Roundup: Ahmed matches Botham to send Ashes message
While England discussions have circled around Shoaib Bashir and Liam Dawson, another twirling tyro has been having a summer to remember. Rehan Ahmed waved another little flag towards this winter’s Ashes tour by becoming the first Englishman to take 13 wickets and score a century in a first-class game since Ian Botham in the Jubilee Test of 1980.
He followed up his 115 and then six for 51 in Derbyshire’s first innings, with seven for 93 in their second as Leicestershire collected their sixth win of a wonderful campaign, leaping 34 points clear of second-placed Glamorgan and dancing towards promotion – whatever that will mean for 2026.
Not that Derbyshire went down without a fight, lasting until a delayed tea against a clutch of close fielders for Ahmed and fiery short-pitched stuff from Josh Hull.
“For someone who has scored four hundreds and taken a 10-fer, I certainly think Rehan’s got to be in contention [for England],” said the Leicestershire coach, Alfonso Thomas. “He’s so versatile that he can bat in any position.”
Another young England spinner, Tom Hartley, finished with 11 wickets, alongside his first-innings hundred, for Lancashire at beautiful Cheltenham. The die was cast when Gloucestershire failed to avoid the follow on, and the victory makes it two in two under Jimmy Anderson’s captaincy.
Essex took 26 minutes to hoover up the three Sussex wickets they needed to win. James Coles reached his third successive Championship century, only to be caught via Dean Elgar’s rump for 108, serenaded by seagulls. It is Essex’s second win of a torrid summer.
Hundreds from Zen Malik and Beau Webster helped Warwickshire romp to victory against Worcestershire via the third-highest run chase in their history.
Glamorgan eased to a five-wicket win against Kent, who haven’t won a first-class match since April. Kiran Carlson’s unbeaten 89, alongside vital cameos from Billy Root and Colin Ingram, ensured that the target was met without too much angst. Matt Parkinson finished with four for 82.
Middlesex whittled away at Northamptonshire resistance, leaving Rob Keogh forlorn and unbeaten after a four-and-a-half hour 61.
There were draws at Scarborough, where Surrey avoided the follow on against Yorkshire, Dom Bess took seven wickets and Jonny Bairstow left the game early when his partner went into labour; and at Southampton, where Hampshire held Notts thanks to Kyle Abbot’s no-nonsense approach to boundary hitting.
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Another cracking round, is everyone getting the hang of the Kookaburra now? Thanks for your company as ever, I’ll be back on Tuesday at Scarborough, if I can rid myself of this horrible lurgy. Have a wonderful weekend. Bye!
