The
clash between current leaders and reigning champions ended in a tame
rain-affected draw. After centuries by Burns and Elgar, Surrey looked set for a
healthy first innings lead against Somerset until Lewis Gregory led a
late-order counter-attack. He struck five sixes on the way to 129 not out as his
side surged to 399 all out and took a couple more wickets as Surrey ensured
there were no calamities.
Somerset
remain top but Yorkshire and Hampshire both won to close the gap. At Canterbury,
Ollie Robinson’s 103 propelled Kent into a winning position after two days
before Gary Ballance turned the tables with his 159 and Ben Coad’s final day 6-52
closed the deal. Hampshire sit just a point behind after whacking Warwickshire at
Edgbaston by 314 runs. Tom Alsop top-scored while all the bowlers chipped in as
the Midlanders suffered their second successive defeat.
Nottinghamshire
also endured their second defeat of the season so far. Essex crushed them by
eight wickets inside three days at Chelmsford, thanks largely to Simon Harmer’s
eight wickets. Nick Browne was the only man to reach 50 in the whole match.
In Division Two, my wildcard tip for a
possible promotion, Durham, made it three losses out of three, going down by
five wickets at Worcester. Charlie Morris and Josh Tongue did most of the
damage with the ball then, despite Chris Rushworth’s defiant five-for,
Worcestershire limped to their meagre target of 81. Lancashire also maintained
their 100% record, demolishing Northants by ten wickets at Old Trafford.
Against his previous county, late-developer Richard Gleeson claimed five
wickets in each innings, and the home side won with almost a day to spare.
At Lord’s Middlesex looked to have a
slight edge over Leicestershire but, with Colin Ackermann’s runs and Mohammad
Abbas restored to the attack, the visitors easily avoided defeat and were only
eighty-odd away from snatching a surprise victory. The other fixture also ended
in a draw but history was made when Glamorgan played their first senior game at
Newport’s Spytty Park since 1965. Spectators would have admired the Welsh
county’s day three recovery from the follow-on, as Selman and Labuschagne took
them to 364-1 en route for a match-saving 481-8 declared. Gloucestershire even
lost six wickets on the final afternoon but clung on against a none-too-strong
attack.
Gloucestershire must fancy their
chances this coming week against Durham but in Manchester, at least one of the
leading pair must relinquish their 100% start, as Worcestershire travel to
Lancashire for what already appears to be a key promotion clash. In the higher
division, top plays bottom at Taunton in the form of Somerset v Warwickshire
while a Hampshire triumph over Notts could advance them into pole position.
Team of the
Week: Burns (Sur), Selman (Gla), Alsop (Ham +), Ballance (Yor), Bracey (Glo),
Higgins (Glo), Gregory (Som), Harmer (Ess), Morris (Wor), Gleeson (Lan),
Rushworth (Dur)
