Essex win to move up strangely shapeless Division One table
In Division Two, Kent’s excellent form is stymied by a damaged pitch and Northamptonshire give Gloucestershire a headache
Ball one: Lehmann banks another ton
With red ball swapped for white this week, the Championship comes to its first break after six (of 14) matches still looking to establish a narrative. Only Essex and Sussex (carrying a points penalty) have won half their matches, but they’re only fourth and fifth. Five other counties have two wins and 17 points covers the top seven. That’s either the makings of a tight nip and tuck season or a structural failure to separate the wheat from the chaff – take your pick.
Even after so many overs were lost to rain, Hampshire’s fragile batting would have started the fourth day with some trepidation. The 2025 champions and 2026 table toppers, Nottinghamshire, were pawing the ground keen to set up a chase, the home side four down and only 62 runs ahead. Knock over Jake Lehmann and Ben Brown and there wasn’t much to come after – this season, there wasn’t much to come before either.
Brown was soon gone, but Lehmann, doomed to be damned as not as good as his father, is still very handy indeed, registering a 17th career century to hold off the baying hounds. Props also to the two all-rounders, Delano Potgieter and Felix Organ, who kept him company for nearly three hours, only one more wicket taken in the 50 overs possible.
The draw meant that Hampshire are still bottom, but not adrift and that Nottinghamshire are still top, but can feel the pursuers running hard on their heels.
Ball two: All I want to do is see you, Leicestershire
At risk of sounding like a mid-80s Peter Powell introducing Depeche Mode, Essex were the big movers this week, registering a second consecutive win to, if it’s not a contradiction, carry momentum into the 25 day lull.
There wasn’t much in the match until the third innings when, after overnight rain had livened up the Chelmsford pitch, the visiting batters were soon looking up to see Jamie Porter, Sam Cook and Shane Snater. If you were picking champo bowlers in the playground for a pick up match in these conditions, you would bagsy Jimmy Anderson first, but these three wouldn’t be left standing against the wall for long.
Leicestershire were gone in 60 runs, Simon Harmer not even required to take his hands out of his pockets and the target knocked off three down.
Essex will go for a hat-trick of wins come June with a trip to… Leicester.
Ball three: caps on the field; flat caps in the crowd
At Headingley, Yorkshire fielded 865 international caps against Surrey’s 171, which feels like it should be some kind of record, even without the unavailable Sam Curran’s 140. And, on this evidence, it appears that international cricket is great preparation for the county game, as Yorkshire beat Surrey by a towering innings and 127 runs.
It was the Tykes’ two ex-England batters (but don’t tell Jonny) who set up the win, Adam Lyth with his 41st first class century and Jonny Bairstow with his 32nd – what servants they have been to Yorkshire cricket.
They handed over to the home side’s all-rounders, George Hill, Matthew Revis and, er, Harry Brook, who shared 13 wickets between them in a fine ensemble effort.
The win kickstarted a hesitant season for Yorkshire, now 25 points clear of the drop zone but unlikely to be able to call on Joe Root and Harry Brook for some time, if at all. Surrey are just three points ahead of them and must hope that returning players can re-discover a mojo that has gone missing from them for the first time in years.
Ball four: Welsh dragon still breathing fire
Glamorgan are the surprise package of the season, backing up two wins with getting the better of a draw that denied Warwickshire the top spot.
The promoted county have found little difficulty in adjusting to Division One, centurions, Ben Kellaway and Colin Ingram, two of eight batters averaging over 30, illustrating the tremendously useful attribute of finding a score or two somewhere in the order in every innings.
The bowling is more reliable than stellar, but have they found a little stardust in Tom Norton, the 18 year-old backing up his debut hat-trick last week with a couple of international scalps in Dan Mousley and Beau Webster en route to 4-48? The lad has pace and aggression and, on first sight, has that ineffable quality of just being able to get batters out. Time will, of course, tell.
As it will for Kiran Carlson’s captaincy. At 28, he’s one of the younger skippers in the championship and he is demonstrating that he can inspire his charges whilst also delivering key runs himself. If England needs to strengthen its leadership group, and there’s evidence last winter that they might, his attributes might become very attractive.
Ball five: covers carnage curbs Kent
Matters are clearer at the top of Division Two, where Durham lead by 20 points. They might be a little miffed that they don’t lead by more after a leaky cover ruled out play on Day Three – though Kent, well ahead at the end of Day Two, may have a better case for a grievance.
It took a tenth wicket stand of 158 between Ben Raine and Callum Parkinson that ate up 43 overs, to secure the draw for the leaders and blunt Kent’s recent strong revival. That’s an advantage of having a solid eight at nine and a decent nine at 11 – not that such musings are any comfort to the bowlers.
The match was at the little Beckenham ground, nestled between the houses in suburban South East London, one of two outgrounds used this week in Division Two. Like James Anderson searching for the ball behind the railings at Southport, infrastructure and equipment problems may just be one of those things – a price worth paying for the delights of cricket in smaller venues where the county game can see its roots more clearly.
Ball six: tossing the Kimber in proves crucial
The best match of a quiet week was a low scoring thriller at Bristol that consigned the home side to the foot of the table and sent Northamptonshire into the second promotion slot.
After yet more craft and cunning from Ben Sanderson had left Northants with a target of 249, Gloucestershire were warmish favourites when the visitors lost their sixth wicket with 97 still to get. Enter Louis Kimber, a like-for-like replacement for Saif Zaib, withdrawn under the concussion protocol.
Kimber, who made an extraordinary double hundred a couple of years ago for Leicestershire, had little to lose and much to prove having not been selected since the first match of the season. He played his natural game and teed off to the tune of 66 with 11 fours and one six to all but get his team home, two wickets the eventual margin.
While the substitute rule has provoked much debate in recent weeks, nobody wants to see concussed players take the field. That said, having an explosive impact player available for a match situation perfectly suited to their game and the fact that they’re very motivated to prove that they should be in the starting XI, seems a very fortunate happenstance. That said, cricket has always been a funny old game.