LV= Insurance County Championship 2022 Final Round Day 4: Thursday 29th September - Latest News, Scores and Match Reports

Here is all the latest news, scores and match reports for the LV= Insurance County Championship 2022 Final Round Day 4: Thursday 29th September.

Top Tournament Stats -  LV= Insurance County Championship 2022

Top Batter (Runs Scored)

Top Bowler (Wickets taken)

Most Sixes

Points Table

Northamptonshire vs Essex, Division 1

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Simon Harmer claimed six wickets for 49 to spin Essex to a 47-run victory over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road and finish as leading wicket taker in this year’s LV= County Championship Division One.

Harmer extracted prodigious turn to run through Northamptonshire’s middle and lower order after Sam Cook set up victory with three wickets in two overs to shatter Northamptonshire's hopes of chasing 211 to win.

A breezy 30 from Ricardo Vascconcelos boosted the hopes of the home fans before six wickets fell for 29 runs. Despite a belligerent 39 from Gareth Berg, Northamptonshire’s highest score in the match, the hosts were bowled out for 163, meaning they finish sixth place in the Championship.

Harmer finished with 59 wickets for the season, one ahead of Kyle Abbott of Hampshire while Cook passed 50 for the season at an average of just 16.1

The result meant Jack White’s heroic career best bowling figures were in vain. White took six for 38 to skittle Essex for 110 as the visitors lost their last five wickets for 47 runs in the morning session and set up a tantalising run chase.

 

Warwickshire vs Hampshire, Division 1

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Liam Norwell powered Warwickshire to an incredible escape from relegation in the LV=Insurance County Championship as his career-best nine for 62 sealed a five-run win over Hampshire on a thrilling final day of the season. 

Set a target of 139 to secure runners up spot (and condemn the 2021 champions to the drop), Hampshire were blown away for 133 as Norwell, returning at the end of an injury-ravaged season, bowled magnificently in several spells from the Pavilion End. 

His excellence lifted Warwickshire above the relegation trapdoor in the final moments of the season and dumped Yorkshire into Division Two instead.  

After resuming in the morning on 62 for two, the Bears appeared to have relinquished their survival hopes when they collapsed to 177 all out. Dom Sibley, in his last game for the Bears before rejoining Surrey, made 77 (101 balls) but James Fuller (four for 34) and Brad Wheal (three for 68) exploited the desperate quest for quick runs. 

Hampshire needed 139 in 72 overs but slumped to 91 for seven and, despite Nick Gubbins's steadfast 46 (104 balls), they fell just short to suffer an agonising defeat and slip to third place in the table. 

For the victors, joy. For the defeated, angst. And for the countless spectators monitoring from around the world, brilliant entertainment which again underlined the ability of both red ball cricket and county cricket to deliver a memorable entertainment.  

With all the pressure on the home side, Hampshire set defensive fields in the morning and bowled well to them. Wheal was first to benefit as Alex Davies (32, 47 balls) and Will Rhodes sent up catches. Fuller then capitalised when Dan Mousley and Jake Bethell perished on the ultra-offensive.  

Sam Hain's runner was then run out by James Vince's direct hit. Danny Briggs clouted his first ball for six but found deep mid-wicket with another attempt, Fuller yorked Norwell and Sibley was last to go, lbw to Ian Holland, before walking off to a fond valedictory ovation. 

Hannon-Dalby then struck first with a beauty which took Felix Organ's edge...Norwell did the rest. He bowled Holland, offering no shot, trapped Joe Weatherley lbw and had Vince caught at long leg. At 49 for four, it was very much game on. 

Norwell returned just before tea to pin Ben Brown lbw and completed his five-for when Nye Donald chipped to extra cover. He then castled Keith Barker but Gubbins and Fuller added 33 to take their side to the brink of victory.  

The admirable Norwell had the last say though. He trapped Gubbins lbw, ripped out Fuller's middle stump and, to enormous cheers from the crowd, won an lbw decision against Mohammed Abbas to complete a true 'I was there' day for Warwickshire's supporters. Yorkshire's fans are unlikely to forget it in a hurry either! 

Nottinghamshire vs Durham, Division 2

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Nottinghamshire needed seven minutes over two hours to take the seven Durham wickets they needed to be confirmed as Division Two champions on the final day of the LV= Insurance County Championship season at Trent Bridge.

England’s Stuart Broad, in his first appearance for his county since May, finished with three for 36, left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White took three for 41 and South African seamer Dane Paterson two for 27.

Durham, for whom David Bedingham was unable to bat because of a dislocated shoulder, were dismissed for 114 to lose by 462 runs.

Barring defeat here, Nottinghamshire were effectively champions already after seven first-innings bonus points meant they could no longer be overtaken in the Division Two standings, yet they had wanted to end on a winning note and gave spectators free admission to witness their triumph.

Resuming on 14 for two after Nottinghamshire, who stacked up a formidable 662 for five declared, had declared their second innings on 121 for two, Durham suffered their first loss in the fourth over of the day as Broad angled one in to have Scott Borthwick leg before.

Skipper Steven Mullaney, one of four centurions in the first innings, sprang something of a surprise when he did not enforce the follow-on after Durham were dismissed 455 behind on first innings, yet his decision seemed to be justified as a rested attack made life difficult for their opponents in conditions freshened up by overnight rain.

Patterson-White claimed the second scalp of the morning in his first over as Liam Trevaskis’s top-edged sweep looped gently to slip.

Chris Benjamin, the wicketkeeper on loan from Warwickshire, took a positive approach, hitting five boundaries in his 33, but came a cropper when Broad returned for his second spell, edging to second slip.

Patterson-White bowled Ben Raine, Paterson had Matthew Potts edging to second slip, where Matt Montgomery, whose magnificent 178 had been the largest component of Nottinghamshire’s 662, took his second catch of the innings. Before Patterson-White enjoyed the decisive moment as Jonathan Bushnell, sweeping off balance, was leg before.

Nottinghamshire began the season as favourites to win the division, not on the basis of their form the last time the Championship was played in two divisions, pre-Covid, in 2019, when they were relegated without a win, but on their performance in 2021, the campaign of the conference format, when they were in contention for the title right up to the last round.

They felt slightly miffed that this year’s divisions were configured on the basis of what happened three years ago, but the ECB quite reasonably felt they had to maintain the integrity of their competition.  

In any event, they have clearly justified their short odds, winning more matches and more bonus points than any of their rivals. The only defeats suffered were against Glamorgan in their first home match in April, and at Worcester last week, a shock that left them with something to do in this fixture.

The stand-out performer with the bat has been Haseeb Hameed, who has bounced back from the low point of a chastening Ashes winter to enjoy his most productive season, amassing 1,235 runs at 58.80, including four hundreds and seven other fifties.

Ben Duckett also topped 1,000 runs in the Championship, while skipper Mullaney missed that mark by seven runs, but had his best campaign with the bat since 2016.

Among the bowlers, Luke Fletcher was unable to scale the heights of 2021, when he chalked up 67 first-class wickets, but Paterson improved in his debut-season haul of 51 wickets by adding a further 56. Patterson-White, the 23-year-old who has been tipped for a big future in the game, confirmed the promise of his first two seasons by finishing on 41 wickets as the most successful spinner in the division.

Sussex vs Glamorgan, Division 2

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Ali Orr just missed out on a double hundred while Tom Haines made 177 and Dan Ibrahim an unbeaten century as Sussex batted through the final day to draw with Glamorgan in the LV= County Championship.

Orr was dismissed for 198 as Sussex piled up 554 for eight in their second innings at the 1^st Central County Ground. The players shook hands shortly after Ibrahim, 18, had reached his maiden century.

Orr had added 13 runs to his overnight 185, including his tenth six off Andrew Salter, when Haines drove a ball back down the pitch and Ajaz Patel deflected it onto his stumps, with Orr out of his ground. He departed to a standing ovation having also hit 18 boundaries and faced 174 balls.

It sparked a collapse by Sussex who lost four wickets in 17 overs for 30 runs while Haines watched on from the other end and gave Glamorgan hope that they might be able to finish the season with a victory.

There was a bit more turn for Glamorgan’s spinners Patel and Salter to exploit, but Tom Alsop was held at backward point cutting off the back foot, Tom Clark tried to loft Salter over mid-off and was caught running back by Patel and Fynn Hudson-Prentice pushed forward to Salter and was caught behind as the ball turned a fraction off the straight.

Haines pressed on, reaching his 150 with a clip to the mid-wicket boundary off Salter, but having added eight more runs after lunch he aimed a tired shot through mid-wicket at Patel and was caught by sub fielder Andy Gorvin. Most of the Glamorgan players congratulated him as he walked off to another standing ovation after scoring 285 runs in the match. The Sussex captain finished the season on 941 runs, 528 of which were scored in this match and during his 243 against Derbyshire in April.

Gorvin took a fine diving catch at mid-off to remove Charlie Tear and give Salter his third wicket and the off-spinner struck again when Faheem Ashraf drove down the pitch looking to get off the mark and Salter dived to his left to take an excellent one-handed catch.

It was hard work for Ibrahim at first. He needed 21 balls to get off the mark but gradually got the measure of an accurate Glamorgan attack. A stand of 41 for the eighth wicket with Jack Carson took enough time out of the game to end Glamorgan’s chances of winning and after tea it was a case of whether he could complete his century.

Salter bowled unchanged from the sea end until the first over after tea, when he had Carson caught at mid-wicket. But Glamorgan brought on their part-time bowlers and after playing out five dot balls from Sam Northeast, Ibrahim took a single into the off side to reach his century, off 194 balls with 11 fours and a six.

There was a guard of honour for Michael Hogan and a standing ovation when he led his team off at the end in his last appearance for Glamorgan. They finished third while Sussex ended up seventh after winning just one game.

Derbyshire vs Leicestershire, Division 2

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Rehan Ahmed scored a superb maiden century to save Leicestershire from defeat in the LV=Insurance County Championship match against Derbyshire at Derby.

The England Under-19 all-rounder decorated the last day of the season at the Incora County Ground with a breathtaking 122 off 113 balls to provide a memorable finale to a miserable season for Division Two’s bottom club.

It was also a record-breaking performance as he became the first Leicestershire player to score his first hundred and take his maiden five wicket haul in the same match.

The 18-year-old was well supported by Lewis Hill who scored 60 off 157 balls and shared a fourth wicket stand of 163 in 35 overs with Ahmed.

Harry Swindells, 48, and Tom Scriven, 30, added 70 and although Sam Conners celebrated his county cap by taking his 50th championship wicket, Leicestershire were 86 ahead at 405 for 7 when rain consigned the game to a draw with 20 overs remaining.

Derbyshire probably sensed the chance of an early finish when Ben Aitchison struck in the fourth over of the morning.

Sam Evans had driven the fast bowler square to the boundary but the next ball drew him into playing and Wayne Madsen held a low catch at second slip.

Leicestershire’s top order had collapsed in the first innings but Ahmed joined Hill to provide another impressive demonstration of his talent.

After a frenetic start, Ahmed settled in to bat with controlled aggression, playing shots all around the wicket to reach a brilliant hundred.

An upper-cut for six off Aitchison was one of the memorable shots in a maiden 50 which came off 60 balls and he needed only 39 more to reach three figures.

There were no signs of nerves as he waltzed down the pitch after lunch to deposit Leus du Plooy’s left-arm spin over the long off boundary and he dished out the same treatment to off-spinner Alex Thomson.

Another six off Thomson took him to 99 and the next ball he drove through the covers for his 12th four to reach three figures in only his third first-class match.

Ahmed is now in the distinguished company of former England all-rounder Phillip DeFreitas who was the last Leicestershire player to score a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same game in 2003 against Sussex at Grace Road.

It was the first time it has been done in a first-class game between the two counties at Derby since Derbyshire’s Garnet Lee made an unbeaten 107 and took 5 for 31 in 1928.

Ahmed drove Thomson for a fifth six but in the next over he skied a slog-sweep at du Plooy and Luis Reece ran in to take the catch at mid on.

Hill had played a valuable supporting role but he fell to the second new ball when he tried to cut Aitchison and was caught at first slip.

Conners beat the bat numerous times before he struck twice in consecutive overs, having Tom Scriven caught behind pulling before Swindells dabbed the fast bowler into the gloves of Brooke Guest. 

But the light was fading before rain swept in just after 4.30pm with Derbyshire finishing fifth in Division Two while Leicestershire end the season without a championship victory.