’s batting
woes show no sign of ending, as it was their tail-enders doing most of the
scoring. Robert Croft has a real job on his hands to get Sophia Gardens singing
again in four-day cricket. They will struggle next week to beat Kent, for whom
victory will ensure a long-awaited return to Division One.
Team of the
Week:
Steel (Dur),
Burns (Sur), Fell (Wor), Kohler-Cadmore (Yor), Taylor (Glo), Stevens (Ken),
Hosein (Der +), Barker (War), Abbott (Ham), Brooks (Yor), Rushworth (Dur)
