The Group 2 leaders Hampshire and Gloucestershire met at Southampton and, bolstered by tons from Holland and Alsop, it was the home side who looked set for a resounding victory on the final afternoon. However, with one-day specialist Iain Cockbain showing the necessary grit, final pair Josh Shaw and Exeter undergraduate Dominic Goodman then held on for eighteen overs, withstanding everything Abbott, Abbas, Crane et al could throw at them.
They still occupy the top two positions despite Somerset buncing back to defeat Leicestershire. Craig Overton starred with the ball, his 5-25 ensuring Abell and Lammonby had a relatively straightforward run chase. In the other fixture, Middlesex clinched London bragging rights, sweeping aside Surrey’s stars by ten wickets at Lord’s. Old hands Tim Murtagh and Toby Roland Jones did most of the damage with the ball.
In Group 1, Warwickshire have clear water at the top, handing Essex a rare Championship defeat at Edgbaston. After three even days, you’d be forgiven for expecting Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer to rip through the home team on day four but you’d be wrong. 21 year-old Robert Yates ended on 120 not out, supported by Hain and Vihari confounding expectations.
Worcestershire were in the driving seat for most of their game against Nottinghamshire, thanks to century partnerships for the first and eighth wickets. After following on, Notts openers Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed dug throughout the last day to ensure a draw. The openers duly achieved stands of more than a hundred in each innings and Hameed’s two innings spanned well over thirteen hours and a record 635 balls. Nice to see him find form after three fallow years.
Batsmen were dominant, too, at Chester-le-Street. Durham were given a cracking start by South African right-hander David Bedingham whose 257 not out inflated their first innings total to 475 and his first-class average to more than 50. Durham declined to enforce the follow-on and Wayne Madsen’s batsmen avoided mishap to avoid defeat quite easily.
The Roses bloomed in Group 3. At Canterbury, Lancashire trounced Kent by an innings. An eighth wicket stand of 187 by Wood and Lamb boosted the first innings total to 525 and despite a second innings 114 by Daniel Bell-Drummond, Lancashire pressed home their advantage. Matt Parkinson spun his way to 7-126 so the visitors didn’t need to bat again. Yorkshire also won, but in a much closer contest against Sussex. Dom Bess recorded his maiden five-for wearing the white rose to finish things off.
Glamorgan must have been gutted over losing at Northampton. Kiran Carlsen followed his pair of hundreds last week with two fifties, while skipper Chris Cooke stroked a first–innings 136. With James Harris back at his old county on loan, the Welsh had Northants on the ropes on 76-5 only for the lower order to launch a major recovery. They also declared to give themselves two and a half sessions to bowl the home team out only for Ricardo Vasconcelos and Rob Keogh to share a 239-run partnership, not only staving off defeat but also to help surpass the unlikely target of 355.
The next round of fixtures should see Hampshire and Gloucestershire widening the gap on the rest in Group 2 by beating Surrey and Leicestershire, respectively. West Midland rivals Warwickshire and Worcestershire go head to head at Edgbaston while in Group 3, Lancashire look to tighten their grip with victory over Sussex.
Team of the Week: Slater (Not), Hameed (Not),
Vasconcelos (Nor), Bedingham (Dur), Keogh (Nor), Cooke (Gla +), Higgins (Glo),
Roland-Jones (Mid), Bess (Yor), C Overton (Som) M Parkinson (Lan)
