With
the County Championship entering its final straight, three of the four Division
One games ended in victories by more than 200 runs. Crucially, the exception
was at Edgbaston where Essex were made to follow on. Warwickshire had racked up
517, helped by Matthew Lamb’s maiden century, making Essex’s chance of victory
almost impossible. Tom Westley’s second substantial score of the game did at
least prevent a defeat but events in Taunton must have left them frustrated.
It
was another low-scoring fixture in Somerset, but the home side’s second innings
left Yorkshire in dire straits. Craig Overton may have been absent with the
England squad but his replacement Josh Davey was inspired. His 3-30 and 5-21
were integral to third-placed Yorkshire twice being skittled for little more
than 100. Their 19 points was enough to move ahead of Essex by eight points.
Unless Somerset beat Hampshire next week and Essex lose at home to Surrey – an
unlikely combination of events – the title will be decided in a
winner-takes-all at Taunton in a fortnight. My heart won’t stand it, and I’ll
be in Portugal on holiday when it happens!
Hampshire
met Surrey at Southampton this week and it was the champions came off the worse.
It was even-stevens after the first innings. Rikki Clarke took 5-21 and Keith
Barker 4-38 but when Hampshire batted second, no fewer than five players struck
half-centuries, led by a rapid 91 by James Vince. However, it was their 20
year-old opener Felix Organ who clinched the match – with the ball. His
part-time leg-breaks clamed 5-25 as Surrey slumped to 151 all out.
At
the other end of the table, Nottinghamshire were relegated after Kent
demolished them at Trent Bridge. Ravi Ashwin may have taken nine wickets spread
over 50 overs but Kent’s star of the show was that wily all-rounder, Darren Stevens. He scored
88 and took 10-92 in the match to send Notts back to the second tier with two
fixtures yet to play. They are the only county not to have won in the Championship. Even Leicestershire have one
triumph to their name.
It
didn’t happen this week, though. Northamptonshire advanced to a clear second
place by winning at Grace Road by seven wickets. Richard Keogh top-scored with
132. Lancashire are assured of promotion, defeating Derbyshire by an innings at
Old Trafford inside three days. Josh Bohannon’s 174, his first Championship
century, set it up, and the bowlers did the rest to ensure an immediate return
to the top tier.
Sussex
dealt Gloucestershire’s surprising top three hopes a blow, inflicting an eight-wicket
thumping at Bristol. Just about every member of the eleven contributed with
runs and/or wickets. Durham schlepped down to Lord’s and came away with a
44-run success. Suddenly they, too, are in the hunt, for which they have Ben
Raine (5-26) and South African paceman Brydon Carse (6-26) to thank. Should
they beat Northants next week, they will have undertaken a remarkable
turnaround and could find themselves a win over Glamorgan away from the
rarified atmosphere of Division One.
Worcestershire’s
mediocre first-class season improved slightly at New Road where Glamorgan
succumbed inside three days. Daryl Mitchell hasn’t been in the runs for a while
but struck a welcome second-innings 139. Moeen Ali enjoyed another red-ball outing
but it will be at the T20 Finals Day where his time may yet come in 2019.
