County Cricket: Cox Leads Essex Charge to the Top

It was a great return to first-class cricket for some of England’s finest wicketkeeper-batsmen, some of whom had a major influence on the positions at the congested summit of the County Championship. 

Jordan Cox prepared for his Test debut by pinging a double-century for Essex against Leicestershire, which propelled his county from fourth to first in Division One, although Paul Walter’s second-innings 110 laid the foundation for Essex’s last-day run chase. 

They benefited from a rare home defeat for Nottinghamshire at the hands of a resurgent Somerset. Another England debutant, James Rew notched another fifty, but it was his younger bother Thomas who struck his own maiden ton to follow a 68. 24-year-old South African opener Jordan Hermann also weighed in with his first Somerset century, while it was Craig Overton’s 5-29 which polished off the champions’ miserable match, losing by 306 runs. 

Yorkshire skipper Jonny Bairstow added another two half-centuries to his tally, while opening bat Will Luxton, thirteen years his junior, helped himself to 236 runs in the draw with Warwickshire, including a fine 167, his inaugural three-figure score in first-class cricket. His opponents were nowhere near reaching their fourth-day target, and were eight wickets down at the close. Sam Hain occupied the crease for well over four hours for his 69, which ultimately thwarted the Roses’ attack. 

At Hove, Sussex registered their fourth victory, finishing just a point behind Essex and two ahead of Somerset. They hammered Glamorgan by an innings, inspired by James Coles, who combined a career-best 224 not out with a decisive 3-34 in Glamorgan’s second innings which started well but ended with a whimper. 

Sussex now entertain neighbours Hampshire, while Somerset welcome Warwickshire to Taunton and reigning champs Nottinghamshire travel south to face the pretenders at Chelmsford. 

Durham remain clear in Division Two after thumping Derbyshire inside three days. Their total of 377 wasn’t massive but first Kasey Aldridge (5-19), then Matt Potts (8-66) broke any Derby hopes of rescuing a draw. Harry Came could at least hold his head high in defeat, carrying his bat for 105 over 95 overs and six hours. 

Northamptonshire kept in touch by handing Gloucestershire their sixth loss in the season so far. How they would welcome the return of Kane Williamson, whom I recall being interviewed on the regional news programme in Bristol fifteen years or so ago as a raw teenager learning his trade in a foreign land. Like everyone, I was shocked to read of his sudden international retirement in the middle of New Zealand’s Test series in England. Definitely one of the modern greats. Anyway, another of the week’s former England glovemen, James Bracey returned to form, his second-innings 148 not out ensuring Northants had to bat again.  Saif Zaib and Nathan McSweeney had made tons on day one but it was Calvin Harrison’s rapid unbeaten 92 on day four which clinched the winning bonus. 

Kent sit third after eclipsing Lancashire at Blackpool by 140 runs. Twenty-two wickets fell on the first day and Liam Livingstone, on his first Championship outing for five years, claimed five of them. However, in the final analysis, it was the Kent seamers who stole the show. Keith Dudgeon took 6-21 as Lancashire slumped to 87 all out. The home batsmen fared better next time out but Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud claimed 6-69 to seal the win by 140 runs. 

Middlesex’s margin of victory over Worcestershire was one better at New Road. Luis Du Plooy compiled the only three-figure score of the game, and Pakistan’s one-Test wonder Zafar Gohar enjoyed the best bowling figures with 6-31. Middlesex and Kent meet at Canterbury tomorrow, while the top two fight it out at Chester-le-Street. If he can stay out of the pub long enough, Ben Stokes is expected to get some batting practice for Durham. 

Team of the Week:-  Hermann (Som), Luxton (Yor), Cox (Ess), Coles (Sus), Du Plooy (Mid), T Rew (Som), Bracey (Glo +), C Overton (Som), Zafar Gohar (Mid), Potts (Dur), Hasan Mahmud (Ken)

County Cricket: Surrey surge but Somerset Still Top

Most of this week’s Vitality Blast action focussed on the South group where Somerset had been unbeaten. After almost three weeks without an individual century, we witnessed two, both scored by Kent openers albeit in different fixtures. 

Indeed, it was Kent who spoiled Somerset’s 100% record. Daniel Bell-Drummond’s 49-ball hundred dominated a 158-run opening stand with Tawanda Muyeye (70) as the Spitfires racked up 228-5. The Westcountrymen aren’t fazed by a challenging chase, and Toms Banton and Kohler-Cadmore set about the task in typical fashion. Joey Evison strangled the middle-order and, although Dickson and Green tried their best, and Craig Overton launched the last ball for six, Somerset fell four runs short. 

Kent again topped 200 on Friday, this time at Chelmsford. It was Muyeye’s turn to score exactly 100 but, with only Simon Harmer’s seven sixes to cheer the home crowd, Matt Parkinson’s 5-23 hastened Essex’s seventh defeat of the campaign. Meanwhile, Somerset did bounce back with victories over Hampshire and Glamorgan. Riley Meredith was the pick of the bowlers, taking eight across the three games. 

Surrey surged into second place thanks to a trio of wins, each achieved easily after batting first. With an international top six, they could hardly fail, and it was Will Jacks who stole the show, including a 56-dellivery 97 against a miserable Middlesex. Sussex lie third, falling to Surrey but beating Glamorgan in Cardiff. Interestingly, all fifteen wickets to fall were either caught or stumped. Pakistan international spinner Imad Wasim may be Swansea-born but only this week did he make his Glamorgan T20 debut, finishing the week with five cheap wickets. 

There were three particularly exciting tight finishes. Needing ten from the final over bowled by Tom Helm, Essex could nick only eight, Noah Thain failing to find the crucial boundary. In the North Group, the Bears were involved in not one but two real nail-biters. At Edgbaston, Nottinghamshire needed seventeen off the concluding over. Daniel Sams whacked a couple of sixes, leaving the scores level with one ball remaining. Notts ‘keeper Tom Moores thought ‘what the hell’ and cleared the boundary to win by six wickets. At the same ground a few days later, neighbours Worcestershire popped over the border to contest a desperately close, low-scoring affair. Dan Mousley took 4-19 and the home team required only 135 to win. However, wickets fell regularly and it was left to Sam Hain to shepherd the tail to the finishing line. But could he do it? At 132-9 after nineteen overs, they required three while Matthew Waite scented blood. The Bears didn’t suffer another last-minute defeat as Hain struck the decisive single off the third ball.   

Northamptonshire retained their position at the top despite losing to Notts and there are now three teams queuing up behind them just four points adrift. Durham are one of them, picking up consecutive successes against Yorkshire. Last Sunday, Matthew Potts (5-17) starred at York while the Chester-le-Street encounter featured a genuine team effort, the winning margin being 63 runs. 

Still plenty to play for, but players must curb their crazy ramps and cow-corner heaves for the next few weeks. The Championship is back (hooray!), and leaders Notts welcome back red-ball specialists like Hameed, Slater and Abbas for the visit of Yorkshire. Surrey travel to lowly Worcestershire, Sussex to Durham, while Somerset and Warwickshire meet for the opportunity to go second or third. Essex hope to begin rescuing their sticky summer at home to Hampshire. 

In the second flight, surprise package Leicestershire look to extend their lead by beating Glamorgan, who themselves were in good form before the June hiatus. Basement clubs Kent and Lancashire come together at the Blackpool seaside. 

Team of the Week:- Muyeye (Ken), Bell-Drummond (Ken), Jacks (Sur), Smeed (Som), Rehan Ahmed (Lei), S Curran (Sur), Moores (Not +), Potts (Dur), Evison (Ken), Singh Dale (Glo), M Parkinson (Ken)

County Cricket: The Surrey and Somerset Show

 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)

Potts boiling for Durham

While mourners queued to mourn the late Queen and the counties lined up to attack Andrew Strauss’s plan to systematically destroy county cricket to preserve the precious Hundred, the Championship served up more intrigue as the season approaches its finale. 

In Division One, Surrey’s bid to put daylight between them and Hampshire was thwarted by Northamptonshire. Centuries by Emilio Gay and the reliable Rob Keogh kept them in the game before tons from Hashim Amla and Tom Curran gave the visitors a first-innings advantage. Saif Zaib, restored to the side after a few decent scores for the Second XI, proceeded to strike a vital 129 as Northants batted on to ensure the draw which almost certainly keeps them in the top tier next season. 

Lancashire didn’t play this week but their task of catching the leading pair was made harder thanks to a six-point penalty imposed because of persistent indiscipline. Essex moved to within four points of them after a nail-biting conclusion to their match at Headingley. Needing only 162 to win on the third day, Ben Coad and Steven Patterson looked to have delivered Yorkshire a much-needed victory only for bowler Shane Snater to fight fire with fire and take a one-wicket win with an unbeaten 65. 

Warwickshire and Somerset met in a must-not-lose encounter at Edgbaston. In that respect, both can consider themselves content because it ended in a draw, although Somerset needed to take only four more wickets. Tom Abell (87) and George Bartlett (111) put them in command but Warwickshire’s Sibley, Davies and Hain each passed 50 to save the game. 

Next week, Warwickshire will expect to leap out of the relegation positions by beating winless Gloucestershire while Somerset face a tricky home clash with Northants. Kent travel to Hampshire so I reckon the summer-ending Kent v Somerset fixture will decide who goes down with Gloucestershire. I can’t take the stress…. 

In Division Two, Nottinghamshire are well clear of the rest, but Middlesex overtook Glamorgan in second spot after thrashing them at Lord’s by ten wickets. Opener Mark Stoneman top-scored with a first-innings 128 while Toby Roland-Jones and new recruit Ryan Higgins also chipped in with useful wickets. 

Durham claimed only their second first-class success of the season at Leicester, wrapping it up by seven wickets early on the last morning. Michael Jones was the pick of the batsmen but the undoubted star was Matthew Potts. After his early form and sensational England debut, he has been very quiet since, but this week he destroyed Leicester with a career-best match return of 13-101, those 13 wickets greater than his aggregate tally achieved since June. Meanwhile, at Hove, Leach and Gibbon reduced Sussex to 23-5 on the first morning before they recovered to reach 220. Worcestershire’s first pair almost beat that on their own and Jake Libby proceeded to an unprecedented 215. Second time around, the home county showed more batting gumption and Tom Alsop’s 132 not out saw them too safety. 

Notts next travel to Worcester, Middlesex head up the M1 to a dispirited Leicestershire while Glamorgan are at home to Derbyshire, who have an outside chance of promotion. However, it’s looking like Lord’s and Trent Bridge hosting Division One cricket in 2023, which will please the ECB no end. Will they pull up the drawbridge after them? 

Team of the Week: Gay (Nor), Libby (Wor), Amla (Sur), Hain (War), Keogh (Nor), Simpson (Mid +), Leach (Wor), Snater (Ess), Coad (Yor), Brooks (Som), Potts (Dur).