Another round of county championship fixtures approaches a conclusion (indeed a number of matches have already ended), and this week marks a transition point – The T20 cup gets underway on Friday which will mean a break in the championship programme.
A WAKE UP CALL FOR SURREY
The first match I followed in this round saw the most successful of all cricketing counties, Yorkshire, taking on number two in that list Surrey. Surrey have been formidable in recent years, and in theory they have a very strong squad this year. However their results have been patchy, and this match was a horror show for them. They won the toss on the first morning, and that was about the last thing that went right for them. First they threw away the advantage winning the toss should have given them by opting bowl first in conditions that were not suitable for doing so, then a catch offered by Adam Lyth was dropped, which set the stage for a huge partnership between him and Jonathan Bairstow. Day two was heavily weather affected but Yorkshire racked up 486. It was day three (yesterday) that was the real killer for Surrey. It was only 56 from Sean Abbott, selected for his bowling, that even got them to 200, and with an advantage of 282 and just over a day and half to go Yorkshire did not hesitate to send Surrey in again. By the end of the day Surrey were 83-5 in their second innings, and any hope they might have of escape appeared to rest on the shoulders of Sibley (33 not out overnight). Just five runs had been added in the morning, and not a lot of time had elapsed when Sibley edged one from Aussie seamer Jhye Richardson into the slips and Harry Brook pouched the chance to make it 88-6. It was now a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’, with there being no one else left who could dig in for the long haul. At 90 Jack White pinned the other overnight batter Josh Blake plumb in front, and at 95 the same bowler ripped one through the defences of Jordan Clark. Sean Abbott and Matthew Fisher resisted a while, adding 25 together before Matthew Revis had Fisher caught by Root. That brought Dan Worrall, a member of the increasingly endangered species known as the ‘genuine tailender’ to the crease. The Aussie veteran, as per his usual custom, did not even bother to mark a guard. On this occasion he connected with a few lusty blows, amassing 18 before George Hill bowled him to give Yorkshire a win by an innings and 127 runs. Abbott was unbeaten on 33, giving him 89 for once out in the match, and the decidedly unusual record for a number nine of having top scored in one innings and second top scored in the other.
SOMERSET SET FOR SUCCESS
At Taunton Somerset are taking on Sussex. The weather is more likely to baulk the home side than their visitors, though it is holding good for the present. The two sides have just broken for tea with Sussex 111-7 in their second innings, after being made to follow on, a mere 162 runs short of avoiding the innings defeat (even in the most absurd of all ‘won after following-on’ matches, at Headingley in 1981, England were only the equivalent of minus 92-7 at their low water mark, when Graham Dilley joined Ian Botham at the crease). The Taunton floodlights have failed on two occasions in this match, though both times they have not been off for long. If Somerset win this, they will go second in the table, four points behind Nottinghamshire, who will soon be recording a draw against Hampshire. Somerset being behind Nottinghamshire will help to highlight the absurdity of awarding eight points for a draw – Somerst will gave won three matches, Nottinghamshire only two, but Nottinghamshire record will also include four draws, whereas Somerset have lost one match and drawn two to go with their three wins. While I have been preparing this for publication it has started raining in Taunton, so Somerset may yet be denied their win.
PHOTO GALLERY
Before sharing the gallery for this post, I have created a page containing links to all my ‘Pensthorpe 2026‘ posts. Now for my usual sign off…
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