The business end of the season kicked off on September 8th, a week that promised a couple of good days weather wise and a lot of rain! Surrey sat at the top of the table 9 points ahead of Nottinghamshire. Notts were playing at New Road against a Worcestershire team somewhat adrift at the bottom of the table on 89 points. There were a couple of ‘6 pointers’ to take a football analogy, at the bottom of the table with Durham sitting in 9th on 114 playing Essex in 8th spot (126) at Chelmsford. Sussex in 6th (127) played Hampshire in 5th (129) and Yorkshire in 7th (126) travelled to Somerset.
Any one from five teams were in the drop zone! Leicestershire, who really have found their mojo this year sit at the top of Division 2 on 193 points, having won 6 matches, Glamorgan sit in 2nd on 165 points, with 5 wins under their belts!
That being said, we have no idea what the County Championship will look like in 2026. A short presentation after the days play at Essex, on the potential of 3 ‘leagues’ of 6 at least maintain the liklihood of promotion for the 2 teams in Division 2. Should we see that new format it would have been deeply unfair had that not been the case! On to the scores on the doors.
News came through aroiund mid-day on Day 4 of an 8 point deduction for Hampshire for a sub-standard pitch when they played against and lost to Sussex, major news with how things stood with 2 games to go!
Division One
Essex v Durham – The Ambassador’s County Ground, Chelmsford. Alex Lees won the toss and elected to bat. Match Drawn.
Durham – 333 All Out & 173 for 7, Essex 457 for 8
Durham lost Emilio Gay for 22 and were 55 for 1. His fellow opener Lees and Ben McKinney put on 134 for the 2nd wicket. I arrived just after lunch to see the Essex bowlers slowing things down. Lees was out for 94 from 152 balls, trapped LBW by Simon Harmer. David Bedingham went for a very strange and unnecessary run and was promtly run out by a combination of a good throw from Jamie Porter and good work from Michael Pepper behind the stumps. He was out for a Duck and Durham were 190 for 3. McKinney’s was the 6th wicket to fall, he made 121 from 228 balls before he was bolwed by Porter. Durham batted for 100.2 overs and scored 333 All Out. Jamie Porter took 4 for 77.
Essex lost opener Paul Walter in the 7th over and were 7 for 1. Tom Westley (32 from 74 balls) joined Dean Elgar and the pair put on 76 for the 2nd wicket. Charlie Allison (33 from 51 balls) shared 75 for the 3rd wicket. Elgar was then joined by Matt Critchley and the pair batted into Day 3. They added 191 for the 4th wicket. Elgar scored 150 from 283 balls. Critchley was out a couple of overs later, he’d made 129 from 168 balls. Rain was an issue all day and Essex finished the day on 457 for 8. Tom Westley declared overnight.
The weather was kinder on Day 4, but still had a huge effect across the country. Durham fell to 96 for 7 before Ben Raine (42*) and Matthew Potts (34*) shared 77 runs before the rain came. Essex were playing with a bowler short, Shane Snater had limped off in the 1st Durham innings. Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer both took 3 wickets , but the match fizzled out into a draw.
Somerset v Yorkshire – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Jonny Bairstow won the toss for Yorkshire and put Somerst in to bat. Match Drawn.
Somerset 441 for 6 dec, Yorkshire 134 for 9 dec.
Somerset lost 2 early wickets as Archie Vaughan was out in the 6th over and Tom Lammonby in the 10th, Somerset were 30 for 2. Opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore and James Rew put on 117 for the 3rd wicket. Kohler-Cadmore made 76 from 110 balls he was out in the 38th over. Rew was out for 54 in the 43rd over and Somerset were 155 for 4 Tom Abell and Lewis Goldsworthy put on 143 for the 5th wicket. Goldsworthy scored 65 form 185 balls. Kasey Aldridge (42 from 89 balls) shared 92 for the 6th wicket. Abell was out for 130 from 227 balls. Lewis Gregory declared after 127 overs, Somerset were 441 for 6.
Rain was a big factor on Day 3 and Yorkshire faced just 2 overs, they were 17 for no loss at the end of the day. Only 21 overs were bowled on Day 4, Yorkshire fell to 60 for 7 in the 20th over before opener Adam Lyth (30) and Jordan Thompson (57) put on 69 for the 8th wicket. With only 165 overs bowled across the game a draw seemed the only likely outcome.
Surrey v Warwickshire – The Oval, London. Alex Davies won the toss for Warwickshire and put Surrey in to bat. Match Drawn.
Surrey 246 All Out & 391 for 8 dec , Warwickshire 248 All Out & 105 for 1
Surrey lost Dom Sibley in the 3rd over and were 7 for 1. Ollie Pope joined Rory Burns and they put on 97 for the 2nd wicket. Pope scored 50 from 55 balls, Burns saw Ben Foakes come and go before he was out for 52 from 92 balls. Wickets fell steadily for Surrey with Ryan Patel standing firm having come in at 6. He was Not out 72 from 67 balls. Surrey were bowled out in 59.5 overs for 246.
Warwickshire’s innings lasted 75 overs, they fell to 47 for 4. Will Young top scored with 72 from 166 balls. Ed Barnard (50 from 77 balls) and Young put on 89 for the 5th wicket. Warwickshire scored 248. Tom Lawes took 4 for 42.
Surrey fared better in their 2nd innings and were 276 for 2 at the end of Day 3. Burns (54 from 92 balls) and Sibley put on 92 for the 1st wicket. Sibley retired hurt on 64 from 160 balls. Ollie Pope scored 78 from 103 balls and his was the 2nd wicket to fall. Sibley returned and was 103* from 188 at the end of the innings. It’s therefore hard to spot who shared which partnership so I’ll go with Ben Foakes who scored over 50! He scored 52 from 75 balls. Burns declared after 95 overs on 391 for 8. Michael Booth took 4 for 58.
Warwickshire faced 39 overs on Day 4 and were 105 for 1 when the draw was declared. Leicestershire had promotion secured by the end of this round of matches.
Sussex v Hampshire – The 1st Central County Ground, Hove. John Simpson won the toss for Sussex and put Hampshire in to bat. Match Drawn.
Hampshire 226 All Out & 173 All Out. Sussex 122 All Out & 84 for 3
Hampshire were bowled out in 71.3 overs for 226. Keeper and Captain Ben Brown in at 5, top scored with 71 from 129 balls. Extras were the next highest score at 24.
Sussex were bowled out in just 51.4 overs for 122. Tom Alsop in at 6 top scored at 39. Sean Abbot took 4 for 38 and Bjorn Fortuin 4 for 30.
Hampshire faced 50.1 overs and were bowled out for 173. James Fuller, in at 8 top scored with 49 from 69 balls. Jaydec Unadkat took 4 for 50 and James Coles 4 for 47.
Another rain affected game saw Sussex on 37 for 1 from 13 overs at the end of Day 3. They will require 241 runs to win, Hants 9 wickets. The weather is not looking good for Day 4. Sussex faced just 21 overs on Day 4 and were 84 for 3 at the end of this drawn match.
Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire – Visit Worcestershire New Road, Worcester. Haseeb Hameed won the toss for Nottinghamshire and put Worcestershire in to bat. Nottinghamshire Won by 3 Wickets.
Worcestershire 182 All Out & 160 All Out, Nottinghamshire 207 All Out & 136 for 7
Worcestershire were bowled out in 52.5 overs for 182. Gareth Roderick batting at 6 top scored with 61 from 110 balls. He and Tom Taylor (40 from 47 balls) put on 71 for the 8th wicket. Dillon Pennington took 4 for 50.
Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed was out for a 2 ball Duck, not a great start. Ben Slater (24 from 58 balls) and Freddie McCann put on 50 for the 2nd wicket. McCann (56 from 106 balls) and Joe Clarke (34 from 84 balls) shared 55 for the 3rd. Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 207 in 70.2 overs. Tom Taylor took 4 for 70.
Roderick was again the top scorer in Worcestershire’s 2nd innings, he scored 37 from 116 balls as the home team were bowled out in 61.5 overs for 160. Josh Tongue took 4 for 52 and Lyndon James 5 for 35 in his 15.5 overs.
Nottinghamshire were 40 for 1 at the end of Day 3, they require 96 to win, the weather may again intervene as they bid to top the table. Notts made very hard work of their 2nd innings. They faced a total of 52 overs and were 136 for 7, but they had a valuable win under their belts.
Division 2 – A quick precis of the matches
Kent v Lancashire – The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury. Harry Finch won the toss for Kent and elected to bat. Match Drawn.
Kent 293 All Out & 293 All Out, Lancashire 284 All Out & 138 for 3.
Kent lost opener Jaydn Denly in the 6th over and were 14 for 1. Opener Ben Compton (77 from 166 balls) and Ben Dawkins (60 from 94 balls) put on 136 for the 2nd wicket. Compton and Tawanda Muyeye (48) put on 67 for teh 3rd wicket. Kent faced 86 overs and scored 293. Mitch Stanley took 5 for 80 in his 16 overs.
Lancashire lost 2 wickets for 32 before opener Luke Wells (80 from 127 balls) and Captain Marcus Harris (32) put on 82 for the 3rd wicket. Tom Hartley (64 from 85 balls) who came in at 8 and Will Williams (26) added 65 for the 9th wicket. Lancashire were bowled out in 77.2 overs for 284.
Jaydn Denly (74 from 106 balls) and Ben Dawkins (36) put on 107 for the 1st wicket. Matt Quinn (42) anbd Ekansh Singh (60 from 139 balls) put on 71 for the 8th wicket. Kent scored 293 in 77.3 overs. Mitch Stanley shone again witj 6 for 100 in his 18.3 overs.
Lancashire faced 28 overs in their 2nd innings and were 138 for 3. Josh Bohannon (46) and Marcus Harris (50* from 69 balls) put on 91 for that 3rd wicket.
Leicestershire v Gloucestershire – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester. James Bracey won the toss for Gloucestershire and elected to bat. Match Drawn.
Gloucestershire 482 All Out & 175 for 3 dec, Leicesterhire 342 All Out & 93 for 1.
Gloucestershire were 55 for 2, Opener Ben Charlsworth (74 from 114 balls) and Miles Hammond (50 from 114 balls) put on 90 for the 3rd wicket. James Bracey (69 from 128 balls) and Graeme van Buuren added 146 for teh 5th wicket. Van Buuren’s was the 7th wicket to fall, he made 101 from 143 balls. Glucestershire scored 482 in 120.4 overs.
Leicestershire lost 3 wickets for 86. Lewis Hill (88 from 131 balls) and Shan Masood put on 152 for the 4th wicket. Masood then shared 82 runs with Steve Eskinazi (34) Masood scored 111 from 176 balls. Leicestershire made 342 in 93.4 overs. Matt Taylor took 5 for 70 in his 22 overs.
The Gloucestershire openers put on 99 for the 1st wicket. Ben Charlsworth scored 61 from 56 balls and Joe Phillips finished the innings on 69 from 73 balls. Bracey declared after 27 overs with the score on 175 for 3.
Leicestershire faced 30.3 overs and were 93 for 1 when the match finished. Promotion was in the bag for them.
Middlesex v Derbyshire – Lord’s, London. Wayne Madsen won the toss for Derbyshire and elected to bat. Match Drawn.
Derbyshire 283 All Out & 153 for 4, Middlesex 298 All Out
Derbyshire lost Luis Reece in the 6th over and were 19 for 1. Caleb Jewell (56 from 94 balls) and Harry Came (64 from 121 balls) put on 105 for the 2nd wicket. They scored 283 in 86.4 overs. Toby Roland-Jones took 6 for 77 in his 22.4 overs.
Middlesex saw a series of partnerships built around Leus du Plooy who scored 105 from 175 balls. His was the only score over 50, but they made 298 in 91.1 overs.
Derbyshire faced 62.3 overs in their 2nd innings and were 153 for 4, Brooke Guest was 65* from 129 balls.
Northamptonshire v Glamorgan – County Ground, Northampton. Sam Northeast won the toss for Galmorgan and elected to bat. Match Drawn.
Glamorgan 467 All Out & 241 for 7, Northamptonshire 413 for 9 dec
There was a major innings in Glamorgan’s first, Asa Tribe scored 206 from 297 balls! He and Keeper Chris Cooke (84 from 153 balls) added 162 for the 6th wicket. Glamorgan scored 467 in 121.4 overs.
The Northants openers Ricardo Vasconcelos (50 from 70 balls) and Captain Luke Proctor (67 from 94 balls) put on 87 for the 1st wicket. Saif Zaib who’s had a great year with the bat scored 145 form 186 balls. Northants scored 423 for 9 in 92.4 overs. Mason Crane took 5 for 126 from his 23 overs.
Glamorgan faced 80 overs in their 2nd innings and were 241 for 7 at the end of the match. Colin Ingram scored 55 from 85 balls.
Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers
- Ben McKinney – Durham – 121 from 228 Balls
- Dean Elgar – Essex – 150 from 283 Balls
- Matt Critchley – Essex – 129 from 168 Balls
- Tom Abell – Somerset – 130 from 227 Balls
- Dom Sibley – Surrey – 103 from 188 Balls
- Graeme van Buuren – Gloucesterhire – 101 from 143 Balls
- Shan Masood – Leicestershire – 111 from 176 Balls
- Leus du Plooy – Middlesex – 105 from 175 Balls
- Asa Tribe – Glamorgan – 206 from 297 Balls
- Saif Zaib – Northamptonshire – 145 from 186 Balls
- Lyndon James – Nottinghamshire 5 for 35 in 15.5 Overs
- Mitch Stanley – Lancashire – 5 for 80 from 16 Overs
- Mitch Stanley – Lancashire – 6 for 100 from 18.3 Overs
- Matt Taylor – Gloucestershire – 5 for 70 from 22 Overs
- Toby Roland-Jones – Middlesex – 6 for 77 from 22.4 Overs
- Mason Crane – Glamorgan – 5 for 126 from 23 Overs
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