County Cricket: Gay Day for Durham, Gloucester find Form

It was a strange week, results-wise. All four Division One fixtures were drawn, but all three in Division Two had a positive outcome – apart from the losers, of course! 

In the higher echelon, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire met at Trent Bridge for the chance to displace Somerset from the top spot. As elsewhere, batters were largely in the ascendancy. Ed Barnard (165) and Chris Woakes (64, 3-44) ensured Notts had to follow on, but the home side managed to bat out almost two days for the draw meaning Warwickshire leapfrogged Somerset by a single point. Haseeb Hameed followed his first-innings duck with a ton, Kyle Verreynne made 115, and both Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke added their second half-centuries of the match. 

There were five centuries at The Oval, and Essex opener Dean Elgar almost scored two. Surrey’s Dan Lawrence contributed 125 and three tail-enders in seven balls but Elgar and Westley spent almost fifty overs together on the final day. Batting was so easy that even wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was given a couple of overs, conceding just seven. 

At Headingley, both Yorkshire and Sussex racked up 500+ totals, including 136 for John Simpson and a 182 partnership between the Tykes’ Finlay Bean and Doncaster-born Aussie Sam Whiteman. A Simpson catch curtailed Joe Root’s innings four short of three figures but he then spent hours spinning his way to 3-67 although the draw was nailed on.  The same was true at Cardiff. In the battle of the new arrivals, Glamorgan racked up a decent 440 only for Leicestershire to establish a lead of 146, with the aid of centuries by Jonathan Tattersall and Jake Weatherald, who retired hurt on 104. 

They host Notts later this week, and Hampshire welcome Glamorgan, with neither yet to register a victory. Surrey are also winless so far and meet Sussex, while Somerset take on second-bottom Yorkshire. 

There may haven been little to satisfy the purists, or bowlers, in the top tier but it was totally different lower down. After being tonked three times already, Gloucestershire not only earned their first bonus points of the campaign but also proceeded to defeat Derbyshire by ten wickets. Miles Hammond top-scored with 145 but much of the damage was inflicted by Gloucester’s numbers nine and ten, Henry Brookes and Will Williams. Both narrowly missed out on hundreds but their 191-run ninth-wicket partnership very nearly knocked WG Grace off the records. Williams chipped in with five wickets, too. 

For the first three days, it was an exciting contest at Chester-le-Street, where leaders Lancashire were looking good for a third win of the season. Marcus Harris struck 146 on Friday, and James Anderson delayed his second innings declaration until ex-Durham all-rounder Paul Coughlin reached three figures by stumps on Sunday. It wouldn’t have mattered. Second time around, Emilio Gay and David Bedingham found batting a breeze, putting on 290 for the third wicket at a cracking pace. There’s now talk of Gay being called up for England this summer, which is probably the kiss of death to his career. 

Worcestershire made short work of Kent at New Road, where Garth Roderick took nine catches behind the stumps and seamer Tom Taylor claimed 5-56 to hasten Kent’s demise. The latter now encounter Derbyshire, and Durham will cement their position in the promotion hunt by beating Middlesex. 

Team of the Week:- Elgar (Ess), Gay (Dur), Hammond (Glo), Harris (Lan), Clarke (Not), Lawrence (Sur), Barnard (War), Simpson (Sus +), Raine (Dur), Willliams (Glo), T Taylor (Glo)

Two Sams Stoke County Heatwave

At the start of the week, the UK’s temperature records were tumbling all over the shop. County cricket then took up the reins and several of the sport’s long-standing peaks were also consigned to history.

Amongst them was the number of catches in a Championship fixture. Kent’s wicketkeeper-captain Sam Billings pouched no fewer than twelve against Warwickshire. Joe Denly’s century and Matt Milne’s clinching 4-11 may have stood out in Kent’s push for victory at Edgbaston but when the batters edged, Billings pounced – again and again.

In Division Two, winless Leicestershire had reason to be cheerful having notched an impressive 584 in their first outing. Two days later that total was in the record books for the wrong reasons – as the highest first innings total anywhere in the world achieved by a team losing by an innings! Glamorgan’s reply began horribly as the openers were gone with the score at just 9. Enter Sam Northeast. The 32 year-old has been in fine form lately but who could have predicted his side would declare at lunch on the fourth day with him unbeaten on 410? He shared a triple-century stand with Colin Ingram and 461 for the sixth wicket with Chris Cooke, a Championship record. His personal score is the highest in the competition in my lifetime, and the team total of 795-5 obliterated Glamorgan’s all-time best. With only two sessions remaining, I assumed skipper David Lloyd would let the pair continue and allow Northeast a shot at Lara’s 501 but, in a decision of astonishing foresight and faith in Michaels Neser and Hogan, he made Leicester bat again, and they slumped to 183 all out. Maybe it was a bowler’s track after all….

There was another 400+ partnership at Derby, where Nottinghamshire’s Hameed and Duckett put the home team’s bowlers to the sword. Despite Brooke Guest’s 109, Derbyshire were forced to follow on but ground out a final day draw. Middlesex and Sussex also failed to find a winner at Lord’s. Runs flowed merrily for the first three days, leaving no time to force a result. Sussex skipper Cheteshwar Pujara struck his third double-century of the season but John Simpson was one of numerous ‘keepers to reach three figures this week, and Tom Helm represented the bowlers’ union admirably.

In Division One, the leading counties all won to maintain the status quo. A blistering 150 not out by Will Jacks and eleven wickets from Dan Worrall handed the advantage to Surrey at home to Essex, while Hampshire remain hot on their heels thanks to a six-wicket triumph at Cheltenham. Gloucestershire’s Miles Hammond produced a brilliant 169 at second time of asking but the old Barker-Abbott double-act cleaned up all ten wickets, leaving the batters just enough overs to earn the sixteen extra points.

At Northampton on Wednesday, a seven-nation army couldn’t have held Jack White back. He took 5-11 but Lancashire turned the tables with fine bowling by Tom Bailey and Kiwi Will Williams, then a Josh Bohannon ton. Warwickshire may be county champions but Kent kept them in a worrying eighth place with the aforementioned result, while Rain prevented Somerset from pressing home their advantage over Yorkshire and escaping the relegation zone.

Next week’s fixtures, the last before proper cricket takes a long summer break, sees Surrey probably adding to Warwickshire’s pressure, but Gloucestershire have a decent opportunity to end their season’s duck against Northants in front of the Cheltenham Festival crowds. It’s festival time, too, at Scarborough, where Yorkshire host title-chasing Hampshire. In the second tier, Glamorgan have six weeks in which to bask in the afterglow of all those records while Gloucestershire have the unenviable trip to Trent Bridge. Middlesex will go second by defeating Durham.

Team of the Week: Hameed (Not), Duckett (Not), Pujara (Sus), Northeast (Gla), Mulder (Lei), Cooke (Gla), Billings (Ken +), Milnes (Ken), Worrall (Sur), Williams (Lan), J White (Nor)