Division Two was the place to be on Monday, with no fewer than three games going right down to the wire on the final day. Despite the Division One narrative being relatively well established by midday, the matches at Lord’s, Cardiff and Old Trafford meant that there was still plenty of excitement in store for Monday afternoon.
Although only Middlesex were able to force a victory in these three games, this fact only tells half the story of the action that unfolded across Division Two, so stick around for a more detailed review of the action, not just from these games, but also the rest of the matches that took place in round five of the County Championship!
Division One
A magnificent 10th first-class century for James Rew led Somerset to the unlikeliest of victories against Essex in the pick of the day four action in Division One. Chasing 321 for victory, Somerset fell to 179 - 6 and Essex looked the favourites for victory, only for a 133 run partnership between Rew (116) and Craig Overton (53*) to turn the tables on Essex and lead the hosts to a sensational three wicket victory. Runs had been relatively hard to come by throughout on a green top, that is until Somerset’s run chase, with Essex and Somerset trading first innings scores of 145 and 206 respectively. England hopeful Jordan Cox reached three figures for Essex in their second innings though, with his 103 before he retired hurt spearheading their 259. Simon Harmer’s four wickets, alongside his four in the first innings, appeared to have Essex on course for another victory, only for Rew and Overton, ably supported by captain Lewis Gregory’s 57, to steal the show.
Match figures of 9 - 107 from Warwickshire’s Ethan Bamber overshadowed the return of England pair Joe Root and Harry Brook to County Championship action, as the Bears claimed a five wicket victory at Yorkshire. Bamber claimed 5 - 47 as his side knocked over the White Rose for 205 in their first innings and the former Middlesex man also claimed 4 - 60 in Yorkshire’s second inning 232, despite Root finding some form with a well made 90. After being rescued themselves by Australian all-rounder Beau Webster’s 85 in their first innings 253, after slipping to 47 - 4 and 106 - 5, the visitors were able to reach their target of 185 with relatively little fuss, with Zen Malik (49*) and Webster (6*) eventually seeing them over the line.
The bulk of the runs in Division One were scored at Southampton, as Hampshire and Durham played out a rather uneventful draw on a batter friendly wicket. The players shook hands with Durham on 61 - 0 in their second innings and unable to negotiate a position to win from, as they only led by 102 at the point the game was declared as a draw. The visitors may have fancied their chances of victory when they reduced Hampshire to 259 - 6 in their first innings and still had a comfortable lead of 252, only for a 164 run partnership between Hampshire wicket-keeper Ben Brown (162) and Felix Organ (70) to snuff out any real chances of a Durham victory, despite Matt Potts’ 4 - 84. The tone for the match was set by Durham’s mammoth first innings total of 511, with Graham Clark making 160, Ollie Robinson 76 and George Drissell 69, despite Liam Dawson’s figures of 5 - 158.
Division Two
Middlesex avenged Kent’s early season smash and grab victory with one of their own at Lord’s in an enthralling finish. Zafar Gohar’s slog sweep for six off Matt Parkinson sealed a tense two wicket victory for the hosts with just one over of the match remaining, as Gohar (30*) and captain Toby Roland-Jones (23*) held their nerve, despite the loss of maiden centurion Luke Hollman (103) and Jack Davies (59) appearing to have handed Kent the upper hand. The defeat for Kent would have been particularly disappointing, given how they managed to turn the game around after being bowled out for 129 first time around after electing to bat, largely thanks to 5 - 33 from Roland-Jones. First, the visitors managed to restrict Middlesex to 238 and a first innings lead of just 109, before a masterful 223 from captain Daniel Bell-Drummond and 68 from Zak Crawley saw them post an intimidating total. With the pitch quietening down though, the hosts were able to squeak home for a second victory of the season.
Derbyshire just managed to avoid clutching defeat from the jaws of victory in a similarly dramatic conclusion at Glamorgan. A 97 run partnership between Brooke Guest (48) and Martin Andersson (78) saw them well set to chase their target of 338 at 278 - 6, only for Ben Kellaway’s 5 - 101 to help bring the hosts right back into the game. After making a career best 74, alongside Colin Ingram’s 64, in his side’s 256 - 7 declared that saw them set the visitors in excess of 300 for victory, the ambidextrous spinner also produced career best figures with the ball and played a significant role in reducing Derbyshire to 293 - 9. However, Luis Reece (12*) and Blair Tickner (1*) survived Kellaway’s last over to salvage a draw to take back to Derbyshire. The momentum fluctuated throughout the game, with Glamorgan having the initiative early on, after posting 431 thanks to half centuries from Asa Tribe (58), Sam Northeast (63), Ingram (81) and Tim Van der Gugten (62), and then bowling Derbyshire out for 350, despite half centuries for Reece (73) and Alex Thomson, with Andy Gorvin claiming 5 - 85. Both sides were in a position to win the game at contrasting times on the final day though, before having to settle for a draw.
Gloucestershire gave Lancashire an almighty scare at Old Trafford, before the hosts eventually shut up shop to deny them an improbably victory. Ollie Price’s 253* and 97 from Miles Hammond saw the visitors amass 589 - 8 before declaring on the final day with a 139 run lead. They felt as if they had a sniff of bowling Lancashire out at various times on the final day, with enough time to chase down a small target as well, but the hosts were ultimately able to eek out a lead of their own and reach 255 - 8, before a draw was declared. The Red Rose would have harboured victory ambitions of their own after posting 450 in their own first innings, courtesy of 167 from Marcus Harris, alongside 78 for Matty Hurst and 56 for Josh Bohannon, only for the visitors to reply in brilliant finish and ultimate finish the game looking the more likely to carve out a chance of victory.
Leicestershire maintained their spot at the top of Division Two, by thumping Northamptonshire by 132 runs. The visitors offered relatively little resistance in their second innings and crumbled to 156 when chasing 289, after earlier surrendering a 113 run first innings deficit, as they were knocked over for 191 first time around. Rishi Patel’s 105 anchored the hosts’ first innings 304, despite 5 - 68 from Australian Harry Conway, whilst given the ease at which they skittled Northamptonshire first time around, they were still in charge going into the final quarter of the game, despite Ben Sanderson’s 6 - 72 helping Northamptonshire to knock them over for a measly 175 themselves. Despite this apparent revival, Northamptonshire were always up against it and their nominal target of 289 always looked and ultimately proved to be a bridge too far.
Round Six Fixtures - Division One
Essex vs Yorkshire - Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford
Nottinghamshire vs Hampshire - Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Sussex vs Worcestershire - The 1st Central County Ground, Hove
Warwickshire vs Surrey - Edgbaston, Birmingham
Round Six Fixtures - Division Two
Kent vs Glamorgan - The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury
Northamptonshire vs Lancashire - County Ground, Northampton
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