Warwickshire must have travelled down to Hampshire anticipating a real scrap but came away celebrating an innings over the former league leaders. It seems plain wrong to write about Ed Barnard and Chris Rushworth as Warwickshire players but both played important roles in this success. James Vince easily top-scored in both Hampshire innings and he was a lone wolf watching the carnage at the other end as Rushworth took 7-38.
There were other examples of extremely doughty day-four defence, this time preventing probable defeat. At Trent Bridge, Lancashire were heading for their first win of the summer, setting Nottinghamshire 295 in 67 overs and reducing them to 55-6, three of the wickets falling to George Balderson. In a match allowing England veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad some competitive bowling practice, it was Balderson and Brett Hutton whole stole the bowling honours. However, it was Broad’s unbeaten three in just under an hour which ultimately denied Lancashire that much-needed victory, building upon Hutton’s 23 in 141 balls. Who needs Baz-ball to generate excitement?
Leaders Surrey had to battle for a draw at Chelmsford, too, despite
Gus Atkinson’s eight Essex wickets. With Sibley, Burns, Pope and Jacks back in then
pavilion, and Simon Harmer twirling away, batsman Jamie Smith stonewalled
superbly for more than 2 ½ hours, leaving Essex three wickets short. At the
bottom, the order is unchanged as Somerset failed to hammer home a rare advantage
over Northamptonshire at Taunton. Tom Kohler-Cadmore upped the tempo for the
home side, smashing 130 at more than a run a ball but opposing skipper Sam
Whiteman wisely opted for a more cautious approach, batting throughout the
final day, also for 130, to prevent Somerset batting again.
Next week, Surrey welcome Middlesex across the Thames to The Oval and Warwickshire’s game against Essex promises to be a cracker.
In Division Two, all three fixtures were drawn. While Joe Root sits in an IPL dugout counting his cash, Jonny Bairstow had a rare outing for Yorkshire with bat and ‘keeper’s gloves watching Glamorgan’s Billy Root from behind. Glamorgan were generally on top, thanks to Michael Neser’s first-innings 7-32 and Marnus Labuschagne’s devastating170 not out to set Yorkshire an unlikely 492 target. The Aussie run machine even dared to catch Bairstow for a duck, but ex-England opener Adam Lyth showed it should be done crafting an excellent 174 from the front. However, defeat looked inevitable as the wickets tumbled but – hang on – Jordan Thompson was taking a leaf out of Bairstow’s book, punctuating defensive blocks with eleven fours and a six to end on 55, and the White Roses hanging on with the last pair at the crease.
At Worcester, all eyes were in another Australian warm-up performer, as Steve Smith made his Sussex debut. He scored 30 but his captain Cheteshwar Pujara eased his way to another ton. A third-day washout meant that a result was virtually impossible, especially when another Asian veteran, Azhar Ali, ground out an unbeaten 103. For all these runs, it was an English seamer who produced the week’s outstanding bowling performance. Not Anderson, not Broad, nor Woakes, but Ollie Robinson. The Sussex quick took seven wickets in each innings, a career-best match aggregate of 14-117.
He could well claim more victims in the next round, against Leicestershire, who struggled against Derbyshire in this week’s remaining game. Bowler Henry Brookes’ 6-20 was the most eye-catching turn. Derbyshire will be gunning for Gloucestershire next weekend while table-toppers Durham meet neighbours Yorkshire.
Team of the Week:- Lyth (Yor), Balderson (Lan), Whiteman (Nor), Pujara
(Sus), Vince (Ham), Labuschagne (Gla), Burgess (War +), Brookes (Der), Atkinson
(Sur), Robinson (Sus), Rushworth (War)
