It was business as usual for Somerset, who booked a T20 Finals Day clash with Surrey before meeting their old rivals in a blockbuster Championship encounter, and what an extraordinary finale they served up.
The sides were neck-and-neck at the halfway stage, with Somerset’s Tom Banton the stand-out batsman, striking 132. Second time out, he was virtually wheeled out after the ninth wicket fell, a twisted ankle in the warm-up rendering him almost immobile. The gamble paid off. Alongside Craig Overton, he eked out another 46, setting the runaway leaders just 221 to win. However, Surrey made no effort to win, knowing that a draw against their main challengers would probably be sufficient to seal a third successive title. Batting long and deep, chock full of strokemakers, they instead chose top block as much as possible. Dom Sibley’s 67 had taken Surrey to the T20 semis and now crawled his way to another 50. With rain never far away, Somerset’s hopes on the final afternoon were fading fast. Yet spinners Jack Leach and teenager Archie Vaughan plugged away, and once the thirty-over Sibley-Foakes partnership was broken by Leach, the rest crumbled. With just minutes left, Worrell was trapped LBW and the spin duo completed another clean sweep of wickets. More importantly, Somerset could celebrate an incredible victory, reducing the gap to just eight points. Now the two counties meet again on Saturday….
At Canterbury, a combination of Tom Prest’s century and Kyle Abbott’s 5-46 meant Hampshire enforcing the follow-on against Kent but the home team didn’t make the same mistake. Jack Leaning (100) and Harry Finch (79) ate up the deficit and Hampshire had only nine overs at most to whack the 143 required, but Vince’s departure in the third over signalled an agreed draw.
Essex made short work of Nottinghamshire at Chelmsford. Tons by
Tom Westley and Michael Pepper were backed by the old Porter-Harmer axis but the
victors were deprived of third place by a twelve-point deduction ordered
because Feroze Khushi’s bat in an April fixture was deemed too wide.
Kent were already pretty much doomed and Lancashire loo favourites
to join them in Division Two next year after being crushed by an innings at Chester-le-Street.
David Bedingham achieved Durham’s highest individual score in the county’s
short history, making a brilliant 279. His 424-run partnership with Colin
Ackermann (186) was another record. England’s recalled paceman Matthew Potts
finished the job, taking 9-68.
In the rain-hit West Midlands derby, Worcestershire were in charge
before Warwickshire’s Will Rhodes frustrated the opposition’s attempts to press
on to a welcome win. The resulting draw makes both sides almost certainly safe
from the drop. Nottinghamshire need to beat Kent and hope Lancashire lose to
Somerset to breathe easily.
In Division Two, Sussex are almost assured of promotion after demolishing Glamorgan at Hove by an innings. A thin bowling attack enabled both Tom Clark and captain John Simpson to reach three figures with the Sussex bowlers sharing the glory. Simpson may be a veteran of 36 but 2024 has turned into a vintage year for his batting.
His old club Middlesex slipped out of the top two after losing a tense game at Lord’s. Gloucestershire moved into the ascendancy thanks to young debutant Archie Bailey’s 4-30, then a solid stand between Miles Hammond and James Bracey steered them to a four-wicket triumph. Bracey also stood out by claiming no fewer than eleven catches behind the stumps.
By thrashing Leicestershire at Grace Road, Yorkshire leapfrogged Middlesex and hold a thirteen-point advantage with two fixtures remaining. On the first morning, Coad and Fisher had their hosts squirming at 21-7. They recovered to 98 all out thanks to Ben Cox throwing his willow around but the game was always out of reach. Skipper Jonathan Tattersall reeled off an excellent 126, Fisher struck a career-best 88 then George Hill’s medium pace completed then rout.
Northamptonshire enjoyed their first success of the summer, overcoming bottom-placed Derbyshire by 133 runs. Spinners Rob Keogh and Yuzvendra Chahal did the damage, sharing seventeen wickets between them. Next week, Derby host promotion-chasing Middlesex while Yorkshire travel to Glamorgan. Both should win but bonus points could be crucial. So far, Middlesex have struggled in the first innings so need to put plenty of runs on the board.
Team of the Week:- Davies (War), Vaughan (Som), Rhodes (War),
Bedingham (Dur), Banton (Som), Tattersall (Yor), Bracey (Glo +), Abbott (Ham),
Potts (Dur), Taylor (Wor), Chahal (Nor)
