An enthralling first round of the County Championship drew to a close on Monday evening, as both Worcestershire and Lancashire managed to hang on for hard-fought draws at Somerset and Middlesex respectively.
Across four days of cricket and nine fixtures, there were nail-biting draws, comfortable victories and even a lesser spotted triple hundred.
Here’s a review of everything that happened as county cricket returned to English (and Welsh) shores for the first time in 2025!
Division One
The main headline in Division One was Somerset’s Tom Banton scoring a breath-taking 371 from just 403 deliveries and making the highest score in the county’s history in the process, surpassing Australian Justin Langer’s 342 against Surrey in 2006. However, despite Kasey Aldridge’s 5 - 36 helping the hosts to roll Worcestershire over for 154 in the first innings, and James Rew’s 152 adding to Banton’s triple ton in Somerset’s 670 - 7 declared, the Pears were able to dig in and grind out a day four draw. Captain Brett D’Oliveira’s dogged 121 ensured that the game entered the fourth day, before Matthew Waite (87*) and Tom Hinley (5*) saw them to the close with one wicket remaining on 458 - 9.
Surrey’s pursuit of a fourth consecutive County Championship title started shakily, but they were eventually able to scrape a draw at Essex. Hundreds for Jordan Cox (117), Matt Critchley (145*) and Michael Pepper (109) saw the hosts declare on 582 - 6 at Chelmsford, and they had Surrey in a spot of bother after bowling them out for 365 and enforcing the follow on. On a batting friendly surface though, Essex were unable to really trouble Surrey second time around and half centuries from the former England due of Dom Sibley (66) and Ben Foakes (50) allowed them to comfortably reach 219 - 6, before the captains shook hands for a draw.
Twin hundreds for Colin Ackermann were not enough to prevent Durham from suffering a heavy eight-wicket defeat at Trent Bridge. After Lyndon James’ 125 had seen Nottinghamshire post 579 in reply to Durham’s first innings 378, the visitors were well on course to post a competitive total at 268 - 5. The dismissal of Graham Clark (62) then sparked a dramatic collapse, with Durham only mustering 289 and a slender lead. Captain Haseeb Hameed (39*) and Joe Clarke (35*) eased Nottinghamshire to their poultry target of 89 with eight wickets remaining to secure a comfortable victory.
Hampshire stuttered over the line by five wickets against Yorkshire, whose return to the top division of county cricket in England was rougher than they might have hoped. The Division One regulars skittled returning Yorkshire for 121, but failed to fully hammer home their advantage, as they only mustered 249 in reply. Adam Lyth’s tenacious 106 gave Yorkshire hope, but the left-hander was the last man out and was unable to drive his side to post an intimidating target. The hosts still lost five wickets in their case of 148 though, but were steadied by Tom Prest’s 57 and the experienced partnership of Liam Dawson (22*) and Ben Brown (1*) saw them home.
Sussex were the other side returning to Division One and experienced a much more welcome return in a run-laden draw at Edgbaston. They were faltering at 40 - 3 on day one, but managed to amass an imposing 528, thanks to hundreds from Tom Clark (140) and captain John Simpson (181*). By the time Warwickshire had finished compiling their 454, aided by 115 for opener Rob Yates, the game was already heading for a relatively unexciting draw. The visitors declared on 313 - 7 in their second innings to try and make a game off it on the final day, but Yate’s unbeaten 65 meant that Warwickshire reached 104 - 2 to ensure that the game did indeed finish in a rather uninspiring draw.
Division Two
The most exciting conclusion in the second tier was at Lord’s, as Lancashire managed to hold on for a draw late on the final day. After reducing Middlesex from 215 - 3 to 260 all out and compiling 359 thanks to Marcus Harris’ 138, the visitors were well and truly ahead in the game. Max Holden’s brilliant 184 and a further 74 from Middlesex debutant Ben Geddes though allowed Middlesex to reach 407 all out and post Lancashire a tricky target of 309. The red rose would no doubt have been fancying the chase after reaching 93 - 0, but were forced to abandon any thought of victory after first being reduced to 119 - 4 and then 247 - 8 following two wickets in two balls from Henry Brookes. All-rounder George Balderson (36*) and New Zealander Will Williams (4*) held on for Lancashire though, with Middlesex ruing wicket-keeper Jack Davies’ drop of Balderson in the final session.
Keith Dudgeon’s 7 - 36 blasted Kent to a comprehensive 145 run victory at Wantage Road against Northamptonshire. Tawanda Muyeye’s 72 guided Kent to 231 in their first innings and they were well on top after knocking Northamptonshire over for 143. Despite falling to 171 all out in their second innings, Kent were still able to complete a routine victory as Northamptonshire offered little more resistance second time around and crumbled to 114 all out, mainly as a result of Dudgeon’s 10 over blitz.
County cricket arrived in Wales with Glamorgan hosting Leicestershire at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The hosts were below par throughout though and Leicestershire strolled to an emphatic 10 wicket victory. Leicestershire were ahead in the game after replying to Glamorgan’s 229 all out with 427, as Lewis Hall (96), Chris Wright (74), Peter Handscomb (63) and Ben Cox (51) all passed 50. Captain Kiran Carlson’s 113 gave Glamorgan hope, but Andy Gorvin was left stranded on 50* as the hosts were dismissed for just 248. Chasing a miniscule target, Leicestershire raced to victory, with makeshift opener Rehan Ahmed (18*) and Sol Budginer (32*) easing them home.
Derbyshire came out on top by a similar margin of nine wickets, mainly as a result of a 177-run first innings partnership between Harry Came (83) and veteran Wayne Madsen (118). Alongside Caleb Jewell’s 61, their partnership aided Derbyshire in reaching 391 in reply to Gloucestershire’s first innings 222. Ben Charlesworth’s second innings 110 appeared to be helping Gloucestershire out of their hole, but he received minimal support from the rest of his side, as they fell to 259 all out. Jewell’s second half-century of the match (51*) and Came’s unbeaten 27 then saw them reach their target of 93 with nine wickets remaining.
Round Two Fixtures - Division One
Durham vs Warwickshire - Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street
Nottinghamshire vs Essex - Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Surrey vs Hampshire - The Kia Oval, Kennington
Sussex vs Somerset - The 1st Central County Ground, Hove
Yorkshire vs Worcestershire - Headingley, Leeds
Round Two Fixtures - Division Two
Gloucestershire vs Glamorgan - Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
Kent vs Middlesex - The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury
Lancashire vs Northamptonshire - Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
Leicestershire vs Derbyshire - Uptsonsteel County Ground, Leicester
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