At the Oval,
Nottinghamshire asked the home side to bat and allowed Mark Stoneman to reach
three figures for the first time this season. After being bowled out for 375 on
day two, they proceeded to dismiss Notts twice in under 92 overs. With brother
Sam on England duty, Tom Curran took 5-32 in the first innings, while 20
year-old Conor McKerr weighed in with match figures of 7-47.
A day later
Somerset completed a 224-run victory over Yorkshire, Jamie Overton wrapped up four
of the last five wickets on the final afternoon after a fine 132 by Tom Abell
and a second rapid half-century by Lewis Gregory set up the declaration. The
in-form Gregory also took six wickets while leading the seam attack.
Champions
Essex advanced to third after hammering Hampshire by an innings at Chelmsford.
David Lawrence top-scored with 124 but Tom Alsop’s second innings 51 was the
highest a Hants player could manage. Peter Siddle was the pick of the Essex
bowlers, ending the match with 7-70. At Southport, Lancashire came from behind
to beat bottom-club Worcestershire by four wickets. Dane Vilas and Bolton lad
Josh Bohannon shared a stand of 139 to push Lancs over the line.
This week
Surrey face a trip up the A12 to Essex while Somerset host Lancashire at
Taunton. If Surrey win their next two games they can probably afford to lose to
their rivals and still take the title.
In Division
Two, Sussex lost ground in the promotion chase after losing a close encounter with
Middlesex. Runs were in short supply at Lord’s, so Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan
and Ollie Robinson helped themselves to eighteen wickets between them.
Warwickshire remain top after Glamorgan crumbled to another innings defeat. At least
they passed 200 twice, but Ian Bell also did so all on his own. The ex-England
star is enjoying a renaissance this summer. and his 2014 was his 56th
first-class century of a 20-year career. Jeetan Patel’s spin did most of the
damage with the ball, taking ten wickets.
Kent
leapfrogged Sussex into second following a six-wicket triumph at Derby. Crawley
and Denly put on 170 for the second wicket, then Grant Stewart and Matt Henry
beefed up the tail to record a total of 561. Spin twins Adam Riley and an
unwell Joe Denly restricted Derbyshire to 270 second time around and the match
was as good as won.
At the other
end of the table, Gloucestershire easily outscored Leicestershire at Bristol.
Skipper Chris Dent’s second innings 214 not out was the critical difference between
the teams. Northamptonshire had already despatched Durham inside two days, registering
only their third win of the Championship. The ever-reliable Ben Sanderson took
4-34 to leave his batsmen a simple target of 65.
The top three
counties each now play at home, Kent’s tie against Northants looking the
easiest on paper, although the Sussex seamers must fancy the opportunity to get
stuck into the Leicester batsmen.
Team of the
Week:
Stoneman
(Sur), Dent (Glo), Denly (Ken), Bell (War), Abell (Som), Vilas (Lan +), Gregory
(Som), Patel (War), Siddle (Ess), Sanderson (Nor), McKerr (Sur)
