On Saturday, Hampshire beat Somerset by 10 wickets and Worcestershire beat Leicestershire by an innings and 259 runs.

Click here for full Match Reports from Day 3

 

Division One

 

Lancashire vs Essex, Emirates Old Trafford

Essex’s bowlers took just 21 balls to wrap up their innings and 56-run victory over Lancashire on the final morning of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.

Needing just one wicket to complete their comprehensive win, Tom Westley’s bowlers achieved their goal in the fourth over of the morning when Luke Wood was caught behind by Adam Rossington off the bowling of Jamie Porter for 27, thus leaving Lancashire 232 all out in their second innings.   

In the 14 minutes’ cricket that was watched by 45 spectators at Old Trafford, Wood hit three boundaries off Sam Cook and Simon Harmer before a good ball outside off stump from Wood induced him to fence fatally. Harmer ended the innings with figures of five for 89 and Cook returned a match analysis of six for 62.    

Essex earned 22 points for their victory and move into the top half of the Division One table. Lancashire took two points from the game and seem certain to end this first tranche of County Championship matches in fourth place, 18 points behind leaders Surrey with all the teams in the top tier having played six matches. 

It is only Lancashire’s fifth innings defeat this century and their first since they lost to Yorkshire, also at Old Trafford, in August 2014.  It is also the Red Rose’s first home defeat since 2018 when they lost the Roses match in July.

 

Essex skipper, Tom Westley:

I’m so pleased for the boys. We’ve played some good cricket this year but to nowhere near the standard we’ve played in the past. We’ve batted well in one game and bowled well in another, but we haven’t been able to piece it together but that was one of the complete Essex performances. Getting just under 400 on that wicket was a great effort and then to bowl them out twice was outstanding.

Surrey and Hampshire are about 30 points ahead but things do change quickly in this division and when we start winning, we can go on an extended run. We still have to play Surrey and Hampshire and there’s a lot of cricket still to be played this year. We have started worse than this and finished strongly. We know it’s a competitive division but we know that when we start winning, the momentum can carry us on forward.

Dan Lawrence has had his scan [on his hamstring injury] but he’s still waiting on the results. It looks fairly similar to what he did a few weeks back and that’s bitterly disappointing because I thought he batted superbly.

 

Lancashire skipper Dane Vilas:

We will have a good look this week at where we went wrong and how we move forward because we need to do better than that. We let ourselves slip a little bit and to be fair they bowled well. They put us under massive pressure and if you let things slip for one second you can put yourself under pressure, which is what we did.”

It’s difficult [to play six consecutive Championship games] but it’s part of the game. We’ve done it before and we are not going to use it as an excuse.  We do the hard work in the winter to get ready for times like this. We should be fit enough and strong enough to handle those situations.

I think it was more of a bit of lack of intent or maybe error that we let them get into the game and put us under pressure but I think we’ve been playing really good cricket leading up to this last game.

We’ve been really positive in all our games and pushed for results. We got two really good wins and three draws so it’s been really good. The team is playing good cricket, everyone is contributing and overall I’ve been really happy with it.”

I still think our Championship chances are very high. We are still very positive that we can do really well (in this competition). We know we’ve got to play better than this of course but we’ve still got a massive chance. There’s a long way to go in this season. 

 

Northamptonshire vs Kent, The County Ground Northampton

 

England opener Zak Crawley scored a second half-century of this LV= Insurance County Championship match against Northamptonshire, providing a much-needed boost ahead of the first Test against New Zealand.

While the intensity and pace of the bowling did not match what Crawley can expect to face at Lord’s next month, Crawley’s form will still be welcome news for the new England management.

With little riding on the day as the game drifted towards a draw, Crawley settled for some time in the middle, sharing a 149-run opening stand with Ben Compton. He struck the ball cleanly and crisply and accumulated seven boundaries and a six on his way to 84, It followed his first innings of 62 and marks a return to form for the opener after a string of low scores saw many questioning his England selection.

Finally the two sides shook hands on the draw with Kent at 170 for one.

Northamptonshire started the day needing 23 more runs to avoid the threat of the follow-on. Matt Quinn and Darren Stevens kept things tight early on during a tense opening 20 minutes which saw Tom Taylor fall, caught at second slip, without a run being added in five overs.

Gareth Berg opted for the attacking option, taking the Steelbacks to the brink of safety by smoting George Linde for six over long-on while Lewis McManus, batting with an injured finger, posted a hugely valuable undefeated fifty, his second since joining Northamptonshire on loan this season.

Ben Sanderson freed his arms, unfurling a string of crunching cover drives in a last wicket stand with McManus worth 54 before Daniel Bell-Drummond ended the fun by knocking back Sanderson’s off-stump just before lunch.

After the interval, Crawley showed intent from the outset with a straight driven boundary off Sanderson. Northamptonshire’s opening bowlers though kept things tight and Crawley and Curran were content to play the ball on merit and leave well alone outside off.

Northamptonshire fluffed the chance of an early wicket when there was a mix-up between the batters, leaving Compton scrabbling to regain his ground, but both Luke Procter’s throw in from mid-on and sub keeper Harry Gouldstone’s shy at the stumps were both slightly wide.

Crawley got into the groove with two late cuts off Sanderson and Taylor and played some pleasant cover drives for three. He also displayed some aggression with a clubbed four over mid-off to Rob Keogh and a crunching extra cover drive off Emilio Gay. He used his feet to come down the track and hit Ben Curran’s slow bowling over long-on for six. One rare miss-hit came via an inside edge down to fine leg off Procter on 40 but he otherwise located the middle of the bat with ease and timed the ball sweetly.

At the other end Compton continued in the typically sedate fashion that has proved so productive for him this season before accelerating on his way to 68. He cut and drove handsomely, surviving one moment of danger when a thick outside edge off a ball from Keogh flew away for four.

After tea, Northamptonshire turned to their part-time bowlers to see out the remaining overs. Crawley’s innings ended finally after 138 balls when he hit Curran straight to long-on.

Kent and England opener Zak Crawley said: “I thought we played pretty well. The rain on the morning of day two kind of killed our chances of winning on a flat deck. But I thought we controlled the game and if we hadn't lost half a day, maybe we could have had a crack at them today. But we didn't have enough time.

"I’ve started to find a bit of rhythm, which is nice. I obviously haven't scored the runs I wanted to, but I feel in good rhythm now. Obviously today, it was a bit easier than the first innings, but I still struck the ball nicely, so I feel good about my game.

"It's always nice being picked for England and I can't wait to get going with them. So, it fills me with a lot of energy, and maybe that’s why I got a couple of runs this week. I’m excited about Brendon McCullum coming in. I love watching him play and I'm sure I'm going to love working with him as a coach. So, I think he might suit me actually, quite a positive coach, so I look forward to seeing if that is the case. But he's obviously a great character in the sport and I’m looking forward to it.

"If I time my form well and I score runs in Test cricket, that will mean an awful lot to me. That's not to say I don’t want to score runs every time I go out to bat, and I've been disappointed that I haven’t been able to help Kent as much as I’d have wanted to this year. But everyone knows Test cricket is the pinnacle and if I can get a hundred in the next couple of weeks, that might put the last few weeks right.”

Northamptonshire batsman Josh Cobb said: “Kent didn’t make it easy [to avoid the follow on]. But once we did that, the game was almost dead and buried. We could have probably shaken hands there then and gone home, but great effort to get past it from us. But , it’s a long four days. We’re getting a good draw out of it. It puts us in a good state going into the T20s.

“Lewis McManus played exceptionally well, obviously struggling a bit with his finger, but I think he’ll be fine moving forward to the T20s.

"The most important thing for us in terms of the game was getting past the follow on, just almost kill the game. And we did that, so we’re pleased with that.”

Yorkshire vs Warwickshire, Headingley

Will Rhodes and Sam Hain made excellent rearguard centuries and batted through the whole of the final day against Yorkshire to secure an LV= Insurance County Championship draw at Headingley.

Champions Warwickshire started day four on 57 for three in their second innings, a deficit of 148, and when the players shook hands at 4.50pm they were 252 for three with a lead of 47.

Hain and his captain Rhodes, a Championship winner with both of these counties, shared 227 inside 104 overs for the fourth wicket and finished on respective personal scores of 109 and 111.

This was a game which unbeaten Yorkshire had much the better of, but they had to settle for a fifth draw in six Division One matches this season. They took 14 points to Warwickshire’s 11.

In four of their five draws, Yorkshire have had final day victory chances both at home and away only to be thwarted by a mixture of determined batting in benign conditions and without the bowling firepower they would have wanted.

That was exactly the case here as the champions, against an attack minus quicks Matthew Fisher, Ben Coad and Haris Rauf through injury or illness, added their fourth draw to a win and a defeat.

Heading into the break for the start of the Vitality Blast, Yorkshire have gone third in the table, 15 points behind leaders Surrey (105), while Warwickshire remain sixth.

Hain and Rhodes batted through a quiet morning session with only a couple of obvious alarms and brought up their centuries off successive balls shortly after tea.

They batted with more purpose than they had done late on day three having come together at 25 for three following Jordan Thompson’s trio of new ball successes.

A Rhodes edge off Dom Bess flashed through Harry Brook at second slip before he had chance to react and Hain edged the same bowler in between his off stump and wicketkeeper Harry Duke to reach his fifty off 188 balls.

Seventy one runs came in the morning as the score advanced to 128 for three at lunch, with a minimum of 64 overs remaining. 

Yorkshire’s best hope was a new ball due seven overs into the afternoon, going some way to explain why they bowled double spin in the form of Bess and Joe Root either side of lunch. 

They took it with 57 overs remaining, when Warwickshire were 146 for three and still 59 behind.

The pitch had shown signs of offering turn and had been a bit two-paced during day three, but there was none of that 24 hours later.

Hain was particularly punishing on the cut shot, which brought him a solitary six off Matthew Revis. Rhodes was stronger to leg, both working through midwicket and pulling with authority.

When Warwickshire reached tea at 222 for three, they led by 17 with a minimum of 34 overs remaining with Rhodes on 98 and Hain unbeaten on 92.

During the afternoon, Rhodes had edged Steve Patterson short of Root at slip. Immediately the former England captain left the field, only to return to field in the same position with his right thumb strapped.

Rhodes and Hain reached their centuries in the early stages of the evening, by which stage they had only just recorded a double century partnership. 

Hain’s second hundred of the season came off 308 balls and a first of 2022 for Rhodes came off 268. Warwickshire were 232 for three, leading by 27 with almost 30 overs remaining. The job was complete.

It has been an inconsistent start to the season for Warwickshire, though rearguard this will give them great heart.

Under the guise of the Birmingham Bears, they start their Vitality Blast campaign against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston on Thursday evening. 

Twenty four hours earlier, Yorkshire host Worcestershire at Headingley.

 

Division Two

 

Nottinghamshire vs Derbyshire, Trent Bridge

 Nottinghamshire made impressive work of chasing down what might have been a tricky fourth-innings target to complete a 10-wicket victory over neighbours Derbyshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship.

Haseeb Hameed made 93 and Ben Slater 64, the openers sharing an unbroken partnership of 167 to see their team home within a single session - albeit one extended by almost 20 minutes to avoid the players having to return after lunch.

The Trent Bridge side take 23 points but their fourth win in six matches so far was not enough to dislodge Middlesex from the top of the Division Two table.

Derbyshire suffered their first defeat under the stewardship of new head coach Mickey Arthur, although given their depleted bowling ranks they always faced a tough task against a strong Nottinghamshire line-up.

Two of the bowlers due to start this match, Suranga Lakmal and Anuj Dal, dropped out injured at the 11th hour, Dal as late as Thursday morning, after the original team sheet had been submitted. Another, Luis Reece, suffered a groin injury after bowling less than nine overs in the first innings.

Lakmal, the veteran Sri Lankan who signed a two-year contract with the county during the winter after calling time on an illustrious international career, has an elbow injury that is giving cause for concern ahead of the Vitaly Blast season, which in Derbyshire’s case begins with a home fixture against Birmingham Bears next Friday.

Hameed set a positive tone by dispatching the first ball of the day through midwicket for four off Sam Conners and the scoring rate never dropped below four runs per over.

The former Lancashire opener, who made his first century of the season against Middlesex at Lord’s last week, had one sizeable stroke of luck on 70 when he swung hard at a ball from Nick Potts that went straight through the hands of Alex Thomson at slip.

The first 10 of his 12 fours had come from largely orthodox shots but having gone past fifty he was keen to get the job done as quickly as possible, clearing the ropes in consecutive overs off Thomson’s off spin, the first time with a soaring blow over deep midwicket, the second over the much shorter boundary at extra cover.

It was enough to reduce the runs required to a point where umpires David Millns and Neil Mallender were able to delay signalling lunch until the match was over, with only 24 needed when the players would normally have left the field.

Slater, who offered a difficult chance to short leg off Thomson on 31, was almost sedate by comparison, needing 108 balls to pass fifty for the second time this season.

The only frustration for Nottinghamshire was that Hameed could not get on strike to complete a century when Leus du Plooy bowled what would be the final over, Slater striking two boundaries to see them over the line.

Derbyshire’s fears that their first-innings 260 would prove to be a below-par total, even against an attack boasting three past and present Test bowlers after being asked to bat first, were seen to be well founded when Nottinghamshire posted 358 in reply.

With 19-year-old fast bowler Nick Potts again showing himself to be a promising newcomer, claiming a career-best four for 50 in his third first-class match, they were at least able to take the match into a fourth day.

Nottinghamshire, three without loss overnight, might have had expected the odd wobble chasing 165 to win but in the end were able to stroll home in the face of what can only be described as a disappointing effort by the visitors.

Middlesex vs Durham, Lord’s

John Simpson equalled the record for wicketkeeping dismissals in a match at Lord’s with nine catches as Middlesex beat Durham by six wickets on the final day of their LV = Insurance clash.

The diminutive gloveman achieved the feat for the second time in his career at the home of cricket with five victims in Durham’s second innings to add to his four from the first. Toby Roland-Jones was the main beneficiary of Simpson’s latest entry into the county’s record books, returning six for 35, while Ethan Bamber took three for 18 as Durham were dismissed for 188 despite 60 from skipper Scott Borthwick.

Set 117 in 44 overs to win, the hosts made heavy weather of the chase before skipper Peter Handscomb, who it was confirmed in an afternoon press release would leave the club at the end of the match to join up with Australia-A, signed off with 39 not out to see them home.

For much of the morning there a little sign of the drama to come as Borthwick and night-watchman Matthew Salisbury batted with relative comfort on a placid surface.

Borthwick pulled Roland-Jones to the mid-wicket fence before driving Martin Anderson twice in an over through the same region. Salisbury too played with increasing confidence, garnering  three boundaries from one especially expensive Andersson over.

Borthwick eased to 50 with 10 fours and 20 minutes before lunch the game appeared to be meandering aimlessly, before the reintroduction of Roland-Jones gave it a much needed kiss of life.

The seamer’s loosener looked set to be given the full treatment, but Borthwick under-edged the offering into his middle stump which was duly uprooted from the turf.

If that wicket owed a little to lady luck, the prize scalp of England captain Ben Stokes two balls later was down to inspiration. Roland-Jones found a smidgeon of away movement to find the edge and Sam Robson took a smart catch at second slip.

And minutes later Robson grabbed an even better one inches from the turf to send Ned Eckersley packing for just two off the bowling of Bamber, leaving Durham six down at lunch and just 44 in front.

Salisbury survived the mayhem to eclipse his previous career-best of 41 immediately after the resumption, but a maiden first-class 50 would elude him as Bamber found the edge for Simpson to take his seventh catch of the game. And seven became eight when Bamber, awarded his county cap on Thursday, struck again to remove one of Durham’s first-innings heroes Liam Trevaskis.

The Durham response was to counter-attack, Ben Raine and Brydon Carse unfurling a succession of meaty blows, hitting Luke Hollman out of the attack and greeting the return of Tim Murtagh with similar disdain. It needed Roland-Jones to return to break the stand of 41, Simpson again the catcher.

There wouldn’t be a record 10^th as after Raine (39 not out) deposited Murtagh into the Mound Stand, the bowler had Chris Rushworth caught by Roland-Jones for a duck.

Robson was an early victim of Raine, nibbling at one he could have left and there were nerves when fellow opener Mark Stoneman edged spinner Trevaskis to Eckersley for a brisk 29. Josh De Caires did little to ease those fears when bowled by Borthwick and Max Holden edged Trevaskis to slip with 29 still needed.

But Simpson twice planted Borthwick long hops into the Mound Stand as he and Handscomb saw Middlesex over the line to send them back to the top of the Division Two table.

Durham head coach James Franklin said:

“The whole game got flipped on its head in that last session yesterday. The partnership between Andersson and Hollman in that first hour after tea progressed the game forward for Middlesex and those three wickets from Toby Roland-Jones really put us under pressure.

“It was a pretty disappointing end after the first two days were pretty evenly poised. Fundamentally we didn’t get that last session right yesterday and when things were going alright again today we lost another three quick wickets before lunch which put a nail in our coffin.

“Toby Roland-Jones is a superb bowler who has had a couple of really tough years with injury. From what I’ve observed through this game he looks as if he is getting back to his best. Thinking back to 2015/2016 when I was fortunate enough to play alongside Toby he was bowling outstandingly well and a big reason why Middlesex won the championship in 2016, when he got recognised for England. I saw more than glimpses of that throughout this game and if he continues it I’m sure he’ll start to be talked about from an England point of view.”

“We have played some good cricket and some pretty average cricket and from a table point of view we are mid-pack. If we want to be in the shake-up come the end of September we’ve got to start playing better, more consistent cricket.”

 

Middlesex’s outgoing captain Peter Handscomb said:

“It was just nice to get the win. To be top of the table  and some points clear is a really good spot to be in. We were a little bit off last week against Nottinghamshire, but to learn from that so quickly and come back out and play the way we know we can and do it for four days too was pleasing. Last year we were good for three out of four days whereas this year we’re putting complete games together.

“Toby is in a really good rhythm. On a wicket like that you really need to bang away at a length and bowlers who get energy through the ball can get something out of it.

“He’s bowling a lot of overs as well, so for him to keep coming and getting the ball to talk means it’s awesome to see him go about his business. He is being really ruthless which is something we are trying to do as a team.

On John Simpson equalling the record for wicketkeeping dismissals at Lord’s: “John Simpson is a hell of a player. We’ve known for years now his glovework is incredible. He took a couple of ‘’Hangers’ that in the moment of the game were huge. When you get your keeper holding on to those it gets the boys up and about. And it is not easy to keep over here with the ball moving around the way it is, so the way he’s going about it is awesome.

“The real pleasing thing this year is he’s backing it up with the bat. Batting at six is tough for a keeper, but the scores he’s putting on the board are awesome to see.  There is so much confidence in the dressing-room when he goes out to bat, whatever the situation.”

“On his departure for Australia-A: “It’s great to have the opportunity with Australia-A. You always want to try and play for your country – it’s why we play this game. I’m a bit disappointed about how I’ve gone over here with the bat because I set high standards and it’s obvious I didn’t quite meet them. After the Sri-Lankan tour I go back for the birth of my first child, so it’s a pretty exciting time.”

 

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