Shan Masood at the Double
The hosts chose to bat first at Canterbury against Hampshire and were heavily indebted to Daniel Bell-Drummond’s 149 for taking them up to a solid first-innings total of 305, but it was Keith Barker’s six for 53 that really caught the eye. In reply, a first century of the summer for James Vince (111) set Hampshire on their way, but it was a county record fifth-wicket partnership of 273 between Liam Dawson (a career-best 171) and Ben Brown (157) that helped the away side up to a mammoth total of 652 for six declared, the fifth highest score in the county’s history. Tawanda Muyeye still managed to finish with career-best figures of two for 70. For Hamidullah Qadri there was a telling example of the ups and downs of the game – after his six wickets in the previous fixture, he conceded 155 runs without success. Kent’s second innings saw Ben Compton fall just short of a fourth century of the summer, making 89, but that was the highest score in their total of 296 all out, which left them beaten by an innings and 51 runs. Kyle Abbott took five for 29, and Nathan Gilchrist recorded his fourth successful duck.
At Edgbaston, Essex chose to bat first but only skipper Tom Westley (80) managed to score many as they were bowled out for just 168, with Danny Briggs taking four for 31, his best figures for Warwickshire. It might have proved a reasonable total had not Michael Burgess made 170 to continue his excellent start to the season. He added 111 with the last two batters to take the hosts up to a formidable 385 in reply. Oliver Hannon-Dalby batted for 63 minutes during that time before being dismissed for nought. Essex made a decent fist of their second innings, making 323, but no one made the really big score that was needed. Warwickshire knocked off the 107 runs needed without losing a wicket.
In the Overton derby at The Oval, Somerset chose to bat first and skipper Tom Abell took full advantage, making a career-high of 150 not out in a total of 337 all out. Surrey’s reply of 308 was kept in check by Peter Siddle’s excellent six for 51, as the evergreen Australian celebrated his 200th first-class game. Somerset’s second-innings score of 207 was rather disappointing, leaving the hosts with a target of 237 for victory. A brisk career–best 102 from Ryan Patel set Surrey on their way, and Jamie Overton was at the crease when his side secured a three-wicket win that took them to the top of the table, though in fairness it hadn’t been a spectacular game for either brother.
Gloucestershire’s decision to bat first at Old Trafford appeared to have paid off when Marcus Harris (67) and Chris Dent (52) put on 119 for the first wicket, but after that Hasan Ali hit back taking six for 47 to dismiss the visitors for 252. James Anderson went wicketless on his return to the side. In reply, Josh Bohannon made his maiden double century, eventually falling for 231, having put on 203 for the fourth wicket with Dane Vilas (109, his second successive century of the season). Lancashire declared on 556 for seven, with only Zafar Gohar (four for 135) having much success, during his mammoth 65-over effort. Tom Lace made 71 in the visitors’ second innings, helping them up to 247 all out, but it wasn’t enough to save them from a defeat by an innings and 57 runs.
Yorkshire travelled down to Northampton and chose to bat first. After the loss of three early wickets, a handy partnership of 131 between Dawid Malan and Harry Brook helped the visitors up to 296 all out. Dimuth Karunaratne made a modest start to his career for the White Rose outfit, scoring 13. Gareth Berg picked up five for 58 and Matthew Kelly took two for 62 on his debut for the hosts. In reply, Northamptonshire could manage only 204, with Jordan Thompson the most successful bowler (four for 54). George Hill was the star of Yorkshire’s second innings as he scored an unbeaten 151, his maiden century. Harry Brook continued his excellent start to the summer, making his fourth consecutive score of fifty or more, and he averages 159 so far. Yorkshire declared on 406 for three, setting the home side a target of 499 in a day plus 24 overs. The hosts managed to bat out the rest of the match, finishing on 318 for seven, with county debutant making 96 in just over six hours.
In the Second Division, there were four very one-sided games, with each match decided by an innings margin, three of them being finished inside three days. The only match to make it into a fourth day took place at Grace Road, where Derbyshire emerged victorious by an innings and 68 runs. The hosts chose to bat first but were dismissed for just 213, as Sam Conners picked up four for 62. Then Shan Masood more than matched that score by himself, making 219 to follow up on his 239 in his previous innings, thus becoming only the third batter this century to make back-to-back double centuries in the County Championship (following Kumar Sangakkara in 2007 and Samit Patel in 2017). He has 611 runs (average 152.75) so far this summer. Mattie McKiernan then made his maiden century, scoring 101, only for Ed Barnes to clean up the tail, picking up a career-best five for 101, as Derbyshire fell away from 504 for four to 531 all out. It was more than enough, however, as Leicestershire managed only 250 in their effort to save the game.
Derbyshire’s win left them a point behind the leaders, Nottinghamshire, who won by an innings and 141 runs at Chester-le-Street, the biggest win of the season to date. Durham were put in to bat and were dismissed for 230, with Liam Patterson-White taking five for 54. Ben Slater hit a career high of 225 not out in a mammoth stay of five minutes over ten hours at the crease. With Lyndon James (a career-best 108) he put on 220 for the fourth wicket, and Steven Mullaney eventually declared on 488 for nine. It was all tough on Matthew Potts, who took six for 107, his second six-wicket haul in consecutive matches. Durham’s batting fell away in the second innings, as they were speedily dismissed for 117.
At Worcester, Sussex lost by an innings and 34 runs after the hosts chose to bat first. Skipper Brett D’Oliveira top scored, making 169 not out as his side reached 491 all out; he is yet to be dismissed this season having scored 294 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara played something of a lone hand in the reply, as he hit 109 out of a total of 269. Following on, only Kent loanee Grant Stewart managed much, with a quick-fire 67 not out that featured five sixes, as Sussex fell away to 188 all out, and they find themselves once more bottom of the table.
It was a low-scoring affair at Sophia Gardens, but Glamorgan still lost by an innings and 82 runs. Put in to bat, the home side were skittled for just 122. John Simpson hit an unbeaten 104 in reply, which was the main contribution to Middlesex’s reply of 336, despite Chris Cooke taking six catches behind the stumps. Needing to do much better in their second innings, Glamorgan couldn’t handle Toby Roland-Jones, who took five for 40, and they were dismissed for 132 – even Marnus Labuschagne couldn’t turn things around for them.
