The Rothesay County Championship returned this week after the Vitality Blast took centre stage for a few weeks, with the ECB continuing to implement mid-season use of the Kookaburra ball, despite widespread criticism around the lack of positive outcomes.
There were 7 draws across the nine matches, the only exceptions being Surrey’s emphatic win at relegation-threatened Worcestershire in Division One and Northamptonshire’s Bazball-esque chase of 311 against Middlesex inside 63 overs.
Five of the games did not reach a fourth innings, whilst there were 28 individual centurions in what is a significant increase on previous gameweeks.
The round also saw Jofra Archer make his red ball comeback for Sussex after 1,500 days, before being named in the England squad for the second Test against India, whilst Lancashire remained winless after James Anderson’s first game as interim captain.
But who impressed the most during the latest week of County Championship action?
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Amid Australia’s fragile top order, opener Bancroft sent a timely reminder of his capability as he led from the front for his Gloucestershire side in their captivating draw with Derbyshire.
The skipper top scored with 58 in a first innings total of just 187, before registering his second century of the campaign as the hosts mounted a second innings fightback with the bat.
His 176 came off 366 balls, occupying the crease for the entirety of day three and sharing a 222-run stand with Graeme van Buuren for the fourth wicket, to help put Gloucestershire in a position to declare after trailing by 211 runs.
2. Finlay Bean (Yorkshire)
23-year-old talent Bean has had a difficult start to life in Division One but took full advantage of favourable conditions to record a career-best 224 against the leaders, Nottinghamshire.
The left-hander, who had a previous high score of 31 in 12 innings this season, was patient for his 30 boundaries and one six in a marathon nine-hour stay at the crease, anchoring the visitors to 510 in a high-scoring draw at Trent Bridge.
3. Harry Came (Derbyshire)
The Derbyshire batter is quietly enjoying a productive Championship campaign and passed 2,000 career First-Class runs at Bristol with two significant contributions.
In the first innings, Came reached his first century of the season in a 206-run partnership with fellow centurion Wayne Madsen to put the promotion-chasing visitors in a commanding position after the first innings.
With David Lloyd carrying an injury, the 26-year-old was promoted to open with Caleb Jewell for a final day chase of 316 and swiftly put on 177 with the Australian overseas until the pair were dismissed in quick succession, with Came falling just nine runs short of making it two centuries in the match.
4. Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)
The experienced batter continues to be a consistent performer for the Welsh side with an unbeaten century on day four to ensure the visitors earned a draw at runaway Division Two leaders Leicestershire.
Trailing by 223 after the first innings, the 39-year-old came to the crease with the visitors in trouble at 36-3 but thwarted the Foxes’ push for victory by adding 225 runs for the fourth wicket with Sam Northeast in nearly 80 overs.
His 133 was a watchful one with just 11 boundaries, following on from a first innings 56, taking his season average to an impressive 71.11 – higher than any other player to have played more than one game.
5. James Coles (Sussex)
Coles is proving to be one of the standout talents on the county circuit, reaching his first century of the campaign on day one at Chester-le-Street.
The 21-year-old played a composed knock against an impressive Durham pace attack in testing conditions, ending unbeaten on 148 in the visitors’ total of 361, with 17 fours and one six.
On a weather-hit day three, Coles then struck a valuable 53 to boost their slender advantage and frustrate Durham, who had made early inroads into the Sussex top order, making the draw the most likely result heading into the final day.
6. Michael Pepper (Essex)
Wicketkeeper Pepper made his career-best First-Class score to help struggling Essex avoid defeat against Hampshire at Chelmsford.
The hosts found themselves 131-5 midway through the morning session on day four and still in need of a further 26 runs just to make their opponents bat again, but Pepper, along with his captain Tom Westley, successfully guided their side to within the brink of handshakes being exchanged.
Whilst Westley played a much more sedate role, Pepper was positive and switched up the tempo of the innings, surpassing his previous best of 115 on his way to 140 from just 154 balls, including 20 fours and one six, sharing a sixth wicket stand of 215 runs and even catching up to his teammate who had been at the crease nearly 50 overs earlier.
7. Graeme van Buuren (Gloucestershire)
After being on the back foot for the first two days of the match, all-rounder van Buuren was a key instigator as Gloucestershire recovered and almost snatched the win in the final session of the match.
The 34-year-old was eventually out on 175 in the second innings, putting on a double-century stand with Cameron Bancroft and adding a further 106 runs with James Bracey as the hosts declared after overturning their sizeable first innings deficit.
With Derbyshire well placed to reach their target of 316 in 67 overs, the left-arm spinner intervened with four quick wickets in the evening session to leave the visitors eight down and forced to abort their chase late on, with van Buuren unable to breach the defences of Anuj Dal in the final over.
8. Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
England all-rounder Dawson showcased why many believe his international recall should not be limited to the white ball, with runs and wickets that put Hampshire into a match-winning position against Essex.
Dawson top-scored with 139 from 235 balls with 14 fours and three sixes, sharing a partnership worth 133 alongside Indian debutant Tilak Varma as Hampshire made 453 to take a firm grip with a lead of 157.
The 35-year-old was quickly into the action again as he dismissed both openers inside the first 16 overs of Essex’s second innings, before removing Matt Critchley for the second time in the match and first innings centurion Charlie Allison early on day four to swing the balance firmly in the visitors’ favour until Westley and Pepper stood firm, ending with figures of 4-82 from 41 overs.
9. Nathan Smith (Surrey)
New Zealand international Smith came back to haunt his old side as defending champions Surrey eased to victory against bottom side Worcestershire inside three days.
Returning to the county where he took 27 Championship wickets in 2024, the right-arm seamer’s exceptional figures of 6-38 dismantled the hosts in the second innings as they were all out for just 125, setting Surrey a mere 49 runs to complete a comfortable win.
Ably supported by Matt Fisher, who also took seven wickets in the match, the pair raced through the lower order with six wickets falling in as many overs as the unbeaten visitors closed the gap on leaders Nottinghamshire to just two points.
10. Liam Guthrie (Northamptonshire)
Smith’s figures were not the best of the round, though as Australia left-arm quick Guthrie claimed a career-best 7-94 to set Northamptonshire on their way to victory over Middlesex at Wantage Road.
His maiden five-wicket haul for the club began with three in his first four overs, before removing Leus du Plooy and Luke Hollman, who both made half-centuries, with centurion Joe Cracknell becoming his seventh victim early on day two.
In a high-scoring contest, Guthrie managed a further two scalps in the second innings in the form of top scorers Josh De Caires and Max Holden to end with match figures of 9-154, able to sit back and watch the batters complete a remarkable chase of 311 to stay firmly in the promotion hunt.
11. Jack Morley (Derbyshire)
Another career-best effort, this time for Derbyshire’s left-arm spinner Morley, who took 6-55 on day one against Gloucestershire at Bristol.
On a pitch offering very little for the seamers, the former Lancashire man triggered a dramatic collapse from 68-0 to 187 all out to claim the second five-wicket haul of his career as the visitors dominated the early proceedings.
A useful contribution with the bat added 42 for the final wicket to extend their lead above 200, and he made an early breakthrough to remove opener Joe Phillips again in the match, but that was where the rewards ended as the Gloucestershire batters began to take charge, with Morley’s 49 overs yielding 178 runs.
Honourable Mentions
There were five centurions at Blackpool between Lancashire and Kent, with Ashton Turner marking his Championship debut for the Red Rose with a career-best 154 off just 148 balls.
Luke Wells (152) and Josh Bohannon (124) also reached three figures, as did Kent’s Ben Compton (135), who is now leading the race to the 1,000 run-mark this season.
Remarkably, though, the innings of the match belonged to Grant Stewart for his second blockbuster century of the season in the lower order, this time making 130 from 122 balls with nine sixes to rescue a draw on the final day from a seemingly perilous position.
20-year-old Daniel Ibrahim made a career-best score (121*) to help Sussex earn a draw at Durham, as did Middlesex’s Joe Cracknell (112) in just his fifth First-Class appearance.
Elsewhere, another 20-year-old in Charlie Allison scored his second century of the season for Essex, whilst fellow young talent Asa Tribe registered his maiden First-Class ton for Glamorgan at Leicestershire, where Rehan Ahmed impressed once again in the top order for the Foxes with a third century of the campaign.
Northamptonshire duo Luke Procter and James Sales joined first innings centurion Saif Zaib in reaching three figures to guide their side to an impressive final day run chase against Middlesex.
Tom Westley, Wayne Madsen and Sam Northeast all led from the front for Essex, Derbyshire and Glamorgan respectively with crucial hundreds – the 30th of Westley’s First-Class career.
Meanwhile, there were also centuries for Somerset‘s Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Tom Lammonby at Edgbaston, Leicestershire’s Sol Budinger and Tilak Varma on debut for Hampshire as a new overseas addition.
There was considerably less joy for the bowlers around the country, though overseas trio Kyle Abbott (Hampshire), Gurinder Sandhu (Sussex) and debutant Corey Rocchiccioli (Warwickshire) all claimed five-wicket hauls, as did Middlesex left-arm spinner Zafer Gohar.
By Dom Harris
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
