The seventh round of the County Championship for 2025 led to the first major casualty of the season, with Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings relinquishing the responsibility after yet another loss for the Red Rose at Northamptonshire.
With every side now having played five games, the map for the season ahead is starting to be laid out, with each side beginning to discover what end of the respective tables they will be fighting at. From Lancashire, who are propping up to Division Two, to high-flying Nottinghamshire at the summit of Division One, have a read to see how your county’s season is shaping up so far and whether it looks like you can be setting sky-high expectations or will be left desperately wishing for the 2026 season to start…
Division One
Table-topping Nottinghamshire thrashed Hampshire by 366 runs at Trent Bridge as their fine start to the season continued. Hampshire offered little resistance with the bat throughout the game, with only number nine batter Kyle Abbott (67) passing 50, whilst they crumbled to 116 all out second time around as Brett Hutton (4 - 56) and Lyndon James (5 - 22) shared nine wickets between them to help their side romp to victory. The hosts finished off Hampshire with the ball, but set up their victory by posting two competitive totals in excess of 300. 138 from Freddie McCann saw them post 330 first time around, before hundreds from Jack Haynes (120) and Liam Patterson-White (135) cemented their dominance position in the match in their second innings, with Abbott’s match figures of 8 - 119 the only real positive with the ball for Hampshire.
Essex defied Yorkshire on the final day at Chelmsford to rescue a draw, finishing on 273 - 9 as the visitors failed to pick up the final wicket they required in the last 13.4 overs of the match. Simon Harmer (32*) and Jamie Porter (2*) dug in to eventually see Essex to safety, but long vigils from Matt Critchley (75) and Michael Pepper (68) earlier in the day meant that they were in a position to do so. After a low scoring first half of the match, Adam Lyth’s 185 spurred Yorkshire on to reach 426 - 6 declared second time around, following George Hill’s 6 - 51 helping them bowl Essex out for 123 to claim a first innings lead of 93, which helped them manage to set Essex 520 for victory. Essex fared much better second time around though, with Shane Snater’s 32 ball duck epitomising the dogged determination that they showed to grind out a draw.
Jake Libby’s magnificent 167 was ultimately in vain for Worcestershire as they fell 47 runs short of beating Sussex. The hosts had been in dire trouble after slipping from 80 - 0 to 88 - 6 on the first day, before Jack Carson’s 102 from number eight dragged them up to 284, despite 5 - 56 from Tom Taylor. Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s 5 - 40 then allowed Sussex to bowl Worcestershire out for 180 and after posting 256 second time around, thanks to half centuries from Tom Alsop (72) and James Coles (68), they were in the driving seat. Libby’s excellent innings gave the Pears hope though of pulling off a remarkable innings, but he lacked support with Henry Nicholls’ 34 the next highest score, as they ended up falling agonisingly short.
Edgbaston served up another run fest this season, as Surrey held Warwickshire to a draw on a dream of a pitch for the two sides’ batters. The two sides shook hands with Surrey on 15 - 0 second time around, after being asked to follow on by Warwickshire, despite posting 504 in their first innings. An unbeaten 174 from wicket-keeper Ben Foakes nursed Surrey to 504 from the slightly perilous position of 331 - 8 to make the task of negotiating a draw a much simpler task then it might have been. The Bears were in the driving seat from early on in the match, as hundreds from Tom Latham (184), Ed Barnard (177*) and Zen Malik (105*) in just his second match saw them rack up 665 - 5 declared. Taking 20 wickets on such a batting friendly wicket was always going to be difficult for Warwickshire though and ultimately proved impossible, with the hosts having to settle for a draw.
Division Two
Glamorgan thumped Kent by an innings and 161 runs in one of just two Division Two matches, completing a difficult week for Kent that started with them losing narrowly at Lord’s against Middlesex. There was nothing narrow about their defeat in Canterbury though, as only Chris Benjamin (94*) reached 50 for them in either innings, as they crumbled to 212 and 176 all out. This followed the visitors amassing 549 - 9 declared in the first innings of the match, with Ben Kellaway posting a maiden first-class hundred (181*) and surpassing his previous best of 74 from last time out, to set them on their way to a thumping victory.
Lancashire remained rooted to the bottom of the top, following their relegation last season, after suffering a disappointing 70 run victory at Northamptonshire. The Red Rose were bundled out for 165 in their second innings, in what ultimately proved to be Keaton Jennings’ last match as captain. Another Marcus Harris (121) century and 59 from Matty Hurst had seen them take a slender 38 run lead at the halfway point of the match, but 273 from Northamptonshire second time around, thanks to 50 from Saif Zaib and an attacking 28 ball 65 from Ben Sanderson, saw them set Lancashire 226 for victory. This time around there were no Marcus Harris heroics though, as Lancashire fell to yet another defeat and those in the red half of the county were left casting envious looks at their Yorkshire foes.
Round Seven Fixtures - Division One
Durham vs Nottinghamshire - Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street
Somerset vs Sussex - The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
Surrey vs Yorkshire - The Kia Oval, Kennington
Warwickshire vs Hampshire - Edgbaston, Birmingham
Worcestershire vs Essex - Visit Worcestershire New Road, Worcester
Round Seven Fixtures - Division Two
Glamorgan vs Northamptonshire - Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Gloucestershire vs Kent - Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
Lancashire vs Derbyshire - Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
Middlesex vs Leicestershire - Lord’s Cricket Ground, St John’s Wood
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