Ian’s Blog 4th July

The Day County Championship Cricket Proved Unbeatable

There was little doubt which ground was the centre of attention for most – and it wasn’t the one that saw the top two face each other for the first time this summer. Instead it was the usually unheralded Trafalgar Road in Southport, where Jimmy Anderson made his first appearance of the summer, after it was announced earlier in the season that next week’s Test at Lord’s would be his last. Haseeb Hameed made the fans wait by choosing to field first. It was a decision his opposite number, Keaton Jennings, took full advantage of, going on to make 187 not out. When the whole of the second day was lost to the rain, Jennings decided to declare on 353 for nine (claiming the extra batting point) but giving Anderson just two balls to face.

It wasn’t until the first ball of his fourth over that Anderson struck, bowling Hameed, but once he’d got one, the rest followed – in each of his next five overs, he picked up a further wicket as his opening spell read ten overs, six for 19. There was no coming back from that for the away side, and he finished with seven for 35, the second best figures in his 297-game career (remarkably, his three best analyses have all been achieved after his 35th birthday). Ben Slater gave single-handed resistance, carrying his bat for 64 not out, as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for just 126 and were asked to follow on. Joe Clarke hit 115 not out in 193 balls to secure the draw for the visitors, who were also helped by more bad weather on the final day. Nottinghamshire finished on 270 for four after batting for 102 overs to see off Anderson and Nathan Lyon, a pair boasting 1230 Test wickets between them (itself a record for any pairing in the Championship).

Meanwhile, at The Oval, Essex chose to field first and would have been even more satisfied had it not been for England’s new call-up Jamie Smith scoring 100 off just 133 balls. Twenty-four-year-old Smith is now England’s first-choice wicket-keeper, ahead of both Jonny Bairstow (34) and Ben Foakes (who is Surrey’s first choice, aged 31), but he will surely have competition from Durham’s Ollie Robinson (25), not to mention Somerset’s James Rew (20), in the coming years. Sai Sudharsan returned to Surrey, having played last season, and made 14 as his side was bowled out for 262. Essex replied with just 180 to give the hosts a comfortable 82-run first-innings lead. In Surrey’s second innings, Ryan Patel stepped up to score 107 as his side reached 278 all out, setting a tough target of 361 in 12 overs and a day. It was a chase you felt Essex had to make if the season wasn’t going to become a progression towards a third consecutive title for the hosts. Dean Elgar is just the man for this situation, but his score of 60 wasn’t enough, and four for 26 from Tom Lawes did the damage as Essex fell away to 215 all out, beaten by 145 runs and they now trail Surrey by 29 points. Jamie Porter is still the season’s top wicket-taker, with 34, two clear of Surrey’s Daniel Worrall.

At Chester-le-Street, a low-scoring game was decided inside three days, with Worcestershire emerging triumphant by six wickets after they asked Durham to bat first. Ben Stokes top-scored with 56, but the home side were whisked out for 190, with Nathan Smith taking four for 36. The visitors then collapsed from 99 for four to 112 all out, with on-loan signing Amar Virdi the last man standing. The Surrey spinner didn’t get a bowl in the second innings, having missed out in the first innings, as Durham made only 152 to set a target of 231. Kashif Ali’s unbeaten 76 was a key factor in the away side’s successful run chase. David Bedingham goes into the break as the leading runscorer this summer, with 926, narrowly ahead of Ryan Higgins of Middlesex, on 908.

Third-placed Somerset asked Warwickshire to bat first at Taunton. At 145 for six, it seemed as though the decision had paid off, but then Michael Burgess hit back with a fine 147 to snooker the hosts’ hopes. Migael Pretorius took five for 104, his best figures in English cricket, as the away side reached 412 all out. It was more than Somerset could manage, and they replied with 284. Jack Leach, who found out he had been omitted from the England side in favour of Shoaib Bashir (the younger man was recently out on loan with Worcestershire – another instance of England’s selection priorities differing from those of their counties), made a golden duck. Oliver Hannon-Dalby took six for 56. Warwickshire then piled on the pressure in their second innings, declaring on 281 for eight at the end of the third day. Scoring 410 for victory on the final day was surely too much, but a 138-run fourth-wicket partnership between Tom Abell and Tom Banton (82) gave the hosts belief and a sense that the match wouldn’t be lost. When James Rew joined Abell in the 76th over, the score was 299 for five. And in the next 16 overs the pair battered the tiring attack, with Abell finishing unbeaten on 152 off 207 balls, while Rew was 57 not out off 54. A score of 413 for five was Somerset’s second-best winning total in their history, and it moved the county up to second in Championship, 23 points adrift of Surrey. Remarkably, it wasn’t even the most spectacular run chase of the round.

Finally in the First Division, at the Rose Bowl, Kent asked Hampshire to bat and were treated to a James Vince masterclass, as he and Ben Brown (110) added 259 for the fourth wicket. Vince went on to make 211 to lead his side up to a formidable total of 505 for eight declared. Jack Leaning scored 118, but even that wasn’t enough to help the visitors beyond 343 all out, and they were asked to follow on. Feroze Khushi, on loan from Essex, made 53. Ben Compton top-scored with 92 as Kent scored 340 in their second innings, Kyle Abbott taking five for 89. Hampshire, faced with a target of 179, made quick work of it, finishing in 180 for four after just 22.1 overs. The defeat left Kent trailing the rest of the pack by 25 points.

In the Second Division, three of the four fixtures were concluded inside three days. At Northampton, Sussex were caught up in the tightest of the games after they were put in to bat. Jack White took four for 23 to help dismiss the visitors for a meagre 143. Ollie Robinson, omitted from the England squad, took four for 42 as Northamptonshire crumbled to 97 all out in reply. No batter reached fifty in Sussex’s second innings either, but a total of 237 all out gave the hosts a challenging target of 284 for victory. At 205 for seven, the game was just about still in the balance, before Nathan McAndrew nipped in with three quick wickets to give him figures of five for 73 and the home side were all out for 220, leaving Sussex the winners by 63 runs.

Second-placed Middlesex visited Grace Road with high hopes, as Leicestershire were yet to win a game all season. When the hosts chose to bat first and made only 179, their optimism seemed justified – especially when last week’s hero, Louis Kimber, made a 15-ball duck. Ryan Higgins and Toby Roland-Jones each took four wickets. But they say never judge a wicket until both sides have used it, and Middlesex were skittled for just 86 in reply, with Ben Mike taking a career-best five for 22 and Ben Green, in his second loan spell of the season from Somerset, took four for 28, his best figures. Kimber then hit a 21-ball 38, including four sixes, while Green scored a career-high 77 as Leicestershire piled on the pressure to make 372 and set a target of 466 – despite Roland-Jones taking five for 76. It needed something special from there, and, despite a late flurry from Roland-Jones (59 in 33 balls, including eight sixes), it never looked likely to happen. Middlesex were all out for 342, beaten by 123 runs. That result left Middlesex 23 points adrift of Sussex.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire closed the gap on Middlesex to just four points after an utterly one-sided game at Chesterfield. Derbyshire chose to bat first and lasted just 27.4 overs, making 76 (the lowest total of the season), as Vishwa Fernando took five for 30. James Wharton hadn’t scored a century in his first 12 matches, but he rectified that decisively, scoring a mammoth 188 in his maiden hundred. When Jonathan Tattersall added 107 later on in the innings, it helped push his side up to 451 for nine declared. Derbyshire already needed a miracle to save an innings defeat, so when Mitchell Wagstaff was caught behind off Ben Coad to the first ball of the innings, the omens were not good. Coad went on to take six for 30, while Fernando picked up four for 58, as Derbyshire were all out for 171, losing by an innings and 204 runs – the second-heaviest defeat of the season.

After the first innings had been completed at Cheltenham, you might have got decent odds on the game not going to a fourth day there, either. For anyone who turned up to watch that final day, they cannot have realised what they were going to witness. Inititally, Glamorgan won the toss, fielded, and bowled out Gloucestershire for just 179 – and it was only that many thanks to a 75-run tenth-wicket partnership between Marchant de Lange (46 not out) and Ajeet Dale (32), as Timm van der Gugten enjoyed himself, taking five for 59. But Glamorgan managed just 197 in reply, thanks to Beau Webster’s impressive figures of five for 17. When van der Gugten took two more wickets in his first four overs of the second innings, the match pattern looked set to continue, until Miles Hammond (121) added 201 for the third wicket with Cameron Bancroft. Bancroft wasn’t done; he went on to score 184, adding 253 for the fourth wicket with James Bracey, who made a career-best 204 not out to lead his side up to a mammoth total of 610 for five declared. Glamorgan were left with the seemingly impossible task of chasing down 593 for victory.

But by the end of the third day, Glamorgan were still in it, on 222 for three off 56 overs, with Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Northeast both well set. The final day began with Gloucestershire needing seven more wickets, Glamorgan wanting 371 runs, and there were 96 overs to play. When Labuschagne fell for 119, it seemed a key blow for the hosts. Chris Cooke didn’t last long, but Dan Douthwaite shared a 95-run sixth-wicket partnership with Northeast. Van der Gugten helped out, but when Northeast was caught behind for 187, the score was 544 for eight and 14.4 overs remained. By this point, Glamorgan had already set a new English record for the highest fourth innings total ever, beating the 507 for seven made by Cambridge University against the MCC at Lord’s – in 1896! (It was a successful run chase in which W.G.Grace made a duck; Harold Marriott, a future Eastbourne College assistant master, ended up on 146 not out.)

Now it was down to Mason Crane and Andy Gorvin, but Gorvin was out with the score on 561. Still 32 wanted, 7.1 overs remaining and one wicket in hand, with Jamie McIlroy the last man in. Crane farmed the strike, but when it came to the final ball of the match, the scores were level but McIlroy was facing just his seventh delivery in 43 agonisingly tense minutes. Dale was bowling, and keeper Bracey had taken off one of his gloves in case he needed to throw down the stumps to prevent a scampered winning run. Dale found the edge, which went flying high to Bracey’s right (ungloved) hand – he shot out his arm and took a stunning catch. Glamorgan were all out for 592 and the match was tied. It was sensational, unbelievable stuff: four days of cricket, and after 2241 deliveries all four results had been possible, with everything hanging on the last two balls. Glamorgan’s total was the third highest made in any fourth innings in all first-class cricket, beaten only by England’s 654 for five v South Africa in the 1939 ‘Timeless’ (ten-day) Test, and Maharashtra’s 604 v Bombay at Poona in March 1949 (a game that stretched to seven days). The previous highest score to tie a match was 453 by Somerset v West Indies A in 2002 (when Chris Gayle dismissed Graham Rose). Almost unnoticed, James Bracey achieved the unique feat by any wicket-keeper in all of first-class cricket of scoring a double century and making ten dismissals in the match. To put all of this in context, the Cricketarchive website lists 62,298 first-class matches in history – and much of this had never happened before!

How frustrating it is that this is the last we will see of the Vitality County Championship until 22 August, as the next seven weeks at county level are taken over by the Blast and the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, not to mention (and I won’t again) The Hundred? Will any of the 164 games in those three competitions (not including the women’s Hundred) match up to Somerset’s win, or the sight of Anderson bowling for Lancashire, let alone the tie at Cheltenham?