Round 16, but the 14th game for all Counties started on September 26th! That, is slightly mad! I drove to Northampton for Day 1 of the game against my Essex. I drove through rain and drove away through rain. I wonder if we’ll get any results this week? Durham went into their last games as Champions of Division 2, Surrey needed just 5 points got be crowned Champions of Division 1 – County Champions for the 2nd year running. Worcestershire were on the brink of 2nd place and promotion from Division 2. Both Kent and Middlesex were on the precipice of relegation, Northants had nothing but pride to pay for. On to the scores on the doors, I’m starting to write at the end of Day 2. Coming back to things at the end of Day 3 and Surrey are confirmed County Champions for the 2nd year in a row as Essex failed to reach 250 in their 1st innings. Worcestershire also confirmed their promotion. This Essex fan is hoping they’re drawn away to both promoted teams! Here I am on the afternoon of Day 4 and there are plenty of likely results! A couple of hours of the thrilling Ryder Cup and I’m back to finish the season off!
Division 1
Hampshire v Surrey – The Ageas Bowl, Southampton. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and put Hants in to bat. Hampshire won by 52 runs.
Hampshire 219 All Out & 172 All Out , Surrey 207 All Out & 132 All Out
Hants were bowled out in 65.5 overs, in the middle of their inns of 219 was Keeper Ben Brown, who scored 78 from 107 balls. No other batter scored over 25. 20 year old Tom Lawes took 5 for 27 in his 10.5 overs. That was 3 of Surrey’s 5 points sorted.
Surrey’s innings lasted for 85.3 overs, Sai Sudharsan, signed by Surrey for their last 3 games from India top scored with 73 from 129 balls and Jordan Clark was 50-* from 75 balls, they fell short of any batting points – 2 required to be Champions! That is presuming Essex got maximum points! Liam Dawson took 5 for 44 in his 29.3 overs.
The Hants captain James Vincent scored 56 from from 103 balls as his team were bowled out in 62.3 overs. Will Jacks, who returned from England duty during the game, took 5 for 87 in his 25 overs.
Hopefully Surrey are going to receive the trophy with a win to their name. And no! They didn’t, Surrey too finished their Championship winning season with a whimper. Their 2nd innings lasted just 35.4 overs, they scored 132 and Sudharsan scored 40 of them! Liam Dawson took 4 for 53. But Surrey had done enough during the rest of the season top finish 20 points clear of Essex.
Kent v Lancashire – The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury. Keaton Jennings won the toss for Lancs and elected to bat. Match Drawn.
Lancashire 327 All Out & 390 for 8 , Kent 494 All Out
Let’s talk about Josh Bohannon – he was 3rd on the list of top scorers before this round, behind Tom Westley of Essex and James Rew of Somerset. He put himself right at the top of the pile with his 113 runs, scored from 167 balls. George Balderson in at 6 scored 54 from 128 balls and Matty Hurst 76 from 98 balls. Lancs scored their 327 in 96 overs. 4 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets. That was 3 bowling points for Kent.
Kent opener, Ben Compton after a great summer in 2022 hasn’t had the best of years, but he scored 95 very important runs in Kent’s first innings. He and Joe Denly scored 107 for the 4th wicket. Denly finished the day on 105* from 149 balls. Kent had scored 345 in 89 overs, well on the way to their 4rd batting point. Kent finished their innings with 494 in 135.2 overs! Denly went on to add a few runs, he made 136 from 200 balls. 5 of the 7 bowlers shared the wickets, George Balderson took 4 for 69 in his 21 overs.
I saw a mention of the number of drawn matches involving Lancs during the day, and this match made it their 10th draw! The weather really has had a big impact this season! Luke Wells and Keaton Jennings put on 194 for the 1st wicket, Wells scored 117 from 195 balls and Jennings 74 from 152 balls. Josh Bohannon cemented his place at the top of The Div 1 runs scored table with 68 from 142 balls. He finishes 2023 with 1257 at an average of 59.85 runs. The 26 year old must surely be sparking interest in the England camp? Lancs batted for 122 overs and scored 390 before the match came to a close – a valuable draw for Kent that ensured them Division 1 cricket in 2024.
Northamptonshire v Essex – The County Ground, Northampton. Essex won the toss and put Northants in to bat. Northants win by an innings and 39 runs (in 3 interrupted days!)
Northants 369 All Out, Essex 211 All Out & 119 All Out
I could only make one day of this match, in schoolgirl error way I’d booked myself a theatre and cinema trip! I was hoping I’d see Sir Alastair bat, but I got to see a very fine Northants innings! Lucky I appreciate cricket for the beautiful game it is! I’d only been to the County Ground in Northampton once before, fora T20 game a long time ago. I liked it, and felt very welcome! Not so much by the water lying on the pitch, and there’d been a lot of it, the ground staff did a great job off making the ground fit to play on.
And so to that innings, Northants fell to 95 for 4 before Rob Keogh and Saif Zaib put on 107 for the 5th wicket. Keogh then shared a partnership of 98 with Justin Broad. Keogh played a fabulous innings and I saw 154 of his eventual 172 from 167 balls. He hit 25 Fours and 4 Sixes, it was highly entertaining in spite of him taking my team to the cleaners! Broad was not out 56 from 95 balls. Northants made 369 in 84.2 overs, adding 3 batting points to their tally.
An innings to be admired for Rob Keogh!
Play was late to start on Day 1 and intermittent on Day 2, Essex batted for 48 overs and lost 4 wickets for 125 runs, to have a say in the title they needed maximum bonus points at the end of Day 2 that was looking unlikely, if not impossible. That impossibility was confirmed on Day 3 as Essex finished the season with a whimper. They were bowled out in 74.2 overs, Tom Westley was the top scorer with 49. The 5 bowlers all took wickets.
A tough day at the office for the Essex bowlers
If Essex’s first innings was something of a failure, it was surpassed in that respect as they lasted just 27 overs. Remarkably in their paltry total of 119 Paul Walter scored 73 from 53 balls. A grand total of 44 for the rest, taking the 2 extras in to account. Essex scored 53 fewer runs as a team in this innings than Rob Keogh scored on his own! Jack White took 5 for 57 in his 11 overs. Northants are still doomed to relegation but their performances in both this and last week’s match against Surrey will give them a lot of hope for 2024.
Sir Alastair Cook – just in case!
Nottinghamshire v Middlesex – Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Toby Roland-Jones won the toss for Middlesex and elected to bat. Notts won by 2 wickets.
Middlesex 366 All Out & 224 for 6, Notts 384 All Out & 210 for 8
Ryan Higgins has been the start of the show for Middlesex with the bat this ‘Summer’, and this match was no different. But first a mention for Steve Eskinazi who scored 58 from 93 balls, he was outstripped by Higgins who scored 137 from 182 balls, a deserved century which took him to 940 for the season, so far. Last minute signing Jayant Yadav scored 56 from 72 balls to help Middlesex to 366 in 91 overs and 3 batting points to add to the 2 they’d managed in the previous 12 games. Brett Hutton took 5 for 94 in his 26 overs.
Notts batted for 28 overs and were 92 for 2 at the end of Day 2. They batted for a total of 107.4 overs and scored 384. Joe Clarke and Ben Slater put on 134 for the 3rd wicket. Clarke scored 70 from 150 balls. Slater and Matthew Montgomery put on 70 for the 4th wicket. Montgomery scored 52 from 56 balls and Slater went on to score 140 from 284 balls. 5 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.
A bold declaration in this game as Toby Roland-Jones pushed to get a win top save his County from the drop. Opener Sam Robson carried his bat on 105* from 1098 balls as the declaration was made. That took Robson to 856 for the season at an average of 37.21. Middlesex batted for 39 overs and Brett Hutton took 2 of try 6 wickets putting him at the top of the wickets takers pile in Division 1 with 62 at an average of 21.40.
As I start today 12 14:46 Notts are 64 for 1 and need 143 runs to get the win. Middlesex very nearly did what was needed to save themselves from the drop, Notts batted for 55.2 overs and Middlesex took 8 of their wickets. Sa m Robson takling 4 of them. But Notts got the required runs and Middlesex return to Division 2 for 2024. The batting’s been a big issue this year, it’ll be interesting to see what changes they make.
Warwickshire v. Somerset – Edgbaston, Birmingham. Tom Abell won the toss and elected to bat. Match Drawn.
Somerset 215 All Out & 90 for 2 , Warwickshire 273 All Out
We have another of those stand out innings amongst a poor overall one for the team (sorry Somerset). Neil Wagner, generally known for his fiery bowling, scored 72 from 78 balls, batting at 10, I bet that was entertaining! Chris Rushworth took 5 for 47 in his 15.1 overs as Somerset were bowled out in 62.1 overs.
Warwicks had faced 37 overs by the end of Day 2 and were 112 for 3. They were bowled out in 84.1 overs for 273. Ed Barnard top scored with 73 from 144 balls. 4 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.
Somerset batted for 31 overs scoring 90 and losing 2 wickets. A match with only 177.2 overs bowled – a victim to the weather I presume.
Division 2
Durham v Leicestershire – Seat Unique Stadium, Chester-le-Street. Lewis Hill won the toss for Leics and put Durham in to bat. Durham won by an innings and 141 runs.
Durham 457 for 8 dec, Leicestershire 143 All Out & 173 All Out
Durham and batting! Just wow! They had 49 batting points before this game, and as mentioned were already Champions of Division 2. They batted for 103 overs scoring 457 runs. Another 2 Century Makers in this game, Scott Borthwick who must surely be the captain of the year scored 63 from 62 balls to kick start things ( he scored a century last week), then we get into the centuries! David Bedingham scored 156 from 206 balls and shared a 5th wicket partnership of 208 with Graham Clark who made 119 from 159 balls. Maximum batting points achieved again.
Leics have had a great 2023 after failing to win a County Cricket match last summer, but at the end of day 2 and 21.2 overs in they were 96 for 6. Things didn’t get much better on Day 3 as Leics were bowled out in 38 overs. Keeper Ben Cox had the highest score of 30. Ben Raine took 5 for 51 in his 16 overs.
Durham have of course been without Chris Rushworth this season after his move to Warwickshire, but they achieved 39 bowling points this season to add to their 54 batting points. They lost just one game and in bowling out Leics in 48.5 overs they added another to the Win column. Durham are promoted with 233 points, 71 more than Worcs in 2nd place. That, is the definition of an emphatic season! Congratulations Durham. Alex Lees finishes at the top of the runs table overall and obviously in Division 2 with 1347 runs at an average of 70.89. David Bedingham scored 1019 and Ollie Robinson 931. On the bowling front Ben Raine is the top Div 2 wicket taker with 60 at an average of 24.95 and Matthew Potts is 2nd with 54 at 22.22.
Glamorgan v Derbyshire – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Kiran Carlson won the toss for Glamorgan and put Derbys in to bat. Match Drawn.
Derbyshire 450 for 8 dec & 234 for 2, Glamorgan 301 for 5 dec & 135 for 6.
Opener Luis Reece and Keeper Brooke Guest made Carlson regret his choice at the toss as they shared a partnership of 180 for the 2nd wicket. Guest scored 96 from 162 balls and Reece went on to score 139 from 276 balls. Mitch Wagstaff in at 6 scored 78 from 84 balls. Galamorgan used 7 bowlers and 5 of them shared the wickets as Derby batted for 127 overs.
Glamorgan batted for just 11 overs and were 22 for no wicket at the end of Day 2. Kiran Cartlson made an interesting declaration with the score on 301 for 5. Opener Zain ul Hassan scored 65 from 118 balls he and Colin Ingram put on 85 for the 2nd wicket, ul Hassan scored 65 from 118 balls and Ingram 82 from 97 balls. Billy Root made 53 from 88 balls. 81.5 overs were bowled and Alex Thomson took 4 for 97. This is a mid table battle so the declaration is a little strange to say the least!
Reece scored his 2nd century of the game, scoring 119 in 125 balls, that took him to 1048 at an average of 87.33. Derby made 234 in 44.3 overs before Leus du Plooy declared.
At 15:00 on Day 4 Glamorgan are 74 for 3 and require 310 runs to get the win. In what was left of Day 4 Glamorgan reached 135, an dthe match was a draw.
Sussex v Gloucestershire – The 1st Central County Ground, Hove. Graeme van Buuren won the toss for Gloucs and put Sussex in to bat. Sussex won by 339 runs.
Sussex 202 All Out & 505 for 7 , Gloucs 195 All Out & 173 All Out
Sussex scored just 202 in 58.1 overs and over half their runs were scored by 2 players. Opener Tom Haines scored 62 from 87 balls and Jack Carson in at 8 scored 56 from 70 balls. Matt Taylor took 5 for 24 in his 13 overs.
Gloucs innings was over in 51.1 overs and the highest score went to Miles Hammond who scored 48. Sussex used 7 bowlers and 4 of them shared the wickets.
Sussex had batted for 64 overs at the end of Day 2, Ali Orr opening and Tom Clark put on 120 for the 2nd wicket. Orr scored 67 from 103 balls and Clark scored 72 from 132 balls. Tom Alsop finished the day on 46 and James Coles 51 and Sussex were 256 for 3. Well crikey Sussex went on to build a huge sore! James Coles was the top scorer with 128 from 158 balls, Fynn Hudson-Prentice scored 71 from 35 balls there was no strange declaration going on at Hove! Sussex made 505 in 118 overs! They did declare eventually.
Gloucs haven’t won a single game this season and would be rooted to the bottom of the table if Yorkshire hadn’t received a big points deduction. They were bowled out in 43.5 overs for 173 with Graeme van Buuren scoring 67 from 74 balls. 4 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets. Strike that initial sentence, Glouestershire do finish bottom of the table with 97 points. Hopefully their fans will have better things coming in 2024.
Yorkshire v Worcestershire – Headingley, Leeds. Shan Masood won the toss for Yorks and put Worcs in to bat. Yorkshire won by 6 wickets.
Worcestershire 389 All Out & 232 for 2, Yorkshire 262 for 6 dec & 363 for 4
Worcs fell to 67 for 4, Kashif Ali and Brett D’Oliveira put on 155 for the 5th wicket. Kashif scored 93 from 131 balls, D’Oliveira reached his century and Worcs achieved the point they needed for promotion. He scored 103 from 203 balls. Ben Allison, on loan from Essex scored 75 from 118 balls ad Worcs reached 389 in 102 overs. 6 bowlers used, 4 took wickets.
Yorkshire batted for 7 overs and were 24 for no wickets at the end of Day 2. Cue another declaration, this time in a game involving the 2nd and bottom placed teams. Yorkshire reached their 1st batting point and declared pretty much. George Hill had 52 from 78 balls and Matthew Revis 51 from 69 balls. Yorks started the match just 6 points behind Gloucs at the bottom of Division 2, another strange declaration. Yorks batted for 60 overs.
Worcs were 18 for 2 at the end of Day 3, with 2 centuries scored D’Oliveira declared on 232 for 2 after 30.1 overs. Jake Libby scored 109 from 89 balls and Jack Haynes 113 from 84 balls, some Bazball stuff going on there! That took Libby to 1153 at an average of 57.65.
At tea on Day 4 Yorks are 175 for 2, they require 175 to win. Shan massed and Adam Lyth had put on 88 for the 1st wicket, Masood then shared 164 runs with James Wharton. Whartin scored 80 from 107 balls and Masood went on to score 123 from 131. balls. They made 363 in 67 overs and won their 3rd game of the season, finishing on 109 points. The 48 point deduction added back in would have put them in 3rd behind Worcs.
Century Makers & 5 Wicket Takers
- Rob Keogh – Northants – 172 from 167 Balls
- Josh Bohannon – Lancs – 113 from 167 Balls
- Joe Denly – Kent – 136 from 200 Balls
- Luke Wells – Lancs – 117 from 195 Balls
- Ryan Higgins – Middlesex – 137 from 182 Balls
- Ben Slater – Notts – 140 from 284 Balls
- Sam Robson – Middlesex – 105 from 109 Balls
- David Bedingham – Durham – 156 from 206 Balls
- Graham Clark – Durham – 119 from 159 Balls
- Luis Reece – Derbys – 139 from 276 Balls
- Luis Reece – Derbys – 119 from 125 Balls
- James Coles – Sussex – 128 from 158 Balls
- Brett D’Oliveira – Worcs – 103 from 203 Balls
- Jake Libby – Worcs – 109 from 89 Balls
- Jack Haynes – Worcs – 113 from 84 Balls
- Shan Masood – Yorkshire – 123 from 131 Balls
- Jack White – Northants – 5 for 57 in 11 Overs
- Tom Lawes – Surrey – 5 for 27 in 10.5 Overs
- Liam Dawson – Hants – 5 for 44 in 29.3 Overs
- Will Jacks – Surrey – 5 for 87 in 25 Overs
- Brett Hutton – Notts – 5 for 34 in 26 Overs
- Chris Rushworth – Warwicks – 5 for 47 in 15.1 Overs
- Ben Raine- Durham – 5 for 51 in 16 Overs
- Matt Taylor – Gloucs – 5 for 24 in 13 Overs
That season flew by! Rugby Union is up next for me on a live basis, The 50 Over World Cup is up next for Cricket. Roll on the 2024 Fixtures release!
365 Sporting Days 