In
the other top fight fixture, last year’s champions Surrey finally notched their
first Championship win of the summer, overcoming Warwickshire by 74 runs. As in
Essex, there were no centuries, but Mark Stoneman aggregated 104 across both
innings. Sam Curran added a 52 and five wickets while Ben Foakes claimed five
catches and a couple of stumpings. Surrey now face Yorkshire, Somerset meet the
team they beat in the RLOC final, Hampshire and Essex have the easier
challenge, playing bottom county Nottinghamshire.
There
were three Division Two encounters, after which Glamorgan are unexpected
leaders. Beaming with confidence, they nipped across the Severn to Bristol and
returned bearing 21 points, enough to overtake Lancashire, although the latter
have one game fewer. Labuschagne was again in the runs and the evergreen Aussie
Michael Hogan took seven Gloucestershire wickets.
There
were changes at the other end of the table, too. Sussex were shocked by lowly
Durham at Hove, and it wasn’t even close. Cameron Bancroft struck 158 in the
first innings and Alex Lees 143 in the second, before Ben Raine polished off the
home team with 6-27, aided inevitably by Chris Rushworth. Remarkably this
leaves Middlesex at the foot of the whole shebang.
The
weather was less kind in the East Midlands, where Northamptonshire and
Leicestershire couldn’t fashion a result. Mohammad Abbas (3-49 and 3-39) looked
the classiest bowler on display, while Leicester’s opener Hassan Azad scored
92, taking his fledging first-class average above 50.
Northants
now meet struggling Sussex, Worcestershire are next up for the Glammies and
Durham will be fortunate to make it two in two because they face promotion
favourites Lancashire. But anything can happen. Just ask Middlesex!
Team of the
Week: Bancroft (Dur), Cook (Ess), Lees (Dur), Labuschagne (Gla), Wakeley (Nor),
Eckersley (Dur +), Gregory (Som), Raine (Dur), Porter (Ess), Beard (Ess),
Hogan(Gla)
