County Cricket: Procter’s Lotta Runs, Sussex Success

Big totals and career bests peppered the domestic cricket scoreboards this week, while Sussex made it two out of two. They were second-best at home to Warwickshire, although Fynn Hudson-Prentice took six wickets to keep their final-day target within reach. An unbeaten sixth-wicket stand of 144 between Jack Leaning and Tom Price saw them home. 

However, thanks to their pre-season points deduction, they sit third behind Somerset and Nottinghamshire. The former came away from Chelmsford a day early with a ten-wicket victory against the county which has pipped them to the title in recent years. Controversially, they invoked new injury substitution rules not once but twice. Fresh from plundering runs for the Second XI, white ball specialist Will Smeed made his first-class debut but it was stand-in skipper Craig Overton who stole the show. In addition to four wickets, he crashed his highest score of 141 to establish a lead that Essex failed to dent. 

Champions Nottinghamshire got off the mark with a 192-run victory over promoted Glamorgan at Trent Bridge. Fergus O’Neill and Brett Hutton each took four first-innings wickets, then Joe Clarke (136) pressed home their advantage to set the Welsh side an improbable target of 478. Tribe and Crane offered some resistance until left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White mopped up the tail. Having suffered badly in the opening fixture, Hampshire recovered to hammer Yorkshire at Headingley. Jake Lehmann, son of Aussie star Darren, scored 76 and 92, but it was their South African stalwart, Kyle Abbott, who produced his latest Team of the Week performance, with match figures of 10-70. 

At The Oval, Surrey looked good for success against Leicestershire, as Jamie Smith and Ollie Pope each notched welcome tons. However, their achievements were placed into perspective by the opposition’s reply. Opener Rishi Patel (164), ‘keeper Ben Cox and new recruit Stevie Eskinazi all made centuries of their own to boost the team total to 691. However, the bat-friendly pitch ensured there would be no fourth-day collapse by Surrey, and the current England pair added 80+ to their names to secure a draw. 

Sussex and Notts now have a blank week, so Somerset could open up a significant lead should they beat Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. 

In Division Two, Gloucestershire’s miserable start continued, again failing to register a single bonus point with bat or ball. They lost another game by an innings, this time by Durham. Ex-England under-19 captain Ben McKinney scored 244 and shared a triple-century partnership with Alex Lees, which was almost as many as Gloucester could manage in both innings. 

Northamptonshire’s batting was even more extraordinary. Their top four batsmen racked up a humungous aggregate of 684-2 and may well have reached a thousand without a declaration. Captain Luke Procter called time when unbeaten on 264, and was rewarded when Harry Conway claimed 5-36 as Kent’s batting fell apart. Following on, Ben Compton scratched together 114 but Kent really avoided defeat courtesy of the wet weather which descended on Canterbury on Monday. 

Jimmy Anderson was at it again, adding six wickets to his season’s tally, including a decisive 4-18 to complete an exciting 29-run success against Derbyshire. Marcus Harris also contributed 191 runs to the Red Rose cause. In the other match, there were no centuries and only three fifties as Worcestershire narrowly beat Middlesex. It seems strange seeing Oliver Hannon-Dalby out of the Warwickshire side but the 36-year-old seamer was the pick of Worcester’s attack, while the ever-reliable Jake Libby top-scored with 79. Later this week, Middlesex face the Northants run machine, while Gloucestershire must hope to leap out of the traps for a change against Lancashire to prevent another capitulation. 

Team of the Week:-  Procter (Nor), McKinney (Dur), J Smith (Sur), Pope (Sur), Lehmann (Ham), Cox (Lei +), C Overton (Som), Abbott (Ham), Hudson-Prentice (Sus), Conway (Nor), Anderson (Lan)

Surrey’s Revenge

In the final round of fixtures before the Championship breaks for the summer, and the counties split between the One-Day Cup and Hundred, Surrey kept their title defence in firs-class order, wreaking revenge on their T20 conquerors Somerset. 

As has been the order of things on 2023, July ended in a wet weekend, motivating teams to wrap up victories before the covers came on. Three of the Division One matches ended a day early, as bowlers took charge. At Taunton, there were no centurions, but both Tom Latham and Will Jacks were dismissed on 99 as Surrey reached 398 all out. Although Matt Henry took 6-88, it proved a tight contest between the opposing Overton twins. Craig biffed five sixes to prevent an innings defeat but Jamie took the bowling honours in a ten-wicket triumph. 

At Southampton, Essex consolidated their second place behind Surrey by beating close rivals Hampshire by six wickets. Nick Gubbins’ 45 was the highest score of the match as Essex pacer Jamie Porter claimed a couple of five-fors and the home side’s Kyle Abbott ended with match stats of 6-60. Up at Edgbaston, runs were also hard to come by, not only for Middlesex bit a;so Warwickshire, who were bowled out by Ethan Bamber (5-20) et al for a mediocre 60. MIddlesex scrambled a six-wicket win but one statistical quirk stood out for me. In the first Middlesex innings, all four Warwickshire bowlers conceded exactly 49 runs, and three had identical figures of 3-49. I wonder how often that has happened?! 

Trent Bridge enjoyed more action, although Kent probably didn’t have as much fun as Nottinghamshire, who stormed to a 321-run winning margin. Opener Ben Slater scored 100 and 85 in a game which was close for a couple of days, then Brett Hutton (4-44) and Dane Paterson (5-41) swept Kent aside on the fourth afternoon. In the other game, Lancashire looked likely to inflict a seventh defeat on Northamptonshire. Wells, Bohannon and Salt each made tons in a Bazball-esque total of 544-7 declared but the visitors showed some welcome backbone in adversity. Following his 207 partnership with Emilio Gay in the first innings, captain Luke Procter dug in for a 130-minute 27 not out as his side played out a hundred overs, losing only five wickets in the process. 

In Division Two, Yorkshire suffered the double-blow of a 48-point deduction as punishment for their institutional racism and a two-day washout at Scarborough. Adam Lyth had time to score another century but Durham’s in-form Alex Lees was left high and (metaphorically) dry on 66. 

Worcestershire moved within forty points of Durham courtesy of a 110-run success over Gloucestershire on a bat-friendly Cheltenham wicket. Gloucester’s two sets of brothers were heavily involved, notably Oliver Price’s 115 and a determined second-innings stand of 95 shared by Jack (98) and Matt (49 not out) Taylor. However, facing a daunting final day target of 422, they fell between two stools and were all out for 311. 

At Derby, Glamorgan again showed they can amass a decent total. The veteran Colin Ingram led the way with 136 out of 521-8 declared. Derbyshire’s openers made a fine response, Harry Came and Luis Reece putting on 165, before the wheels came off and Glamorgan enforced the follow-on. Second time around, there was to be no middle-order collapse, because the middle-order never got the chance to bat. Came and Reece glided serenely past 100, 200, 300, and captain Du Plooy called time only after Reece had achieved his maiden double-century. Their 360 shattered the previous Derbyshire first-wicket record and also dented Glamorgan’s promotion hopes. They will have to show patience before meeting second-place Worcestershire in their next Championship fixture in September. 

Team of the Week:- Gay (Nor), Reece (Der), Slater (Not), Salt (Sur +), Ingram (Gla), Procter (Nor), Higgins (Mid), Abbott (Ham), Hutton (Not), Bamber (Mid), Porter (Ess)