Week 10 Rothesay County Championship Review

Surrey move to the top while the Foxes suffer their first defeat

The focus again this week has been on the Kookaburra ball with the majority of comments being disparaging, Rob Key receiving significant criticism. Undoubtedly much of the cricket has been pretty turgid, with bowlers struggling to take wickets and batters finding the soft ball difficult to get away. Given the dry weather in the build up to these games, it is difficult to imagine conditions that are going to be more favourable to its use.

There are a number of factors at play, most of which are unlikely to change. Bowling options within squads are dominated by bowlers suited to the Dukes ball, often not reaching 80mph when it comes to pace. Many also find it difficult to repetitively hit the same spot on the pitch, with that very skill being a handicap in white ball formats. Spinners likewise are more likely to have developed a method better suited to shorter formats, where the ball tends to be fired in. Pitches themselves are also too resilient, and with the amount of cricket ground staff have to cater for, it seems unlikely they will want to have pitches crumbling on the last day, even if they could prepare them. The lack of pace in most pitches is also an issue, with those bowlers who can bowl at 85mph plus getting little reward. In the end it comes back to the ball, and perhaps attempts could be made to produce one that has less seam than the Dukes, but stays harder than the Kookaburra?

On the field, as we have alluded to, batters prospered, 4,508 runs scored across the first innings, the most in any round of Championship cricket. 820 of those came from Surrey at The Oval, having been put in against Durham. They declared nine down, just after tea on day two, Dom Sibley racking up 305, while there were centuries for Sam Curran, David Lawrence and Will Jacks. Alex Lees, perhaps feeling a little guilty regarding his decision at the toss, led Durham’s reply with 125, Ollie Robinson contributing 79, as they reached 362, Dan Worrall taking 4/60 and Matthew Fisher 3/76. Following on, Durham were left needing to bat out just over two sessions, and unbeaten centuries from Lees (100*) and Emilio Gay (156*) saw them to safety.

Division One leader’s Nottinghamshire travelled to Taunton and were able to reduce Somerset to 46/3, before half centuries from James Rew (58), Tom Abell (64) and Tom Banton (84) halted the slide, and a quick fire 41 not out at the end of the innings from Matt Henry guided Somerset to 379. Mohammad Abbas and Brett Hutton both finished with three wickets. Notts were then able to establish a 130 run first innings lead, Ben Slater making 124, before Jack Haynes posted 157, sharing a 138 run partnership with Ishan Kushan (77). Jack Leach took 6/121 and Archie Vaughan 3/111. Somerset were left having to bat out one over at the end of day three, but Matt Henry, sent out as a night watchman, was unable to hold out against James. Somerset resumed at the start of day four on 4/1, and an unbeaten 147 from Tom Kohler-Cadmore saw them to safety at 238/4.

Sussex and Warwickshire played out a draw at Hove, the Bears batting out the final day. Having chosen to bat first, 93 from Rob Yates and 87 from Sam Hain saw Warwickshire to 415. Daniel Hughes and James Coles both reached 150 for Sussex as they then made 533, Australian off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli taking 6/173. A possible 120 overs were left in the game when Warwickshire came out to bat for the second time, but half centuries from Alex Davies, Tom Latham and Hain were enough to see them to safety, ending on 260/4 as Sussex used nine bowlers on a rain affected final day.

Essex suffered their third loss, as they went down to Yorkshire by 10 wickets, a second innings batting collapse leading to their downfall. Earlier Yorkshire had established a 91 run first innings lead as Essex were bowled out for 368, having elected to bat first at York. Tom Westley scored his second century of the season, while Dean Elgar made 94 and Noah Thain 50 not out. Yorkshire then posted 459 thanks to 150 from Matthew Revis and eighties from Adam Lyth and Ben Coad, with Shane Snater taking 4/93. Jack White with 4/37 and Coad’s 3/33 then dismissed Essex for 131 and Yorkshire were left needing just 41. The result sees Yorkshire move above Essex, who are now in one of the two relegation spots.

At Southampton, Worcestershire were unable to press home the advantage created by their first innings of 679/7 declared. The main contributions came from Jake Libby (228*) and Adam Hose (266), who shared a third wicket partnership of 395. Four wickets from Tom Taylor then helped dismiss Hampshire for 221, Tilak Varma top-scoring with 56. Asked to follow on, Hampshire were left to bat out four sessions for the draw, and despite starting day four at 86/3, they only lost one further wicket as Ben Brown made 109 not out and Liam Dawson 60 not out, the score 294/4 when the players shook hands.

The top two teams in Division Two going into this round both suffered defeats, Leicestershire beaten by Middlesex by an innings and 127 runs. This was the leader’s first Championship loss of the summer, and Peter Handscomb might be regretting putting the visitors in at New Road, as centuries from Sam Robson (133) and Ben Geddes (137) took them to 534. The Foxes did not help themselves, having put Geddes down when he was on 11. They were without a number of players, Rehan Ahmed, Josh Hull and Ben Mike injured, and Ian Holland still in America, but will be disappointed with their batting display as they were dismissed first time around for 205, 19-year-old Naavya Sharma, in just his third first class match, taking 4/43, including a spell of four wickets in 11 balls. For Leicestershire, Rishi Patel made 50 and Roman Walker 40 not out to go with his three wickets.

The follow on was enforced and the Middlesex seamers continued to get results with the Kookaburra ball, the Foxes slumping to 80/6. Ben Cox (28) and Logan van Beek, who finished unbeaten on 36, held Middlesex up for 15.3 overs, but again Sharma struck, removing Cox and then Walker for a duck. Chris Wright (26) and Sam Wood (27) played brief cameos, but the Middlesex bowlers prevailed and the Foxes ended on 202, Yorkshire not needing a fourth day.

Derbyshire were unable to hold out against Lancashire at Chesterfield, losing their last seven second innings wickets for just 53 runs, the end coming shortly after lunch on the final day. The win was Lancashire’s first of the season, and was built around a first innings score of 367, haven chosen to bat first. There were centuries from Keaton Jennings and Chris Green, and then four wickets from George Balderson restricted Derbyshire to 261. Wayne Madsen (70) and Martin Andersson (79) were the main contributors foir Derbyshire with the bat. Lancashire then scored quickly to set up the declaration, reaching 406/6, thanks to 121 not out from Ashton Turner and half centuries from Keaton Jennings, Michael Jones and Balderson. Derbyshire were left needing 513 from 143 overs and although the win looked unlikely, they seemed to have things under control at 198/3 halfway through the morning session of day four. At that point Green trapped Brooke Guest lbw for 46, and no one else was able to stick with Madsen, who finished on 95 not out. Balderson took another three wickets and Tom Bailey three.

When Gloucestershire resumed at 12/0 in their second innings against Glamorgan, at the start of day four, trailing by 136, a draw seemed the inevitable outcome, with Glamorgan hampered by an injury to leg-spinner Mason Crane. The Shire looked even more comfortable at 194/4 at tea, but Ben Kellaway caused some jitters in the Gloucestershire dressing room as he took three quick wickets, although those were the last successes and the players shook hands with 12 overs left, Gloucestershire on 255/7.

Having been asked to bat first at Sophia Gardens, Gloucestershire reached 380, thanks mainly to 133 from James Bracey. The visitors were under pressure at 179/6, but Bracey put on 96 for the seventh wicket, with Zaman Akhter (58) and 89 with Archie Bailey (19*) for the final wicket. Timm van der Gugten and Mason Crane each took four wickets. In reply, Glamorgan were also in a spot of bother at 121/4, before centuries from Colin Ingram and Ben Kellaway took them to 375/5. However, the problems posed by the pitch were highlighted by the fact Glamorgan were unable to score the 35 runs needed for a fourth batting point from 10 overs after lunch on day three, with two set batters at the crease. They finished on 528, leaving 107 overs to try and force a result. Miles Hammond was the main obstacle with 84, while Kellaway’s 6/111 was a career best, and along with his century, he must surely be coming to the attention of the selectors for an England Lions spot.

At Canterbury, after the first two innings, the game between Kent and Northamptonshire was an odds on draw, as Kent posted 566/5 declared, Daniel Bell-Drummond reaching 158 and Harry Finch 118. Northants were still batting at lunch on day four, declaring on 722/6, centuries from Ricardo Vasconselos (100), Calvin Harrison (122), Saif Zaib (196*) and Justin Broad (157*). With just a minimum of 59 overs left in the game, there would have been little consideration of a positive result, but the two Northants leg spinners, Harrison and Yuzvendra Chahal had other ideas. By tea Kent were 76/2, but Bell-Drummond (30) edged the first ball after the break to Broad at slip, the first of three wickets for Harrison. A further five wickets fell for 59 runs, Kent still trailing by 21 runs, but Joey Evison battled through for 49 off 104 balls, and he was joined by Tawanda Muyeye, who had been away from the ground for personal reasons, to see Kent to safety.

Having scored three more bonus points, Surrey have now moved above Notts to top Division One, with Sussex leading the chasing pack. At the other end of the table, Worcestershire remain adrift, 15 points behind Essex, who are currently in a battle with Yorkshire for the second relegation place. Despite losing, Leicestershire are still well ahead at the top of Division Two, while Glamorgan are now only two points behind second placed Derbyshire. Meanwhile, three of the preseason favourites for promotion occupy the bottom three spots.

We now have a three week break for the final group games of the Blast, before two more rounds of Championship cricket at the end of July.

Standings

Division One

Division Two