A reduced fourth round of the County Championship saw just five games take place across both divisions, with eight sides not in action. Only Middlesex’s trip to Derbyshire continued into the final day, as the fourth round rather failed to live up to the drama of some of the previous rounds in truth.
This time around there were no controversial match-winning catches, angry remonstrations at the fall of the final wicket or spectacular rebound catches; however - four sides still picked up vital victories and there was even a first win of the season for reigning champions Surrey, so stick around for a full round-up of the action from a scaled-down few days of cricket.
Division One
Surrey’s bid for a fourth consecutive County Championship title finally got up and running at the fourth time of asking, as they cruised to an eight wicket victory over Somerset. The hosts chased down Somerset’s measly target of 36 in just 5.2 overs, with captain Rory Burns (20*) and Jamie Smith (12*) guiding them home, despite the loss of Dom Sibley and Ollie Pope. Surrey took control of the game by establishing an 84 run first innings lead, as half centuries from Burns (76), Sibley (53), Smith (58) and Dan Lawrence (55*) helped them post 367 in reply to Somerset’s 283. Tom Lammonby made 76 and captain Lewis Gregory 62 for Somerset, but Jordan Clark’s 5 - 68 helped Surrey to bowl them out for under 300. After starting with an 84 run deficit, Somerset’s hopes of turning the game around vanished as Surrey reduced them to 38 - 7 and despite a fighting half century from Migael Pretorius (54), they were bowled out for 119 and Surrey romped home to victory.
Nottinghamshire thrashed Sussex by nine wickets at Trent Bridge to establish a 10 point lead over Surrey at the top of Division One. Unbeaten half centuries from captain Haseeb Hammed (62*) and England opener Ben Duckett (59*) saw them reach their target of 148 with ease. Despite starting their second innings 131 runs behind Nottinghamshire and slumping from 89 - 0 to 167 - 7, Sussex had briefly threatened to put the pressure back on the hosts, courtesy of an 87 run partnership between captain John Simpson (74) and Jack Carson (43). However, 17-year-old Farhan Ahmed managed to polish off the Sussex innings before too much damage had been incurred and his side’s top order raced home to victory as their brilliant start to the season continued. The damage was done for Sussex in their first innings, as Josh Tongue (5 - 44) and Brett Hutton (4 - 53) shared nine wickets between them to bowl Sussex out for 169. A first half century of the match for Hameed (85) allowed Nottinghamshire to post 300 and they maintained their advantage for the rest of the game, on their route to a comfortable victory.
A bowler friendly game saw Durham triumph at Worcestershire in a quick-fire contest, as the hosts’ miserable start to the season continued. Ollie Robinson (22*) and Graham Clark (20*) calmed any Durham nerves by leading them to their target of 108 with six wickets remaining. Worcestershire had managed to force their way back into the game, through bowling Durham out for 136 after themselves being knocked over for 162, thanks to Jake Ball’s 5 - 47. The Pears soon relinquished this advantage though, as their battings woes continued, with Ben Raine (4 - 20) and South African debutant Codi Yusuf (4 - 26) ripping through the hapless hosts to bowl them out for 81. The division’s bottom side were able to pick up four wickets in Durham’s chase, but failed to put any real pressure on the visitors as they picked up their first victory of the season.
Division Two
Another bowlers’ game helped Leicestershire climb to the summit of Division Two, as they snuck home for a two wicket victory at Gloucestershire. Dom Goodman (4 - 33) and Ajeet Singh-Dale (3 - 58) shared seven wickets between them to give the hosts an outside shot at victory, but Ben Green (15*) and Roman Walker (7*) eventually saw Leicestershire home. The pivotal moment in a very even game was Gloucestershire’s second innings, when they were bowled out for 152 after surrendering just a 10 run deficit, largely thanks to figures of 4 - 32 from Ian Holland. The hosts thought they had bowled themselves back into the game, with Goodman’s 5 - 54 helping them to bowl Leicestershire out for 262, despite half centuries from Lewis Hill (55), Holland (52) and Ben Cox (53). This was in response to being bowled out for 252 themselves, as Ben Green took 5 - 63 for Leicestershire and James Bracey (93*) lacked any real support. However, a poor second innings meant that Gloucestershire posted a below par target and the visitors were just about able to squeak home to a nervy win.
The other game in Division Two saw Middlesex defy Derbyshire on the final day to secure a hard-fought draw. Despite being asked to follow on and losing both Max Holden (94) and Stephen Eskinazi (61) in the space of two balls prior to lunch, the visitors were able to reach 307 - 7 and stave off any chance of a Derbyshire victory, with Ryan Higgins (56) and Zafar Gohar (52*) also making half centuries. Derbyshire stamped their authority on the game in their first innings, wracking up 472, largely thanks to half centuries from David Lloyd (93), Harry Came (73) and Luis Reece (60) occupying a second century of the season from Martin Andersson, against his former county. Zak Chappell’s 4 - 55 helped Derbyshire to bowl the visitors out for 315, despite half centuries from Leus du Plooy (52), Ben Geddes (59) and Jack Davies (54), in order to put themselves in position to enforce the follow on. However, Middlesex provided sterner resistance second time around and prevented Derbyshire from forcing a victory.
Round Five Fixtures - Division One
Hampshire vs Durham - Utilita Bowl, Southampton
Somerset vs Essex - The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
Yorkshire vs Warwickshire - Headingley, Leeds
Round Five Fixtures - Division Two
Glamorgan vs Derbyshire - Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Lancashire vs Gloucestershire - Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
Leicestershire vs Northamptonshire - Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester
Middlesex vs Kent - Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood
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