County Cricket: Abell Somerset Pipped to the Title again

For a Somerset supporter, it’s a tired, weary refrain but, like so many other years in the past two decades, 2026 brought great hopes of that maiden Championship crown only for them to be dashed in the last couple of weeks. For much of the summer, it has looked like a two-horse race. Essex and Surrey were in the frame early on, and Warwickshire had their noses in front for a week in April but for most of the season, Somerset and Nottinghamshire have been nose to nose. 

Yorkshire have not had the best campaigns but they ended up playing a major role in deciding the fate of the Championship pennant. Not only did they do the double over Somerset but also nicked their match at Trent Bridge, derailing the Notts charge. Credit to Warwickshire for coming up on the rails with three consecutive victories. 

This week, the long-time candidates knew the race was run once Warwickshire had already established a first-innings lead against Leicestershire at the end of day one. Usually it is Oliver Hannon-Dalby topping the wickets table but this season, it is the equally unsung Ethan Bamber who has been a revelation with the ball, ending the season with another nine wickets. Sam Hain also finished strongly, capping a supreme September with 142. 

Nottinghamshire seemed to have the edge on Yorkshire but when Ben Coad and Jack White left their second innings in tatters at 85 all out, the tide was turning. Yet Notts were not yet defeated. Kiwi ‘keeper Mitch Hay was busy with six catches and a stumping but, with wickets tumbling, Jonny Bairstow went on the attack and won the game with his third six of the innings. 

So what about Somerset? The Taunton faithful were deflated as Dan Lawrence’s ton put old rivals Surrey in charge at stumps on Thursday. The home side simply had to rack up a massive total and hope to bowl them out twice. They came darned close, defied only by the Sunday rain. Saturday was a day of amazing batting achievements. Tom Lammonby hit a career-best 229 and shared a stand of 334 with Tom Abell, who produced a sensational ‘triple’ of his own, including four consecutive sixes off poor Ralphie Albert. He then put on 195 with a free-hitting Migael Pretorius (84) for the ninth wicket, a county record. The innings total of 731 was Somerset’s second highest ever. Reducing Surrey to 68-4, there was a chance that Leach and the seamers could still win the match but it was not to be. 

Sussex won the South Coast derby at Southampton against relegated Hampshire. Bowlers were generally in charge, especially Sussex’s Tom Price and Jaydev Unadkat, but skipper Tom Haines showed the home county what they had consistently failed to do all summer, scoring a decisive 130. Had they not been docked twelve points for their 2025 financial problems, Sussex would have finished above Somerset. 

Elsewhere, Glamorgan capped a surprisingly solid campaign with a commanding performance against Essex. Asa Tribe (184) and Kiran Carlson (107) pushed their first innings to 505 and opener Zain ul-Hassan weighed in with the ball; his medium-pacers yielding 5-14. Dean Elgar ended his first-class career with a battling 108 and a rapid 68 by George Bell saved the game. It was an end of an era at Cardiff, too, as their faithful middle-order also bowed out. Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke have been loyal servants for many years and Joe Root’s brother Billy also walked into the sunset with another fifty to his name. 

In Division Two, champions-elect Durham and Lancashire fought a weather-affected draw at Old Trafford. Emilio Gay ended the season as he began with 141, while the home side’s Josh Bohannon ended his 2026 drought with an unbeaten 190. Kent confirmed their promotion with an eight-wicket triumph over bottom county Gloucestershire. Ben Compton’s 126 and Matt Milnes’ nine wickets were the highlights. 

Like Bohannon, Ryan Higgins has not enjoyed the best domestic campaign but the Middlesex all-rounder left the best to last. Just days after his century against Leicestershire helped bring the One-Day Cup to Lord’s, he scored another – alongside a 4-30 bowling stint - as the North Londoners despatched Northants by seven wickets. 

Worcestershire finished above Derbyshire by beating them at New Road. In a low-scoring encounter, Matthew Waite struck the game’s only half-century, while Ben Allison produced match analyses of 11-64, surely one of the best bowling performances all year. 

Team of the Week: Lammonby (Som), Tribe (Gla), Bohannon (Lan), Hain (War), Abell (Som), Higgins (Mid), Bairstow (Yor +), T Price (Sus), Bamber (War), Milnes (Ken), Aliison (Wor)

Vince Convinces and Tom Price’s value soars

Hampshire cheated the rain by taking Northamptonshire to the cleaners inside three days. They thundered to the top of Division One by an innings and 270 and already look prime candidates for the Championship pennant, along with Surrey. Skipper James Vince and Nick Gubbins shared a third-wicket stand of 188, which is almost what Northants managed in total across both their innings. James Fuller took 6-37 in the first reply, then Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott swept the home side away for 63 all out. 

Middlesex had to work harder to beat Nottinghamshire, scoring at more than six an over in the afternoon gloom at Lord’s to earn a 4-wicket victory. Mark Stoneman was the pick of their batsmen but Ryan Higgins produced one of those doughty all-round performances that used to be his trademark at Gloucestershire. Pity poor Ben Duckett whose 184 runs came to nought. 

At Taunton, Lancashire had the better of Somerset, despite career-best scores by Tom Abell and teenage ‘keeper James Rew, who also took six catches in Lancashire’s mammoth first innings. Keaton Jennings had looked set to make a ‘double’ but retired hurt when on 189. An unbeaten partnership of 89 between Gregory and Aldridge ensured a draw. 

Previous wet weather and a final-day washout also prevented a result at Canterbury involving Kent and Essex. For the visitors, Nick Browne and Tom Westley put on 265 for the second wicket, while Zak Crawley helped himself to 170. The top two don’t play next week, so the winner of Warwickshire v Surrey will leapfrog both. 

All three Division Two fixtures were drawn, and runs were in short supply between the showers. Indeed, only two players reached three figures. Kiran Carlson’s 119 couldn’t prevent Glamorgan following on at home to leaders Durham, but his team-mates defied the aptly-named Ben Raine et al to save the match. At Worcester, Gloucestershire’s Tom Price achieved a remarkable double on Thursday. He smashed a maiden century, then claimed a hat-trick, all three victims caught behind by James Bracey. 

In the week’s other game, Yorkshire were stranded just 63 runs short of the Sussex target thanks to the Hove rain, with Adam Lyth and Shai Hope on half-centuries. In the next round, Durham will extend their lead handsomely by beating Derbyshire but, if not, Leicestershire will pounce with success at home to Glamorgan. 

Team of the Week:-  Crawley (Ken), Jennings (Lan), Duckett (Not), Vince (Ham), Abell (Som), Rew (Som +), Higgins (Mid), T Price (Glo), Fuller (Ham), Mohammad Abbas (Ham), Ajeet Dal (Glo)

Strange Results but it’s Surrey’s Title

I was on the holiday island of Ibiza last week, enjoying the unfamiliar surroundings of sun, sea, pine-clad hills, golden cliffs and super-yachts. But nothing was as bizarre as some of the cricket results leaping out at me from the internet, especially on Tuesday when the penultimate round of fixtures kicked off. 

Twenty-six wickets fell at Chelmsford and twenty-three at Southampton. I’d have anticipated title-chasing Hampshire to tear into Kent but it was the home side who were skittled for just 57 inside 17 overs, Matt Quinn taking 6-23. Kent skipper Jack Leaning tipped the scales back towards the batsmen with a century but, despite the efforts of Vince and Fuller the 378 target was always going to be beyond Hampshire. 

This defeat left Surrey clear to claim another Championship pennant at The Oval. They did so in style by thrashing Yorkshire who now face the possible ignominy of relegation. Ollie Pope’s 136 anchored Surrey’s first innings while the key bowlers were Aussie Dan Worrall and local teenager Tom Lawes. Rory Burns struck the winning boundaries and the crown was theirs to celebrate. 

Lancashire have an outside chance of finishing as runners-up after emerging victorious from the wild wicked bonanza in Essex. Simon Harmer, Tom Bailey and Shane Snater all improved their season’s averages but it was Lancashire’s George Balderson’s 5-14 and Will Williams’ 4-24 which proved decisive as Essex plunged to 59 all out, just 38 runs short. Alastair Cook’s 40 was the highest individual score, and surely the pitch inspectors will be publishing a critical report in the coming days. 

At the other end, Somerset produced a surprisingly emphatic 352-run victory at home to Northamptonshire, completing a welcome recovery from their dreadful start to the summer. Their fantastic run of top-tier cricket will continue in 2023, thanks largely to Tom Abell’s twin tons and Craig Overton’s seven wickets. What would we do without him? 

Warwickshire now find themselves in the bottom two, victims of already-relegated Gloucestershire’s first success of 2022. Dom Sibley gave the Midlanders a promising start but Jack Taylor and Zafar Gohar evened things out. Young medium-pacer Tom Price produced an outstanding 8-27 but Gloucester still faced a tricky target of 148. At 30-4 on a turning pitch, a ninth loss looked probable, only for a 97 partnership between Dent and Van Buuren to steady the listing ship. They may be heading straight back to Division Two but at least they have this result to console them, having already seen Ryan Higgins been loaned out to Middlesex. 

His new club have yet to ensure promotion, despite a hard-fought victory over poor Leicestershire who matched them all the way until the final morning. Toby Roland-Jones left them struggling at 13-4 but once Colin Ackermann was trapped LBW for 80, another defeat was inevitable. Middlesex could yet go up as champions should they beat Worcestershire, who dealt Nottinghamshire a sobering blow by an innings. Gareth Roderick top-scored with 102 and took seven catches behind the stumps.

Glamorgan are also in the frame after defeating Derbyshire. Captain David Lloyd became their second triple-centurion of the season as the Cardiff faithful witnessed them rack up a mighty 550-5 declared. Ajaz Patel and Timm van der Gugten shine with the ball but the loudest applause came for 41-year-old Michael Hogan as he left the Sophia Gardens field for the last time. His metronomic pace has been a feature of Glamorgan’s game for so long that he will be almost impossible to replace. 

There was another innings-victory at Chester-le-Street, with Durham comfortably beating Sussex. Four of their batsmen reached 80 without making three figures but none of the opposition managed even 40 in two attempts. Ben Raine was the stand-out bowler. If they repeat this performance at Trent Bridge they could deny Nottinghamshire the promotion that has looked nailed-on all summer. 

The Division One battle to avoid the drop goes to the wire. Kent host Somerset, Warwickshire face Hampshire and Yorkshire welcome Gloucestershire but it’s Warwickshire who have the trickiest task. They have to win and do what Kent did last week. Surely lightning won’t strike twice?