Tanya's roundup
On the runs piled, century after century. At Taunton, James Rew crafted his maiden double hundred, to put on the wall alongside his four other Championship tons of 2023 – all at the tender age of 19. Rew strode in with Somerset 41 for four on Monday against Hampshire, and was last man out just before tea on Tuesday as the scoreboard ticked over to 500. An innings of patience, sudden changes of pace and luck – he was dropped once at slip by James Vince – finally came a cropper to Vince’s medium pace, for 221. Rew pulled off his helmet, gave his ginger mop a shake, and waved his bat to the standing, applauding Taunton faithful – 952 Championship runs under his belt for the summer. He was helped along the way by Casey Aldridge, a ding-dong 54 from Dom Bess, temporarily back home, and 44 by the No 11 and fellow teenager Shoaib Bashir.
There was a maiden double century too for Warwickshire’s Rob Yates, the 23-year-old who has had an up-and-down time since his breakthrough year in 2021. An innings of 228 not out in nearly nine hours included a six that smashed a glass panel in Kent’s dressing room.
Finlay Bean cracked a career-best 135, his third hundred of the season, helping Yorkshire to secure four batting points against Worcestershire. He earned a rookie contract last year on the strength of his 441 for the second XI and hasn’t looked back.
There were hundreds also for two of England’s discarded men, Alex Lees (10 Tests last year) and Tom Westley (five in 2017). Lees shot to his third hundred in successive Championship innings, zipping Durham past Gloucestershire’s total. Westley held Essex together with his third century of the year – his dismissal for 135 the catalyst for Lancashire taking five for seven runs. New Zealand’s Will Young had fun on his Nottinghamshire debut with 106 not out against Surrey.
Close of play scores
DIVISION ONE
Canterbury: Kent 171 and 55-1 v Warwickshire 549-7dec
Blackpool: Lancashire 37-1 v Essex 282
Merchant Taylors’ School: Middlesex 277 v Northamptonshire 219 and 55-2
Taunton: Somerset 500 v Hampshire 58-2
The Oval Surrey 355 v Notts 248-5
DIVISION TWO
The Riverside: Durham 433-8 v Gloucestershire 316
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 54-1 v Leicestershire, rain
Hove: Sussex 402 v Derbyshire 212-3
New Road: Worcestershire 46-2 v Yorkshire 407
