County Championship Round 7 (6) – 2026 – 365 Sporting Days

Round 7 saw Game 6 for every county, a May weekend which promised mixed weather. That mixed weather saved a couple of teams. At the end of this 6 block of games Nottinghamshire sit at the top of Division 1 and Durham Division 2.

Division 1

Essex v Leicestershire – Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and put Leicestershire in to bat. Essex won by 7 Wickets.

Leicestershire 333 All Out,& 60 All Out, Essex 293 All Out & 110 for 3

Rishi Patel returning to Chelmsford for the 1st time in a red ball game was out in the 4th over and Leicestershire were 17 for 1. His fellow opener Jake Weatherald (61) and Sol Budinger (89) put on 125 for the 2nd wicket as the Essex bowlers struggled to make their mark, I’m going to have to mark the Bens in County Cricket as well as the Toms, there seems to be as many, Leicestersire alone have 3! Stephen Eskinazi (50) and Keeper Ben Cox (31) shared a 58 run partnership for the 6th wicket. Leicesershire scored 333 in just 90.2 overs.

Essex sent Sam Cook in with Dean Elgar as they had just 3 overs to face, Cook was bowlede by Ian Holland on the 2nd ball however. Essex started Day 2 on 10 for 1, with Jamie Porter at the crease with Elgar. Essex fell to 39 for 4 on the morning of Day 2, none of those wiekets were Jamie Porter! He and Charlie Allison put on 96 for the 5th wicket, Porter scored 52 from 117 balls, Allison went on to score 72. 78 overs wetre bowled on Day 2 and Essex finished the day on 281 for 8. Wiaan Mulder (70*) and Simon Harmer (33) had added 76. They went into Day 3 trailing by 52 runs. Day 3 was the only day I could attend and wow I saw some action! Harmer (35) and Shane Snater were both out in the same over and Essex were out in 85 overs for 293. Mulder finished on 79*.

I,m not sure how ro describe Leicestershire’s 2nd innings, they were blown away in 27.4 overs. Ben Cox top scored with 20. Essex used 3 bowlers, all took wickets. Jamie Porter took 2, Sam Coo 4 for 19 and Shane Snater 4 for 12!

Essex required 101 to win, they took 30 overs and lost 3 wickets, they were 27 for 3, before Charlie Allison (34) and Matt Critchley (40) added the 74 needed.

Hampshire v Nottinghamshire – Utilita Bowl, Southampton. Haseeb Hameed won the toss for Nottinghamshire and put Hampshire in to bat. Match Drawn

Hampshire 214 All Out & 207 for 6 dec, Nottinghamshire 229 All Out

Hampshire faced just 45.3 overs on Day 1 and were 152 for 6. Fergus O’Neill took 4 of those 6 wickets and on the day Nick Gubbins top scored with 36. Hampshire’s innings lasted another 20.5 overs on Day 2, they were bowled out for 214. Felix Organ top scored with 55.

Nottinghamshire batted for 38 overs on Day 2 and were 2124 for 3, having lost Haseeb Hameed to a 6 ball Duck in the first over. Ben Slater (48) and a mix of Freddie McCann who retired hurt on 38 and Joe Clarke (14) put on 85 for the 2nd wicket. Wickets fell steadily until Liam Patterson-White stood firm, he scored 48. Notts were bowled out in 76.1 overs for 229.

Hampshire faced 32 overs on Day 3 and were 82 for 4 at the end of the day. 49.3 overs were bowled on Day 4, Hampshire facing a total of 81.3 overs. They scored 207 for 6 wickets. Jake Lehman made 102 of those runs from 205 balls.

Somerset v Sussex – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Lewis Gregory won the toss for Somerset and elected to bat. Match Drawn

Somerset 526 for 8, Sussex

Somerset lost both openers early and were 46 for 2. Tom Lammonby (73) and newly announced England pick James Rew (86) put on 124 for the 3rd wicket. Tom Abell (74*) and Archie Vaughan added 83 for the 5th wicker. All 96 overs were bowled on Day 1 and Somerset were 335 for 5. Abell went on to score 119 from 192 balls and he and Craig Overton added 146 for the 6th wicket. Craig Overton’s was the 7th wicket to fall, he scored 111 from 137 balls. Somerset batted for a total of 128.4 overs and declared on 526 for 8.

Sussex faced 5.1 overs and lost Opener Tom Haines for 6. They finished Day 2 on 22 for 1. Opener Dan Hughes and Tom Clark (31) put on 56 for the 3rd wicket. Hughes and Jack Leaning (31) then shared a partnership of 99 for the 6th wicket . Hughes scored 107 from 140 balls. His efforts weren’t matched by the rest of the Sussex batters. They were 236 for 8 at the end of Day 3. The 1st Sussex innings lasted for a total of 71.1 overs as they were bowled out for 253.

Sussex were most likely saved by the weather as they faced 57.4 overs on Day 4, scoring 113 for the loss of 7 wickets.

Warwickshire v Glamorgan – Edgbaston, Birmingham. Ed Barnard won the toss for Warwickshire and put Glamorgan in to bat. Match Drawn

Glamorgan 360 All Out & 259 All Out, Warwickshire 252 All Out & 100 for 2

Another newly announced England pick, Asa Tribe was out for a 5 ball Duck, with his fellow opener out a couple of overs later for a 14 ball Duck, Glamorgan were 0 for 2 in the 5th over. Kiran Carlson (85) and Ben Kellaway then put on 194 for the 3rd wicket. Kellway and Sean Dickson (33) shared a 54 runs partnership for the 5th wicket. Kellaway’s was the 6th wicket to fall, he was out for 139 from 242 balls. Glamorgan were 341 for 8 at the end of a full Day 1. They added jsut a few runs on Day 2 and were 360 All Out. Oliver Hannon-Dalby took 5 for 53 in his 20.1 overs.

Warwickshire faced 42.4 overs on Day 2 and were 123 for 6 trailing by 237 on Glamorgan’s first innings. It took an 8th wicket partnership of 79 between Ethan Bamber (46) and Jordan Thompson (57) to get Warwickshire past the 200 mark. They were bowled out in 63.5 oevrs for 252. Tom Norton took 4 wickets.

Glamorgan fell to 13 for 3 before Ben Kellaway (42) and Colin Ingram out on 92 for the 4th wicket. Ingram and Sean Dickson (39) shared 83 for the 5th wicket. Ingram went on to score 101 from 159 balls. Glamorgan were bowled out for 259 in 78.4 overs. Ethan Bamber took 5 for 48 in his 20 overs.

Warwickshire faced jsut 29 overs on Day 4 scoring 100 for the loss of 2 wickets.

Yorkshire v Surrey – Headingley, Leeds. Rory Burnes won the toss for Surrey and put Yorkshire in to bat. Yorkshire won by an innings and 127 runs.

Yorkshire 486 All Out, Surrey 204 All Out & 155 All Out

Yorkshire lost 3 early wickets and were 38 for 2, before opener Adam Lyth and Joe Root (44) put on 67 for the 3rd wicket. Another England call up Matthew Fisher took 3 wickets, including Root and Harry Brook, who was out for 7. Lyth was 138* and Jonny Bairstow 116* at the end of Day 1. Lyth scored 141 from 304 balls and Bairstow 120 from 198 balls. Yorkshire faced a total of 129 overs and made 486. Matt Fisher took 4 wickets.

Surrey faced just 4 overs on Day 2 and were 17 for no wicket at the end of an interrupted day. Things changed on the wickets front as George Hill took 4 for 12. Sean Abbot (56) and Josh Blake (22) put up some resistance and put on 58 for the 8th wicket. Surrey were bowled out for 204 in 58.6 overs. Hill ended with figures of 4 for 34.

Surrey were bowled out in 51.1 overs for 155. Dom Sibley top scored with 34 from 82 balls. Sean Abbot wasn’t far behind with 33. The wickets were shared but it’s noticeable that Harry Brrok took 3 for 11.

Division 2

Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire – Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol. Luke Proctor won the toss for Northamptonshire and put Gloucestershire in to bat. Northamptonshire won by 2 Wickets

Gloucestershire 154 All Out & 221 All Out , Northamptonshire 127 All Out & 251 for 8

Gloucestershire lost both openers within the first 2 overs and were 0 for 2, that became 7 for 3 then 19 for 4. They were bowled out in 51.5 overs for 154. Ben Sanderson took 5 for 47 in his 19 overs.

Northants had their own batting woes on Day 1 and finished the day on 37 for 2 in 17 overs. They were then bowled out for 127 in 51.3 overs. Matt Taylor took 5 for 36 in his 14.3 overs.

Gloucestershire were bowled out in 67.2 overs for 221. they were 31 for 5 before James Bracey (48) and Cameron Bancroft (82) put on 100 for the 6th wicket.

Northamptonshire batted for 78.1 overs losing 8 wickets as they scored the runs to secure the win. Louis Kimber who was a substitute for Saif Zaib top scored with 66.

Kent v Durham – The Kent County Criekct Ground, Beckenham. Daniel Bell-Drummond won the toss for Kent and eleceted to bat. Match Drawn.

Kent 523 All Out & 1 for 1, Durham 446 All Out

In a full day when Kent scored 385 for 4 it’s notable that Zak Crawley faced 45 balls and scored 30. While each side of him Ben Dawkins and Sam Northeast were in the runs. Northeast scored 141 from 205 runs. He and Dawkins put on 303 for the 3nd wicket. Dawkins went on to score 180 from 302 balls. Ekansh Singh (66*) and Keith Dudgeon put on 109 for ther 8th wcket. Kent batted for a total of 132.5 overs and scored 523. Amongst all those runs Matthew Potts took 6 for 92 in his 28.5 overs.

Durham lost new England call up Emilio Gay in the 2nd over, he opened, which he hasn’t done so far this season. Durham’s regualr opener Ben McKinney had been subbed. Durham were 6 for 1, Alex Lees (31) and Will Rhodes (19) who was included as a substitute for McKinney put on 50 for the 1st wicket. David Bedingham (74) and Keeper Olllie Robinson (27) shared a 71 run partnership for the 5th wicket. Ben Stokes (45) and Kasey Aldridge (36) put on 70 for the 7th wicket. The biggest partnership was for the 10th wicket. Ben Raines scored 106 from 134 balls and Callum Parkinson (54) put on 158. Durham batted for a total of 111.5 overs and scored 446.

Rain was in the air at Beckenham and Kent faced just 9 balls, losing opener Ben Dawkins.

Lancashire v Worcestershire – Trafalgar Road, Southport. James Anderson won the toss for Lancashire and put Worcestershire in to bat. Match Drawn.

Worcestershire 270 All Out & 211 for 5 dec, Lancashire 281 for 8 dec

The Worcestershire openers Ben Lategan (53) and Jake Libby (21) put on 62 for the 1st wicket. Wickets fell steadily until Matthew Waite (77) and Tom Taylor (41) put on 68 for the 7th wicket. Waite’s was the last wicket to fall as hsi team were bowled out for 270 in 82.4 overs.

Lancashire’s innings followed a similar vein, Opener Keaton Jennings (69) and Harry Singh (36) put on 73 for teh 3rd wicket and Paul Coughlin (61) and Tom Hartley added 62 for the 8th wicket, at which point Jimmy Anderson declared, hoping for a result. Lancashire batted for 87 overs.

The weather again had other plans and Worcestershire batted for 70 overs, scoring 211 for 5. Brett D’Oliveira had declared but there would be no positive result.

Middlesex v Derbyshire – Lord’s, London. Wayne Madsen won the toss for Derbyshire and put Middlesex in to bat. Derbyshire won by 7 Wickets.

Middlesex 177 All Out & 320 All Out, Derbyshire 376 All Out & 124 for 3

Middlesex were bowled out for 177 in 60.5 overs. Opener Sam Robson top scored with 31. Ben Aitchison took 5 for 47 in his 20 overs.

This was some game for Ben Aitchison, he not only took 5 wickets but he also shared a partnership of 208 with Martin Andersson. Aitchison scored 112 from 157 balls and Andersson 119 from 161 balls. Derbyshire scored 376 in 98.4 overs. Ryan Higgins took 4 wickets.

Middlesex fared much better in their 2nd inninhs Leus du Plooy (95) and Caleb Falconer (48) put on 107 for the 4th wicket. They batted for 99.5 oevrs and scored 320.

Derbyshire required 39.5 overs to score the runs they needed to ensure the win. They finished the day on 124 for 3, with a win in the bag.

Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers