We end this round of the Championship with just the top three sides still able, mathematically, to be crowned Champions. While Surrey duly wrapped up a huge victory against Nottinghamshire early on Day 3 – an innings and 125 is a comprehensive winning margin – Somerset have been trying to overcome an irritatingly tricky opponent in Yorkshire, although Day 3 ended with Somerset, apparently, finally getting on track for victory in that one. Meanwhile, in the basement duel, Lancashire cruised to what should have been a challenging target against Worcestershire and Essex were making a good attempt to flog their rain-affected match against Hampshire into life, trying for a Route One victory: the only real option available to them if they wished to win.
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To find out how it all happened and who was successful and who not… read on!


Lancashire v Worcestershire 

Probably even the most hardened Lancashire fans gave their side little chance of chasing 314 to win, with most resigned to defeat against a direct rival, but chase it they did, and they pursued it in style. Yet, halfway through the afternoon session, it looked as if it was just a matter of time before a Worcestershire side, on the up, finished-off another hapless opponent. After the early loss of night-watchman opener Tom Lester, who was run-out by Ed Barnard – hardly an auspicious start – Haseeb Hameed and Rob Jones then fell to Barnard in the space of three balls. At 47-3, the writing was on the wall. Although resistance stiffened, wickets continued to fall often enough that the Worcestershire fans were convinced that they would finish the match off some time in the afternoon or evening. What no one anticipated, from 178-6, was Dane Vilas and Josh Bohanon, would come together and put on 139 runs together in 36 overs when their initial target could only be a desperate attempt to survive for a draw.

Vilas – captain, wicket-keeper and, it seems, super-hero – scored a magnificent 107*, while Josh Bohanon, playing just his second First Class match, added to his burgeoning reputation with a career-best 78*, his second fifty in four innings and is yet to be dismissed in single figures in his First Class career. Life will get harder for him, but he may just have helped to ensure his side’s survival in Division 1. However, despite temporarily lifting Lancashire to fourth in the table, before other games had finished, they are only nine points clear of the bottom-placed rivals, but with other teams below them having two games in hand.

What it means: The bottom of the table is so tight that Lancashire’s win has pushed them up to fifth, but only 2 points clear of the relegation places and nine clear of the bottom team. This campaign is beginning to look like the blanket finish in 2017 that sent down Middlesex. Lancashire visit Taunton next and will have no illusions that they will face a result pitch, although Somerset need big batting points too and will bank on getting them batting first. Worcestershire are eight points behind Hampshire and safety and now play Hampshire in another dog-eat-dog encounter. Again, the loser will be in deep trouble with just three games to come.
 
Yorkshire v Somerset

Late on Day 3, Somerset had managed to regain some control of a situation that was slipping away from them. With their attempt to set a testing target stuttering, in came Lewis Gregory to join his captain, Tom Abell. The resultant bombardment lasted under thirteen overs, as Gregory scored 6x4 and 3x6 in a 41-ball 57. Craig Overton came in to replace him after a partnership of 93 in 76 balls and produced an 18-ball cameo, adding 62 in 40 balls until Tom Abell declared when his partner was run out. Somerset who, two sessions earlier, had been 29-3, had turned the match around and set Yorkshire a daunting 419 to win or, more likely, a day and a handful of overs to survive. The situation had “draw” written all over it if Yorkshire made any kind-of start.

When a team has come in for such a pounding, there is always a danger that its will to resist has been drained. Somerset could hardly believe their luck when Lewis Gregory removed both openers in his first four overs with the new ball. At 4-2, the Tykes were hanging-on with their fingertips. However, in the morning, night-watchman, Josh Shaw, hung on almost until Lunch, making a career-best 42 and, from 8-2 at the start, added 86 more runs, to leave Somerset increasingly desperate, before that man Lewis Gregory trapped him LBW nine minutes before Lunch. After Josh Shaw’s efforts and with Kane Williamson well set, Yorkshire had a solid platform to save the match and Somerset must have been feeling nervous.  What the White Rose got, though, was a post-lunch horror show as the Overtons and Gregory scythed through the middle order. As Sir Geoffrey would have said: “94-2, pretty good, 143-8, not so clever”. The pacemen needed a rest, but Jack Leach was getting nothing from the Headingley pitch, and so, unusually, his introduction into the attack produced some relief. Matt Fisher and David Willey batted together for more than an hour increasing the frustrations as Somerset started to get horrible imaginings of an escape for the Tykes. Jamie Overton though could not be denied, and when Fisher fell to him, Jack Brooks followed quickly too. Jamie Overton finished with 4-25, with 4-33 to Lewis Gregory, leading Somerset to a 224 run win that keeps alive, just, their hopes of a first Championship pennant. 

What it means: With four matches left for each, Somerset are thirty-two points behind, meaning that their equation is simple – they need to make up 8 points per game on the Londoners. It is a tough ask, although that Somerset – Surrey game at Taunton still looms in the penultimate round. Somerset will still need to make up significant points different even if they were to beat Surrey by an innings. For Yorkshire, the situation is bleak. The win for Lancashire leaves them bottom but one, albeit only one point behind Hampshire. Yorkshire are one of six sides that can be relegated but are in deep trouble unless they can turn around their recent slump. Such is the log-jam of teams that a win in their next game at Nottinghamshire will give them a real chance of finishing third in the table, but a defeat would be a severe blow to their hopes of survival.

Surrey v Nottinghamshire

Surrey duly completed the last rites of their game against Nottinghamshire. A win by an innings and 125 having scored only 375 is about as one-sided as you can get. Starting the day 83-2, Nottinghamshire should have taken the match at least well into the afternoon but, in the end, could not even survive until Lunch on Day 3. Nottinghamshire went from a comfortable 78-1 in the last hour of Day 2, to a miserable 149ao. The last nine wickets fell for seventy-one, as Nottinghamshire surrendered to Morkel, McKerr and Tom Curran. The manner of their surrender, having been 101ao in the first innings, is particularly alarming now that thoughts of the Championship are turning into a fight for survival. For Surrey, the news that they can demolish a side twice so convincingly even with Amar Virdi taking just a single wicket in the match and with a rookie seamer is an extraordinary guarantee for the last few games of the season. Conor McKerr, in just his seventh First Class match, starred with 4-26, with Morne Morkel taking 3-29.

What it means: Surrey’s demolition of Nottinghamshire has reinforced their claim to the title as Champions-elect and, with Somerset taking the same number of points from this round, their position is significantly reinforced. Depending on results, Surrey could even be crowned Champions before travelling to Taunton. Nottinghamshire are still fourth, but now just twelve points clear of relegation and, like Lancashire, one place below them, have one game fewer to play and are thus now in deep trouble.

Essex v Hampshire

Having lost the whole of the first day, Essex were faced with just one way to win: the Route 1 way of an innings win. For much of the last afternoon, it seemed that Hampshire might just hang on. Starting 17-2, after only three overs they had sunk to an apparently unsalvageable 24-4. However, Hampshire were making things harder than necessary for themselves. Just as Kyle Abbott and Sam Northeast seemed to be adding a little stability, night-watchman, Kyle Abbott, was needlessly run out as he took on the throw from Cover, leaving Hampshire 67-5. Northeast and Tom Alsop were still together at Lunch, 87-5 and held on for nearly twenty overs in all, adding just 28 together, but doing just what Hampshire needed: to use up time; runs were irrelevant. The problem was though that batsmen were getting in and then getting out, as Peter Siddle and Simon Harmer winkled-out batsman after batsman before they could do enough damage to halt the victory charge. With Gareth Berg, no mean batsman, due to come in at ten, Hampshire still had the batting left to salvage the draw, if only someone could play a long innings and give the rest someone to bat around. However, a 41 from Northeast, 51 from Alsop, both dismissed by Harmer just as they threatened to play that long inning, was just not quite enough to stop Essex.

Halfway through the afternoon session, Liam Dawson fell and, with him, the score now 131-8, seemingly went the Hampshire hopes, but there was still a twist to come. An hour and a half later, Tom Alsop was still there and reached his fifty. With Gareth Berg solid at the other end, the pair had added fifty and hope was beginning to grow again in the Hampshire camp. It was a flame that was cruelly extinguished just when panic could have started to set in. Forty minutes remained until the last hour was due to start and, had the pair still been together then; anything could have happened. 

Finally, though, Harmer tempted Alsop once too often, Michael Pepper juggled the catch but held on, and Essex were just one wicket short. Still, Hampshire refused to die as Berg and Fidel Edwards hung on, and the game entered its final hour. Essex took the new ball and watched in increasing disbelief as the last pair gallantly saw it off. Finally, it was the return of Harmer that ended the innings, with Berg LBW for 38. Essex had beaten the clock and won by an innings and 52 and enhanced their chances of some useful prize-money at the end of the season. 

What it means: Hampshire, in sixth and Worcestershire, bottom, are separated now by just two points. Worcestershire plays host Hampshire in the next round. This game will be another, colossal battle for survival. The Essex win has lifted them to third, twenty-five points clear of relegation but, they will still need to watch their backs in the run-in: thirty-five points behind Somerset, they are far closer to relegation than they are to the runners-up spot.

Division Two

The Division Two promotion race looked set to receive a big shake-up today, with Sussex already losing to Middlesex, who are putting in a late charge and Leicestershire on the verge of defeat to Gloucestershire. Kent started the day looking set to do no better than a draw, meaning that Warwickshire and Middlesex started the final day of matches looking set to be the big winners from this round of games. However, Kent had, on Day 3, managed to dismiss a stubborn Derbyshire and enforced the follow-on: could a Kent attack that had spent 157 overs in the field already over Days 2 and 3 and that faced another long day in the field, lift itself and apply the coup de grace on the final day and thus keep itself in the promotion hunt?

Middlesex v Sussex

It is a standard claim in the circus for the ringmaster to cry out that the acrobats are going to try, as their next trick, “something still more difficult”. This is the way that Middlesex are making their promotion push. Suddenly, a little spark that has been missing since early last season, has ignited and Middlesex are looking like the team that won the Championship in 2016; the team that was expected to run away with promotion this season. After defending small totals to turn around their last two games, Middlesex have now produced a devastating performance against a side that has been in supreme form recently. You have to be impressed. 

What it means: Middlesex are producing a promotion push that is reminiscent of Surrey’s charge up Division 2 in 2011 to go from bottom in July, to snatching the second promotion spot on the last day, ahead of long-time leaders, Northants, who faded in the final few rounds. Surrey won six of their last eight matches that season. Now up to fourth, Middlesex are still thirty-two points behind Kent with just four games left, but look to be real contenders as the sides above them falter in the run-in. Sussex are third, as Kent’s against the odds win has pushed them out of the promotion spot that they occupied at the start of the day and now lie 9 points behind Kent. In the next round, Middlesex travel to Bristol to play a side that has more than once been their bête noire, knowing that they have to keep winning and hope that Kent and Sussex drop a lot of points. Sussex play the faltering Leicestershire at Hove and need a win to keep up the pressure on Kent and hold off the Middlesex charge.

Derbyshire v Kent

At the start of the day, the Kent attack had spent already 157 consecutive overs in the field. One imagined that they would be feeling so weary that the threat, if any, to Derbyshire, would come from the spinners. The hosts were 82-2 at the start of play and with Hughes and Lace at the crease, both apparently batting soundly, there was little hint initially of the drama to come as the Kent chances of forcing a result ebbed and flowed. 

Kent’s final target was 110, which they made with some comfort, although pushed deep into the last hour to obtain the win and having got through some nervous moments as their rivals got ahead and built a lead. Derbyshire know that probably, had they held out another twenty minutes, they would have saved the game. There were two keys to the Kent win. First, the collapse from 99-2 to 137-6, as Matt Henry and Adam Riley seemed to have sealed a winning position then, as Derbyshire built a lead, and every run counted double, the sudden collapse of the tail. It had all looked so different not long before Kent set out on their chase, with Harvey Hossain batting for more than three hours, defying the Kent attack. Hardus Viljoen and then Tony Palladino gave him plenty of support, both batting for more than an hour. At 262-7, Derbyshire were 101 ahead and approaching safety. Kent needed quick wickets and, as on other occasions, this season turned to Joe Denly’s increasingly useful leg spin. Denly had already removed Viljoen and proceeded to dismantle the Derbyshire tail, taking the last three wickets in four overs on either side of Tea, leaving Hossain stranded on 62*. Denly’s 4-36 was a career-best and, as more trust is shown in his bowling, he has responded with some excellent spells and big wickets.

The target was 110, with plenty of time to get them, but it could so quickly have been different if either of the last two wickets had added even twenty runs. Callum Ferguson removed Sean Dickson early, but Zak Crawley and Heino Kuhn, who was particularly severe on the bowling, scored at more than seven an over to ensure that there were no scares. Even if the loss of three quick wickets, as Crawley, Kuhn and Denly fell, slipping from 77-1 to 87-4, must have made hearts flutter a little, there was plenty of time and a lot of batting to come. With just twenty-three more needed to win, Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sam Billings could ease back on the pace and get Kent over the line for a six-wicket win.
The main danger for Kent is the damage that 223 consecutive overs in the field will have done to their attack, with games now effectively been played back-to-back. There will be some tired legs after their new ball attack bowled a total of eighty overs in the match and even part-timer, Joe Denly, bowled more than 41. How well the Kent players recover for their next game may dictate their chances.

What it means: Kent’s win pushes them back ahead of Sussex and leaves them in pole position to accompany Warwickshire back into Division 1. They will play Northamptonshire at home, with the visitors seemingly sinking back into a slump after crushing back-to-back defeats. A win will keep Kent clear of the threat of Middlesex’s late charge and maintain the pressure on Sussex. Derbyshire play wooden spoon favourites, Glamorgan, at home, with a tight battle between a bunch of sides to finish in the top half of the table giving Derbyshire something to play for.

Glamorgan v Warwickshire

Warwickshire’s demolition of Glamorgan gives them both twenty-three points and an extra day of rest between matches. Ian Bell’s match-winning double century and 10-110 in the match for Jethan Patel were the difference between the two sides. Glamorgan made a spirited effort in their second innings, reaching 137-3, but although Brown, Carlson and Lloyd all got starts, none of them could cash in and get past fifty as Hain and Barker had in support of Ian Bell. Glamorgan’s fate was sealed as they fell from 137-3 to 202-9. Even though Smith and Hogan added 63 for the tenth wicket and, briefly, threatened to make Warwickshire bat again, the fact that the only fifties made by Glamorgan in the match came from the #8 and #10 batsmen, illustrates their problems. Glamorgan have tried to resolve this by signing Sam Cook for their last four games, as they try to avoid the wooden spoon.  

What it means: Warwickshire’s win leaves them twenty-four points clear of Sussex in third and forty-seven clear of Middlesex. With Durham the visitors next week, Warwickshire can put one foot in Division 1 with another win, although probably they will not be able to seal promotion before the penultimate round. Glamorgan are thirty points behind Northamptonshire and have just one win all season. Another defeat would leave them on the brink of sealing the wooden spoon. 

Gloucestershire v Leicestershire

What to make of the extraordinary events at Bristol? Gloucestershire have no overseas player and have a host of bowlers injured, had lost their previous Championship game by a considerable margin and also their last three Blast games yet, came through to win this match against promotion-chasing Leicestershire by a significant margin on the back of captain, Chris Dent’s, first century of the season. What is more, he made into an unbeaten double and looked like the batsman who only two seasons ago, had as good a record as any of the openers picked to tour with either the main side or the Lions. Gloucestershire fans were sceptical that the bowlers could repeat the feat of dismissing Leicestershire a second time, suggesting that the Bristol wicket is usually as flat as a pancake by the last day and pointing to the ease with which the home side had batted, but could not argue with the evidence of seeing the Foxes 24-3 inside ten overs, chasing a nominal 494 to win. David Payne and Craig Miles, who have both come through some difficult times in recent weeks, had done the initial damage before Ryan Higgins got in on the act to leave Leicestershire 52-5 and sinking fast. After some resistance from Mark Cosgrove and Ben Raine, Craig Miles had made the critical breakthrough, ending a fifty partnership just before the Close.

Starting the day on 117-6, 367 short, with only four wickets left, only an astonishing partnership could salvage the draw but, despite some substantial tail-end resistance, wickets fell at regular intervals. Seventeen-year-old Ben Charlesworth, playing in only his second First Class game, who earlier in the season was playing for Oxfordshire, came on for his first bowl of the match and duly dismissed last man, Mohammad Abbas with his first delivery to seal a win by 328 runs and, in the process, obtain his maiden First-Class wicket. For Gloucestershire, the bowling honours went to Ryan Higgins, who added 4-28 to add to his first innings 4-26, produced his career-best match figures and took his fiftieth First Class wicket in the process. Higgins has only played fifteen First Class matches, but has taken his 51 wickets at just 19.2 apiece in his career. Still only 23, Higgins is England-qualified as his family moved to Berkshire from Harare when he was a child and worked his way through the Berkshire age-group sides, before playing for Middlesex U-17s and winning his England U-19 cap. In him, it looks as if Gloucestershire have finally found a replacement for Wil Gidman.

What it means: Consecutive defeats to Kent and Gloucestershire now have ended any real hope that Leicestershire had of promotion. They now drop to fifth, behind Middlesex, thirty-nine points behind Kent. Gloucestershire, in contrast, leap from ninth to sixth and are breathing down the neck of Leicestershire in the table. Just eight points separate sixth from ninth, so there is a formidable log-jam in the lower part of the table and sides can rise or drop several places easily. Just nineteen points behind Leicestershire, a top-five finish that would be a remarkable result given the wild changes of fortune that they have suffered is not impossible.

Durham v Northamptonshire

With only pride to play for, it was a matter of who wanted it more. The game ended well inside two days, as Durham’s Jekyll and Hyde season continued with a script out of the Hammer House of Horror: it would have been wholly appropriate if a sinister Peter Cushing had been the umpire at the Pavilion End. With Northamptonshire starting the second day 189-6, already ahead, Durham needed quick wickets and much better batting second time around to make a game of it. The quick wickets came, as the last three batsmen all made ducks and Northamptonshire slumped from being 189-5, just before the Close on Day 1, to 198ao. The last five wickets fell in 22 balls for only 9 runs: Northamptonshire’s fragile batting has got no better. However, this time they did not have Middlesex in front and would not be punished for their profligacy. Chris Rushworth and Matt Salisbury, with 4-52 and 4-44 respectively, must have gone back into the dressing room anticipating putting their feet up for the rest of the day and then coming out to defend a target. Little did they imagine that they would be bowling again less than three hours later and defending only a token chase. The only time when it looked as if Durham might just fight back was when Paul Collingwood joined Cameron Steel. Durham had already lost four wickets clearing the deficit of 69 and were soon to become effectively 4-5, as Sanderson and Gleeson swept all before them. When Collingwood and Steel fell in successive overs for 27 and 50 respectively, Durham resistance was all but over: they slipped to 133ao, leaving Northamptonshire just 65 to win, which was just too few to entertain any hope of defending. 4-34 for Sanderson, 3-26 for Gleeson and 3-15 for Buck ensured Northamptonshire, barring catastrophe, a third win of the season, which duly came by seven wickets. At 45-3 there was just the chance of a real wobble, but Wakeley and Levi added the last few runs, and a sigh of relief will have fallen over Wantage Road, while at the Riverside, the patrons will reflect on a season of three steps forward and two back.   

What it means: Northamptonshire’s win pushes them back thirty points clear of Glamorgan and leaves them at the back of the tight group that extends up to Gloucestershire, in sixth. Durham are one point and one place ahead. With Durham travelling to Edgbaston and Northants to Canterbury, both have tough games to come in the next round against opposition desperate to win, so they may find themselves more adrift of the top half of the table by the end of this next round.

Day four of this round of Championship matches started with considerable uncertainty in all four games. All logic said that a Late-August pitch in Taunton would be bad news for visiting batsmen, particularly if Somerset had picked their spin twins yet, overnight, Essex had established a formidable platform that had set them up for a win against all logic. Would batting be as straightforward when the batsmen had to sleep on it and then come back and start again in the morning? Could the Nottinghamshire batsmen engineer a great escape against Hampshire, in a match that was clearly leaning towards the hosts? Who would come out on top in the battle at the Kia Oval? The previous evening it seemed that the match had started to lean definitively towards the hosts, but the game had swung one way and the other time and time again and you would be foolish to rule out another twist. At Worcester, the question was a much simpler one: how long could Yorkshire hold out against the might of Moeen Ali? Was there any reserve of Yorkshire cussedness left, or had three days staring into that intimidating beard done for them?
So, what did happen?

Somerset v Essex: Somerset get a considerable scare, but Jack Leach sweeps aside a brave Essex chase.

Overnight, Essex were 147-1, still needing 189 to win, but batting with the sort of calm accumulation that suggested that they could pull off a heist that would make the Great Train Robbery look like small beer. Nick Browne, 75* and Tom Westley, on 43* would have to make a new start, which was always going to be the danger for the chase but, if they could get through the first hour, they would have broken the back of the chase. The Somerset bowlers knew though that often a break in play is all that is needed to energise the attack and to break a batsman’s concentration and that if they could remove one of the batsmen who was set overnight, it would open an end.

For the first half hour, the hostilities seemed to be more phoney war than hot war. Eight overs produced just seven runs but, most critically, no wickets. Both sides seemed set on grinding their way to the target: Essex, by grimly hanging in there and waiting for the bowlers to tire and to start offering some cheap runs. Somerset, in contrast, wanted to keep it tight and pray on the patience of the batsmen, hoping to induce an error. It was “Operation Winkle Out”. Rather than trick to pick the Essex batting lock with spin at both ends, Somerset started with Josh Davey keeping it tight at one end, while Jack Leach wheeled away at the other. There were few freebies, but fewer great scares for the batsmen and, little by little, Browne and Westley were getting on top.

Thirteen overs into the morning Tom Westley who, the previous week, had been trying to get some form back in the 2nd XI, swept the boundary that took him to his fifty (117 balls, with 8x4). When you have a batsman averaging 14.3 for the season, batting without difficulty and partnered by another who is approaching his century and, to boot, they are past halfway to their target; you start to believe that this is just not going to be your day. The first hour was ending, and there was nothing to encourage the Somerset faithful that they could turn the match around. However, there was always the hope that one wicket might bring two. It was a hope that found itself realised as Nick Browne went for the sweep and got it horribly wrong. Alan Knott, a master of the sweep, always said that if you got down low and kept your head steady that it was a shot almost without risk, but Browne got a top edge that lobbed straight up into the air. Jamie Overton, at First Slip, ran around the wicket-keeper and pouched it. Finally, Somerset had a breakthrough, but was it too late?

Sir Geoffrey always says “look at the scoreboard and add two to it”. Like so much of what Sir Geoffrey says, he is absolutely right. 173-1: wonderful position. 173-3: not so clever (another Sir Geoffreyism). That is precisely what happened. Next over, Tom Westley played forward to Jamie Overton, missed and was convicted. Two small errors and both set batsmen had gone. The match had lurched towards Somerset, but Essex just needed another partnership. Dan Lawrence and Ryan ten Doeschate seemed to be supplying it as they put on fifty together. Approaching Lunch, only 111 were required, seven wickets were left, two set batsmen at the crease: you would back the side that is batting, wouldn’t you? Somerset had seen their gains of the morning slip away and were thinking of Lunch and the chance to think calmly about how to stop the Essex charge to victory. Leach and Bess were in harness, trying to keep things tight and get some respite. Jack Leach had bowled unchanged through the session and was probably thinking of getting through the over and getting a rest. Three deliveries to go. Arm ball. Dan Lawrence misses it. BOWLED!

Had Essex gone into Lunch three down, the chances are that they would have won comfortably. However, to lose a wicket last ball before Lunch looked like being a critical blow. Sometimes you just feel that one wicket has been seismic and, when Lawrence fell, you felt instinctively that Essex’s chances had gone too. However, once again Essex raised the hopes of their supporters with another stubborn stand. The runs to get had dropped to just 80 with six wickets left. Once again, it seemed that Somerset were letting their advantage melt away, but equally, you thought that Jack Leach could not be denied much longer and that, when the dam burst, it would burst big. Ryan ten Doeschate has played many excellent innings and reached fifty from 72 balls (8x4). Did he relax a little on reaching the milestone and let his concentration slip? Whatever the reason, the ball that Jack Leach delivered was brilliant: ten Doeschate forward, but the ball turned past his bat and hit the top of off: it was the sort of delivery that Phil Edmonds tried to bowl every ball, just pitching leg and hitting high on the off peg, that would get all but the best batsmen.

With the margin 80 and five wickets left, Essex should still have been favourites, but Jack Leach was getting on a roll, and this is what Essex must have feared all innings. He had four wickets, and that was soon to be five as, once again, one wicket became two: a top edge from Wheater, lobbed-up, straight into the bowler’s hands. Five wickets for Leach (5-68) and the end was nigh. Bopara and Harmer played out nine overs, taking what runs there were on offer, but could not make it ten. Leach got the ball to turn just enough to take Bopara’s edge and guide it onto the stumps before it could fall into the ‘keeper’s mitts. Next over, Harmer edged a ball from Dominic Bess into his pads from where it ballooned to Marcus Trescothick, who had spent most of the day fielding on his knees, suicidally close to the bat: Tresco made no mistake. Now, Somerset were not to be denied, nor was Jack Leach. Peter Siddle tried to whack him to leg and only managed to edge to Jamie Overton at slip. Leach then finished the job by trapping Jamie Porter LBW and finished with figures of 48-16-85-8, coincidentally, almost identical to Moeen Ali’s match figures. Somerset had won by 45 runs, and Leach had bowled, unchanged, since the thirty-third over of the innings and produced a spell of 37-13-69-7.

Surrey fans may do well to remember that they have a date with Jack Leach at Taunton in the penultimate round of the Championship.

What it means:
Somerset took 22 points and Essex just 3. Somerset have reduced the Surrey lead at the top by 2 points and are now 32 points behind, with a maximum of 120 points available. With third place Nottinghamshire 28 points further back with a game fewer to play, barring a spectacular implosion, the title race is between Surrey and Somerset. Two wins and three draws would almost guarantee the Runners-up spot for Somerset.
Essex are now only 12 points clear of relegation and are in danger of being dragged into the relegation battle and potentially of emulating the Middlesex double of the Championship and relegation in consecutive seasons.

Hampshire v Nottinghamshire: Hampshire pull away from danger. Nottinghamshire’s title hopes are over.

Once James Vince had wrested this match away from Nottinghamshire with a brilliant century, it was always going to tough for them to save the game. Starting at 128-4, Nottinghamshire needed a big century from someone to be able to hang on.

The aims for the two sides at the start were quite clear. Nottinghamshire needed to get through to Lunch losing no more than one wicket. For Hampshire, the target was two. Take two quick wickets, and the match might well be over before Lunch. The field set for Liam Dawson resembled a close-catchers’ convention. Six men and the bowler in his follow-through around the bat, the bowler and Gareth Berg at slip the only ones without helmets. Fifty minutes were gone, and Nottinghamshire were hanging on. Once again, the critical moment was a batsman reaching a landmark and seemingly relaxing. Steven Mullaney reached his fifty (135 balls, 5x4) and then received a ball from Liam Dawson that turned and lifted as the batsman tried to get out of the way, but only succeeded in punching the ball through to Gareth Berg off his gloves. In came Billy Root to endure a trial by spin. With Liam Dawson getting the ball to talk, but the seamers not able to produce the same danger, James Vince called-up Joe Weatherley to bowl some occasional off-spin. It took him just three balls to get the bewildered brother of the England captain to edge through to slip for only his third First Class wicket. Job done, he had two more overs and came of guarding a career-best of 3-1-2-1, and Kyle Abbott came back with the new ball.

Luke Fletcher is not the sort of man to be intimidated by a new ball and tried to show it; unfortunately, Jimmy Adams was alert to the significant outside edge that his attempt to loft Abbott over the sightscreen produced. It was not the brightest shot, and the overwhelming impression was that the wheels had come off the Nottinghamshire waggon. That impression was reinforced when, with the last ball of the same over, Abbott’s second with the new ball, Matt Carter produced an expansive leave to a ball outside his off stump… and heard the death-rattle. If Sir Geoffrey had seen it, he would have started expectorating “you dopey… There’s more brain in a pork pie!”

Lunch was delayed for fifteen minutes with eight wickets down now, and Nottinghamshire showed no inclination to oblige everyone to troop back out after eating. A superb delivery from Kyle Abbott and Rikki Wessels was trapped LBW. Mark Footitt was injured but decided to come out to bat. Footitt decided that he was going to swing and enjoy himself, but it was only going to take one straight ball to end the match. It took just twenty deliveries for the batsman to miss a straight one. Dawson finished with 35.4-8-80-4. And Nottinghamshire ate humble pie for Lunch.

What it means:
Hampshire took 21 points and Nottinghamshire just 3. While Nottinghamshire stay third, thanks to Essex also losing, they are now sixty points behind Surrey with a maximum of 96 available to them. Nottinghamshire’s title chances have ended, and even the Runners-Up spot looks to be beyond them. Hampshire move up to fifth, but Worcestershire’s maximum points win means that Hampshire are still only ten points clear of relegation and still deep in trouble.

Yorkshire v Worcestershire: Magic Moeen destroys the Tykes.

It took just forty minutes for Worcestershire to finish-off Yorkshire. Starting at 140-6, the greatest interested was just how many wickets Moeen would end up with. It took only twelve minutes for Moeen to open his account. Round the wicket to David Willey, ball turns sharply, Willey defends down completely the wrong line, off-stump impact, thanks very much! In came Matt Fisher and, three balls later, he was gone too – thin edge to Ben Cox that the wicket-keeper pouched. Six wickets for Moeen: do I hear seven? A full four and a half overs passed before another wicket fell, as Jack Brooks decided that he might as well have a hit if he had a ball to hit. Moeen threw the ball to nineteen-year-old Dillon Pennington, who had taken four in the first innings and Pennington took the last two in consecutive overs.

The final margin was an innings and 186 runs. Moeen Ali finished the innings with 23-7-49-6 and 8-86 and a double century in the match. If he is not in the squad for the 3rd Test, something is seriously wrong somewhere. 

What it means:
Worcestershire took 24 points and Yorkshire just 1, that one point thanks to the ninth wicket partnership scrambling over 200 in the first innings. However, Hampshire’s win means that Worcestershire stay in the relegation places, although they do move off the bottom of the table, just five points behind Yorkshire and safety. Worcestershire go to Old Trafford next week in the duel of the bottom two knowing that a win in that game would see them almost certainly out of the bottom two and halfway to safety. Yorkshire have undone all the benefit of their win in the previous round and are deep in trouble still, with Somerset, the visitors on Wednesday.


Surrey v Lancashire

Lancashire started the day on 177-5, with 94 more needed and two set batsmen at the crease in Croft (28*) and Bohanon (22*). We were in for an afternoon of heart-stopping action with the winner uncertain until the very last ball.

Croft and Bohanon added 20 in the first half hour as the target crept down, with Rory Burns reluctant to use Morne Morkel too heavily in the absence of the injured Jade Derbach, in case he was needed later. The stand had reached 78, and the runs required 68 when Rory Burns decided that he could wait no longer and brought back his main strike bowler. Morne Morkel repaid the faith at once. First ball of his second over. Thin edge from Steven Croft, safely into the gloves of Ben Foakes. Wicket maiden to Morkel. Surrey had the breakthrough. In his next over Morkel had the hero of the first innings, Bohanon in his sights. A quick ball just outside off from Morkel. Edge and the ball flew to Rory Burns, who was positioned at Second Slip well in front of ‘keeper or First Slip. A double blow. Both not out batsmen overnight gone and 67 still needed. Then with the new ball due in four overs, Morkel produced what seemed to be the coup de grace, surprising Joe Mennie with bounce and another edge went through to Ben Foakes. Morkel’s spell was, at that point, 4.2-1-4-3 and 203-5 had become 209-8.

Graeme Onions though is a formidable battler in a crisis and, twice in one series against South Africa, saved a Test by holding-out against a baying South African attack. Onions and Bailey applied the maxim “see ball, hit ball”, with an astonished Morkel being carted for a six – how the ball ended-up going over wide Long On, is a mystery – and a four in one over by the #10. New ball not taken. Clarke and Virdi tried to end the tail-end chutzpah. Lancashire were 24 short at Lunch, with the stand already 38. Jon Patrick McEnroe would be screaming “you cannot be serious!”

San Curran took the new ball straight after Lunch, and Graeme Onions deposited his first delivery into the stand at Mid-Wicket. This was the danger: the new ball flies faster, and if the batsmen have two or three lucky swings, the match could be all over. Morkel back. Fifteen needed. Onions charges him… and misses. Backs away to carve the next ball… and misses again! The difference was that the second one was straight. A fifth wicket for Morne Morkel, who has saved Surrey here. In came Matt Parkinson to face the music. Parkinson got off the mark with a two, first ball and saw out the over. Six from Curran’s next over. Just seven needed. Another edge to the boundary would be a disaster. 

Morkel to last man, Parkinson. The batsman gets one in his arch, pulls hard and the ball flies wide of Will Jacks at Short Leg. Jacks sticks out his hand instinctively and somehow, instead of flying to the boundary, the ball sticks in it. Surrey had won by six runs when had Will Jacks not been so quick; it could have been all but over for them. Morkel finished with 6-57 and Surrey produced the sort of win, in extremis that is the mark of champions.

What it means:
Surrey took 20 points and Lancashire 4. Although Somerset have cut the Surrey lead by two points, they are still 32 clear, and Somerset need to reduce that by more than 6 points per match from here to the end of the season. However, with Surrey still to visit Taunton, the title may be decided in that fixture. Lancashire are now bottom of the table, 11 points from safety and, with a game fewer to play, probably need to win two of their four remaining games to stay up. Anecdotally, with only a maximum of 96 points available to them, Lancashire can no longer win the Championship as, even if Surrey obtain no more points, Lancashire can only equal their points total and would have two fewer wins! More seriously, Lancashire host Worcestershire next week and, if they lose that game, will have one foot in Division 2.

Division Two

Only two matches were left in Division 2, but both provided astounding finishes, neither of which could have been predicted at Lunch the previous day.

Sussex v Derbyshire: Sussex rub Salt into the Derbyshire wounds.

At Lunch yesterday, this match had seemed all but dead, before the astonishing assault by Phil Salt had given Sussex the chance to declare and set a target. Derbyshire though made it quite clear that batting a man short; they had no intention of chasing. On a pitch that had produced 1188 runs for 26 wickets over the first three days, at 45.5 runs per wicket, you would not fancy the chances of a positive result.
However, in this match, Derbyshire have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune more than most. Losing their wicket-keeper and main strike bowler was one thing, losing a pivotal batsman to concussion as they fought to hang on was one blow too many – quite literally.

For the first hour, things proceeded calmly. Ben Slater did the lion’s share of the scoring as he and Billy Godleman brought up the fifty partnership and then reached fifty runs added in the morning session. That the runs were coming at a little better than two-an-over did not matter, the fact that no wickets had been lost, did. With attention focussed elsewhere, it seemed that there would be little action to attract the lovers of the game. Sussex though had not given up, and David Wiese bowled Billy Godleman behind his legs, leg stump and the door was ajar. As so often happens after a partnership, one wicket brought two. The next over, new batsman, Wayne Madsen, was caught in front by Chris Jordan and, suddenly, the match had turned.

What happened next was a tragedy for Derbyshire. They were continuing to defy the Sussex attack after Lunch, with opener Ben Slater looking solid until he took a sickening blow on the helmet from Jofra Archer and was forced to retire hurt. He was assessed, found to be concussed and, under the concussion protocols introduced this season, withdrawn from the match. With Daryl Smit having replaced Harvey Hossein at Tea on the first day and then Ravi Rampaul hospitalised, a second replacement player was needed, apart from the substitute for Rampaul. Former England U-19 player Anuj Dal was nominated as Slater’s replacement and duly came in at #8 for his First Class debut, although he had been a fixture for Derbyshire in their T20 campaign, having started the season in Derbyshire 2nd XI.

How much the Slater injury affected Derbyshire is uncertain but, with two new batsmen at the crease, the middle order just melted away, as Jofra Archer and Danny Briggs removed Ervine two balls after Slater was forced to go off, with Critchley and Smit in following in quick succession. Alex Hughes had dropped anchor and, with Anuj Dal, held up Sussex for a time, but now it was just a matter of when the match would end. When Ollie Robinson induced an edge from Alex Hughes through to ‘keeper Ben Brown, it was 109-6, and the wheels were falling off the Derbyshire waggon. Anuj Dal organised the tail for a while, but it was token resistance only and his gritty innings ended on 25, Danny Briggs’s third LBW of the innings. Derbyshire managed to extend the match just beyond Tea but were well beaten in the end.

What it means:
Sussex took 24 points and Derbyshire 7. Sussex take back second place and are just 4 points behind Worcestershire, with Kent 11 points behind in third. This win has extended the gap to Leicestershire in fourth place to 30 points. Derbyshire drop to sixth, 52 points behind the promotion places and any faint hopes that Derbyshire may have had of gate-crashing the promotion party, had now gone.

Northamptonshire v Middlesex: A stunning Northamptonshire collapse keeps Middlesex’s promotion hopes alive… just.

At Lunch yesterday the script seemed to be a simple one. Middlesex, following on, would set Northamptonshire a small target, would lose and their season would be over as far as competitive interest was concerned. Yes, there was a slight chance if they could win their last five matches maybe they could still go up, but no one believed that guff. This was vintage Middlesex: winning against the runaway leaders one week, losing to one of the contenders for the wooden spoon the next. Even the permanently optimistic Kevin Hand was in “good loser” mode and joking with Alex Winter. After all, when all hope is gone, you just sit back and enjoy it.

As the Northamptonshire attack tired and the Middlesex fightback continued, attitudes changed and, in private, Kevin gave me a number and said that if the lead reached that figure, Middlesex would win. Seeing how the momentum was changing, it was difficult to disagree with his infectious optimism. James Harris was 79* at the start of play, just five short of his career best and probably had mentioned to Tim Murtagh that he expected the “Lambeth Lara” to hang around. Unfortunately, James Harris had not mentioned this to Rory Kleinveldt who zeroed in with his first two deliveries, before re-arranging Murtagh’s stumps with his third. With his contract ended, this was Kleinveldt’s last wicket for Northamptonshire. 374ao. The target 216.

Now, although Northamptonshire missed-out on promotion last season by precisely the 5 points that they were deducted for a slow over-rate in one match, those who follow the team admitted that the real reason why they had not gone up was their regular batting collapses. The target was just large enough, even on a pitch that was getting easier and easier, to give them an opportunity for another.

To be in with a chance, you felt that Middlesex needed two early wickets. They got one, as James Harris took a tame return catch offered by Zaib, but that was as good as it got. Procter and Vasconcelos were batting with great security, and the spark was missing from the visitors. As Lunch approached, the match was heading just one way. Once again though, a wicket fell just before the interval. Bamber induced a loose drive from Luke Procter and ‘keeper Robbie White accepted the catch. Vasconcelos was still there though and brought up his fifty straight after the interval. With Ben Duckett nursing a broken finger and only planning to bat if required to, Northamptonshire could ill afford to lose quick wickets, but that was what happened as Tim Murtagh removed Vasconcelos and Wakeley within the first half hour after Lunch. As the procession of batsmen continued, Ben Duckett came out at #7 but lasted just three balls. Incredibly, Northamptonshire had fallen from 94-1 to 130-7. It was soon 148-8, and the match seemed to be over.

What happened next was pure drama. Nathan Buck and Ben Hutton showed an application that some of the batsmen would do well to copy. Having done so much to get their team into a winning position, they had no plans to let it slip away. Run-by-run, they chalked off the deficit and inched their side towards its target. It was under fifty, then under forty and the tension started to rise again with every run. Northamptonshire’s super fan, Wendell, could be heard over the effects mic, cheering every run. Surely Middlesex would not let this one escape now? The players came in for Tea with 43 still wanted.

As so often happens, it was the break that did for the batsmen. On their return, the ball was tossed to Tim Murtagh, after Bamber had allowed just two singles. Two more singles from Murtagh’s first over. 39 needed. Hutton 18*, Buck 20*. Maiden over from Bamber. The tension was becoming unbearable again. Tim Murtagh was, at one point, probably a couple of injuries away from an England place. Finally, having found a chance to play international cricket in the twilight of his career, thanks to an Irish grandparent, he has been able to reach the pinnacle with a Test cap in Ireland’s maiden Test and, after six wickets and a bowling average of 16.7 and, knowing that it can only go downhill from here, he has retired at the top. Tim Murtagh remains a fearsome competitor and, although not the quickest bowler in County cricket, is having a wonderful season. Once again he pulled the chestnuts out of the Middlesex fire. After 11 dot balls, he floated it up. An uncontrolled drive from Nathan Buck. Fuller takes the catch. 39 to win and surely it is all over. Six runs from Bamber’s over. The #11 in Murtagh’s sights. Sanderson gets the single to get off the strike, and the pressure is back on Brett Hutton, 23 not out. The next delivery hits the pad. Murtagh screams an appeal, and it is given.

Middlesex have come back from effectively 7-6 just after Lunch the previous day to win by 31 runs after following on. Only three times in the club’s history have they won after following on, the last time in 1924 and the previous two in the nineteenth century. Northamptonshire, for the first time in 123 years of history lose after enforcing the follow-on.

Back-to-back wins for Middlesex who, once again manage to get over the line after eight sessions of receiving a cauliflower ear.

What it means:
Middlesex took 24 points and Northamptonshire 7. Middlesex remain fifth, 39 points behind Sussex and are just about still in the promotion race, although no less than four wins out of five will do from here. The biggest issue for Middlesex is that their eight batting bonus points are 17 fewer than Sussex and 13 fewer than Warwickshire and they also have fewer bowling bonus points than either, meaning that they require an extra win to compensate. Northamptonshire are ninth and sure to finish in the bottom half of the table.

What is to come?
We have another full round of matches, with all eighteen counties in action on Wednesday, August 29th.

Division One:
Essex v Hampshire, Chelmsford
Lancashire v Worcestershire, Southport
Surrey v Nottinghamshire, Kia Oval
Yorkshire v Somerset, Headingley

Division Two:
Derbyshire v Kent, Derby
Durham v Northamptonshire, Riverside
Glamorgan v Warwickshire, Colwyn Bay
Gloucestershire v Leicestershire, Bristol
Middlesex v Sussex, Lord's

Two matches stand out: Lancashire and Worcestershire will battle for Division 1 survival. It is fair to say that the loser will be favourite to be relegated (if it is Lancashire, they will be almost down). And, in Division 2, Middlesex play their last card in their bid for promotion. A win against Sussex and we may yet see a squadron of pigs flying over Lord’s.