Week 4 Rothesay County Championship Review

With some damp weather preceding this round, the captains winning the toss in all five matches elected to bowl first and in four of these it led to wins, as the bowlers had much the better of conditions. One game finished inside two days and three inside three. In the first three rounds, when there has been predominantly dry weather, winning the toss in Division One matches has not had a significant impact on the result, while in Division Two, out of the five games ending in a positive result, four were won by the team that chose to bowl first. This may reflect the nature of the attacks in Division Two, relying on bowlers with less pace than those in Division One, and therefore need some extra help from the pitch. Given the desire for a reasonable balance between bat and ball and to encourage spin bowling, the playing condition whereby the visiting captain could choose to bowl first without a toss, used for four seasons from 2016, had merits.

In the top of the table clash between Nottinghamshire and Sussex, Sussex were put under pressure for the first time this season. Batting first, they were dismissed for 169, Oli Carter top scoring with 46, in his first appearance this year, having been called in as a replacement for Danny Lamb. Josh Tongue took 5/44 and Brett Hutton 4/53. It was then Haseeb Hameed’s 85 that formed the backbone of the Notts reply of 300, Ollie Robinson and Jayden Seales each taking four wickets. Despite an 89 run opening partnership between Tom Haines (64) and Daniel Hughes (25), Sussex struggled again in their second innings. John Simpson, with 74, was the major obstacle to the Notts bowlers, but he was last man out with the score on 278, leaving a target of 148 to win. Farhan Ahmed took 4/54, but his successes in Championship cricket are probably a handicap when it comes to England selection. Ben Slater was the only casualty in the chase, Hameed and Ben Duckett scoring 62 and 59 respectively, the runs coming off just 25.5 overs.

Somerset travelled to the Oval this week, and half centuries from Tom Lammonby (76) and Lewis Gregory (62) helped them to 283, Jordan Clark taking 5/68. In reply, Dom Sibley’s half century was his fifth in as many innings and he was as resolute as ever, putting on 98 with Rory Burns (76) for the first wicket. Further half centuries from Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence guided Surrey to 367 and a first innings lead of 84. Somerset were operating without Craig Overton, who was sidelined with a back problem. Sean Dickson had suffered a broken finger in the third over of the game so Tom Lammonby opened with Archie Vaughan, who was caught behind off Dan Worrall in the first over. It was somewhat of a surprise to see Josh Davey coming in at three, perhaps as lunchtime watchman, but none of the Somerset batters hung around for long as they were rolled over for just 119. Worrall and Clark both took four wickets, and Surrey were left needing just 36, reaching the total for the loss of two wickets. The win moves Surrey up into second place while Somerset are in danger of getting embroiled in the relegation battle.

Worcestershire suffered their third loss in a row, as they succumbed to Durham inside two days. Durham have had to call in some short term replacements due to injuries to seven of their bowlers, and it was one of those, Jake Ball who took 5/47, as Worcestershire were dismissed for 162. New recruit Henry Nicholls top scored with 42. This was the first game at New Road this summer, while clear up work has continued after the flooding that takes place on a regular basis, and the pitch was a seamers paradise. Four more wickets fell on day one as Durham were reduced to 55/4 and they only added another 81 runs on day two. Batting was getting no easier as Worcestershire were dismissed for 81 in their second innings, leaving the visitors needing just 108. Ben McKinney’s 34 proved crucial, as Durham got home by six wickets. The Pears are yet to earn a batting bonus point and will need a major turnaround to avoid relegation, whilst the first win of the season for Durham will be a major boost to morale.

In Division Two, Leicestershire continued their winning start to the season as they overcame Gloucestershire by two wickets at Bristol. Somerset loanee Ben Green notched his maiden first class five-wicket haul, as Leicestershire bowled out Gloucestershire for 252. James Bracey’s unbeaten 93 led Gloucestershire’s recovery from a perilous 88/7, assistance provided by 45 from Josh Shaw. Leicetsershire then established a 10 run first innings lead as Lewis Hill, Ian Holland and Ben Cox each made half centuries, while Dom Goodman matched Green with his first five-wicket return. Cox had retired hurt halfway through his innings following a blow to the chest, requiring a trip to hospital for a CT scan. The Foxes bowlers have made full use of early season conditions and a 78 run partnership between Cameron Bancroft (43) and Ollie Price (43) was the only significant contribution, as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 152 in their second innings. They lost eight wickets for 64 runs on the morning of day three, Josh Shaw the only other batter to reach double figures. Holland finished with 4/32 and Leicestershire were left needing 143. They did not get off to the best of starts as Rishi Patel and Rehan Ahmed were both dismissed by Goodman in the first over bowled either side of lunch. Goodman was on a roll, and two more quick wickets reduced the Foxes to 35/4, still needing 108. Shaw then removed Holland for two and it was 42/5. Peter Handscomb and Ben Cox halted the slide, but with 43 runs still needed, Ajeet Singh Dale bowled Handscomb for 26. Dale then dismissed Logan van Beek for 11, with the score on 118, but Cox was still there. However, with eight runs still needed he edged Dale to Bracey, out for 47. Green had put on 17 with Cox and he and Roman Walker were able to guide the Foxes home.

Derbyshire put together another solid batting display as they reached 472 in their first innings against Middlesex, having been put in on a hybrid pitch. Interestingly the Derbyshire camp claimed they would have chosen to bat first. David Lloyd reached 92, his highest score since September 2022 and Martin Andersson notched up the second century of the season for his new club, this time against his former employers. Nathan Fernandes was the leading bowler, with 3/53, his first wickets of the summer. The Derbyshire bowlers then kept the Middlesex batters tied down, and took wickets regularly, led by Zak Chappell who finished with 4/55. Bazball is something that has passed Middlesex by as they continue to struggle to score runs quickly enough to collect many batting bonus points. Leus du Plooy’s 52 and Jack Davies’ 54 both came off 134 balls, while Ben Geddes’ 59 was a bit quicker at a strike rate of 63.44. Their final total of 315 allowed Derbyshire to enforce the follow on, the Middlesex second innings starting with 19 overs left on day three. Despite the Derbyshire bowlers having 110.1 overs in their legs, the hope was that the two spinners would have an impact on the final day. They had the best possible start, as Fernandes edged the first ball of the innings, delivered by Luis Reece, into the hands of Andersson at gully, but the pitch remained batter-friendly and Steve Eskinazi and Max Holden looked comfortable at the crease until the last over before lunch on the final day, when Holden had a wild swing at a ball from Jack Morley, bowled for 94. Du Plooy hobbled out with a bruised toe and Fernades acting as runner, and it was a mix up between him and Eskinazi next ball that led to the latter being run out for 61. Du Plooy was struck on his good foot by Blair Tickner, in front of middle stump and he had even more difficulty getting off the ground than on. Geddes and Davies went cheaply and 169/1 had become 220/5, a lead of just 63. Ryan Higgins was joined by Zafar Gohar and the pair held firm, putting on 75 before Gohar lobbed a catch to mid on; put down by Chappell. However, Higgins (56) swept the third ball of the next over, bowled by Alex Thomson, into the hands of Jack Morley on the square leg boundary. Gohar went on to complete his half century off 105 balls and with 15 overs left and Middlesex ahead by 150 the players shook hands. With the Derbyshire bowlers having put down 210 overs the one winner might be Glamorgan, who host them in the next round.

The fact that a number of teams did not play this week, makes interpretation of the tables difficult, but Notts are clearly worth their place at the top of Division One. None of the top three are playing next week, so Essex and Warwickshire will be able to challenge their places. At the bottom, it is looking increasingly unlikely that Worcestershire will avoid the drop, while Somerset, who have been at the other end of the table in recent seasons, are heading to a fight for survival.

In Division Two, Leicestershire have reinforced their position at the top, their bowlers delivering the wickets to win matches. It will be interesting to see if this continues, particularly with the Kookaburra rounds. Derbyshire have shrugged off the disappointments of recent seasons, sit in second, and will be hopeful of a result against lowly Glamorgan in the next round. Meanwhile Kent will want to start scoring some more bonus points as they travel to Lord’s next week.

Standings

Division One

Division Two