Top three in Division One all win
A round of fixtures that started in a heatwave ended with a number of teams looking to the heavens or their weather apps. The most nervous were probably Hampshire, second in Division One, who won their race against time to beat Gloucestershire by six wickets at Cheltenham.
Kyle Abbott took a hat-trick either side of lunch, including Miles Hammond for a career-best 169, and picked up the last five wickets in 12 balls. With rain forecast, Hampshire scarpered to their target of 82 in 9.3 overs.
Things were less frenetic at the Oval, where Surrey completed a comfortable six-wicket win over Essex. Tom Lawes, the teenage nightwatchman, batted through for 32 not out and even hit Simon Harmer for six.
Surrey are 14 points clear of Hampshire and 31 ahead of Lancashire, who consolidated third place with an impressive four-wicket victory against Northamptonshire. Josh Bohannon was out for a fine 103 before Will Williams and Washington Sundar added an unbroken 69 for the seventh wicket.
Kent overcame a first-innings deficit to hammer the reigning champions Warwickshire by 177 runs at Edgbaston. The Kent captain Sam Billings took five catches in the second innings to set a new County Championship record of 12 dismissals in the match. At one stage the world record of 14 was on, but the last four wickets fell without Billings getting his gloves dirty.
The final Division One game, between Somerset and Yorkshire, was drawn after rain washed out the final day at Taunton.
The Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire were also frustrated by the weather at Derby. No play was possible until 1pm, and an opening partnership of 161 between Harry Came and Luis Reece ensured a comfortable day for Derbyshire.
In a match that started a day later, Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram and Sam Northeast added 306 against Leicestershire. They fell seven short of Glamorgan’s highest third-wicket partnership, but a rampant Northeast soon had eyes on a more significant record: the highest score for Glamorgan. He made a Brobdingnagian 308 not out and will resume on Saturday needing two runs to overtake Steve James’ unbeaten 309 against Sussex in 2000.
That match at Grace Road is on course to be a high-scoring draw. So was the game at Lord’s at the end of day three, but Sussex suffered a scare before securing a draw against Middlesex. Tom Helm’s jaffa to Cheteshwar Pujara was the highlight of a middle-order collapse of six wickets for 43 runs, but the lower order dug in and the time/runs equation slowly moved back in Sussex’s favour.
Northeast finishes on 308 not out!
He hit the last ball for four, when a six would have given him the record. No matter: he needs two tomorrow to make the highest score in Glamorgan’s history.
Grace Road (day three) Leicestershire 584 v Glamorgan 563-5
𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗧â𝗻 🔥🔥🔥
— Glamorgan Cricket 🏏 (@GlamCricket) July 22, 2022
Sam Northeast becomes just the 2⃣nd player to ever score 3⃣0⃣0⃣ in an innings for Glamorgan 🔥
We are in awe of a majestic innings 👏👏👏
Glamorgan 557/5
𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲: https://t.co/F3GGp6mm3i#LEIvGLAM | #GoGlam pic.twitter.com/xeb164X09y
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