Roundup
With the first seven-week block of Championship matches over, and the international summer stretching ahead, Australia’s county visitors are nicely warmed up.
Michael Neser topped off his time at Glamorgan, which already included 17 wickets and two fifties, with 123 as Glamorgan amassed 737 against Sussex – their second highest-total in history. He, and Surrey’s Sean Abbott (264 runs at 52, and 16 wickets), both left out of the original Australian 15, have been called into the pre-Ashes training camp and will stroll in bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Glamorgan batted for most of the day as Sussex struggled to maintain any pressure on a well-behaved pitch, hamstrung by the absence of England’s Ollie Robinson who walked off the field on Saturday lunchtime, never to return. He was spotted hobbling around on crutches, and wearing a protective boot, prior to a scan on his dodgy left ankle on Monday. Kiran Carlson was finally out for a brilliant and career-best 192, but Neser ensured that his captain’s innings was not in vain.
He dropped to one knee to pancake Steve Smith for six to reach his century, but Smith, bowling in sunglasses, shirt untucked, got his revenge, deceiving him with a floating pie. There was time for one over in Sussex’s innings before handshakes, bowled by Marnus Labuschagne – who declared himself “pretty happy where his game is”. England have been warned.
At Bristol, Australia’s Marcus Harris carried his bat for a back-against-the-wall 122 – his second of the season – but it wasn’t enough to prevent Gloucestershire falling to a 125-run defeat to Durham. The New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel, wicketless in his first appearance against Yorkshire, collected five for 96 and 10 wickets in the match.
It was Durham’s fourth win in six games and they survey all below them at the top of the Division Two table, 29 points above Sussex. The Bazball approach, inspired by one of their own sons, has proved inspirational. “Durham cricket on top of a ladder is a pretty good thing to see,” said Ryan Campbell, the head coach, afterwards. “I was brought up at a time when there were great players in Sheffield Shield cricket and the only way you could hope to win was by being positive.”
At Trent Bridge, a bold declaration by Essex, leaving Notts to chase 219 in 39 overs, never quite ignited with Nottinghamshire losing a couple of early wickets and watchful of the circling Simon Harmer, a cluster of close fielders at his beck and call. He had removed both Matthew Montgomery and Lyndon James, and Notts were 97 for four, when the captains agreed to call it a day.
Earlier, there had been a fond standing ovation for Alastair Cook, snaffled behind the stumps for 99, that first hundred at Trent Bridge still eluding him. Tom Westley made 95 and Dan Lawrence 52 to tuck away and take with him into the England squad. Australia’s players, who have enriched this early summer of the Championship, carry their spoils as well.
Updated
And that, my friends, is that! Thank you all for your company over the last seven weeks – I leave you with Surrey riding high at the top of Division One, and Durham surveying all below them at the top of Division Two. We’ll be back on June 11, till then, good bye!
