Kimber’s Record-breaking Blast Falls Agonisingly Short

After a break of four weeks for the Vitality Blast, league-leaders and champions Surrey had had plenty of time to recover from their terrible defeat at the end of May. A trip to Worcester was probably just the tonic they needed, and when they were asked to bat they took full advantage, though not before skipper Rory Burns was dismissed in the first over. Dan Lawrence, with a career-best 175, was the focal point of an innings of 490 all out, despite the best efforts of loanee Shoaib Bashir, the England spinner toiling away for 38 overs. When the pair encountered each other on the second day, Lawrence took Bashir for six off each of his first five deliveries, before the spinner served up five wides, then was hit for a single off a no-ball, and his final delivery was a dot ball: it meant he’d conceded a record-equalling 38 runs in the over (matching the 38 scored by Andrew Flintoff off Alex Tudor in 1998).

Only Jake Libby put up any kind of resistance for the hosts, who failed to handle the Surrey attack, batting for almost five hours for his 77. Worcestershire were eventually all out for 212 and had to follow on. No one played the really big knock required, and the home side were dismissed for 273, with Jordan Clark taking five for 65 to help his side win by an innings and 5 runs, ensuring that Surrey remained top of the table.

Nearest challengers Essex had a more challenging assignment as they welcomed Durham to Chelmsford. Alex Lees set the pace with 113 after his side chose to bat first, while David Bedingham’s 65 helped him up towards a total of 888 runs for the summer, topping the list. But the real star was Ollie Robinson, who hit a swift, career-best 198 in just 209 balls, opening up the possibility that England might field two Ollie Robinsons in their Test side next month. With a career average just a touch under 40 and his runs coming at almost 68 per 100 balls, he may just edge out Ben Foakes, whose average is marginally below Robinson but whose runs come at a strike rate of 50.

Essex welcomed South African paceman Eathan Bosch to their side, and he made an almost instant impact, dismissing Michael Jones with only his second delivery in English cricket. Things became tougher after that as the visitors piled up a huge total of 587 in just 122 overs, with even Simon Harmer going for 188 runs. Paul Walter’s 134 (his second century) was the key element in the home side’s reply of 339. Durham chose to bat again and made 184 for eight declared, with Michael Pepper picking up five more victims behind the stumps to give him nine dismissals in the match. Jamie Porter took three wickets, giving him 32 for the summer – more than anyone else. That left Essex chasing 433 for victory, with 11 overs and a day to do it. In Dean Elgar, Essex have exactly the right man to bat out for a draw, as he proved in making 120 not out, sharing an unbeaten third-wicket partnership of 165 with Tom Westley as the match ended in a draw with the hosts on 208 for two – but more significantly, they now trail Surrey by 20 points in the title race.

Meanwhile, Somerset travelled to Trent Bridge and were asked to field first. At 190 for seven, Nottinghamshire were struggling, until an unlikely saviour, in the form of Olly Stone, stepped up – the paceman hitting 81, the third fifty of his career – to take his side to a total of 360 all out. Kasey Aldridge took five for 94. In reply, Tom Abell hit 111 and Migael Pretorius smashed 95 not out in 71 balls, including seven sixes, his highest score for the county. Their efforts ensured Somerset reached 470 to give them a first-innings lead of 110, despite Dillon Pennington taking five for 96. An opening partnership of 172 between Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater put the hosts in a much safer position, before Slater batted out the final day to reach 168 not out in eight-and-a-half hours. The game ended as a draw with Nottinghamshire on 425 for two, while Somerset are just three points adrift of Essex.

At the bottom of the table, Lancashire visited Canterbury and put Kent in to bat. Tawanda Muyeye top-scored with 59 while Aussie recruit Charlie Stobo hit 36 on his debut for the county, but altogether the team could muster only 244 all out. Luke Wells (150) and Josh Bohannon proceeded to add 312 for the second wicket as the Red Rose outfit took complete control of proceedings. Bohannon went on to score 205 and in the end the visitors were able to declare on 549 for nine. The Kent batting once again struggled, with Stobo making a career-best 64 in vain, as they were all out for 222. Lancashire’s win by an innings and 83 runs catapulted them up the table, while Kent now find themselves at the bottom.

The most gripping game in the division took place at Edgbaston, where Hampshire chose to bat first. A total of 298 was solid enough, but a fine spell from Keith Barker, who took six for 74, ensured the visitors ended the first innings with a narrow lead, Warwickshire being bowled out for 254. James Vince (166 not out) and Liam Dawson (120) put on 255 for the sixth wicket to establish complete control for Hampshire (setting a new record for this wicket against Warwickshire). They declared on 453 for six, setting a target of 498. That was never in range, but an away win certainly was. Sam Hain took nearly six hours over making his 111 not out, with Michael Burgess he batted for more than 54 overs to add 183 for the seventh wicket. In the end, Hain and Oliver Hannon-Dalby had to survive 30 minutes as the final pair, which they did, ending up on 321 for nine.

But the most sensational match of the round happened in the Second Division, as leaders Sussex welcomed Leicestershire to the south coast and were asked to bat first. Oli Carter’s 96 was an impressive start, but John Simpson (who has had a new lease of life since moving to Hove to skipper the side) was the star, making an unbeaten 183 to take his side up to 442 all out. Loan signing Ian Holland took four for 64. Peter Handscomb did his best for the visitors, making 92, but by then England’s Ollie Robinson had already blown away the top order, taking three wickets in his first five overs. Leicestershire were all out for 275, but Simpson decided against enforcing the follow-on. Sussex hurried to 296 for six declared in their second innings to set a target of 464. The final day began with the score on 139 for five, and most fans will have expected the game to come to a relatively swift and inevitable end.

How wrong they were. In the third over of the day, Louis Kimber came out to bat with the score now 144 for six. Six overs later, the last best hope went with Wiaan Mulder: 175 for seven. Kimber was joined by Ben Cox – and then everything changed. The pair added a county record 239 runs for the eighth wicket, of which Cox made just 34. But that tells only part of the story, as the runs came in just 129 minutes. Kimber, meanwhile began to break records, left, right and centre. His fifty came up in an impressive 37 balls, but took just 25 more to reach his hundred, by which point he was in the middle of an unforgettable over facing Ollie Robinson, who conceded three no balls and ended up going for a new British record of 43 runs in the over, with two sixes, six fours and a single. Kimber reached his 150 in 19 more deliveries and by the time his total was 200 he had faced only 100 balls – the fastest double century in Championship history, and the second fastest in all first-class cricket. He had scored 191 runs before lunch, bettered only by Russell Endean in South Africa in 1954-55. On he went, victory now tantalisingly within reach. But it wasn’t to be as Nathan McAndrew bowled him out for 243 off just 127 balls, with 20 of them going for four and a record 21 of them going for six (no batter has hit more in a first-class innings in England, and only three have bettered it anywhere) – 206 of his runs had come in boundaries. The last man out, Leicestershire were all out for 445, beaten by just 18 runs in one of the most extraordinary games you could imagine. It was the second highest fourth-innings total in the county’s history, beaten only by the 483 they scored against the same opponents on the same ground last year.

At Lord’s, Middlesex decided to bat first and were grateful to Ryan Higgins for his innings of 163 to take the hosts up to 433 all out; he now has 867 runs this summer. Having dismissed Higgins to close the innings, Luis Reece then donned his pads and hit back with a century of his own, eventually falling for 125. But the rest of the Derbyshire side fell away and they were all out for 339, with Toby Roland-Jones taking five for 81, while Higgins picked up three wickets. Higgins continued his fine match, top-scoring with 67 in Middlesex’s second innings of 302. Derbyshire began the final day chasing 397 for victory. A late flurry (50) from Zak Chappell was the best the away side could muster, as they were bowled out for 202 to give the hosts victory by 194 runs, keeping them just eight points adrift of Sussex, while Derbyshire remain adrift at the foot of the table.

You always get the sense that the summer is really here when cricket arrives at Scarborough, but Gloucestershire couldn’t have had a much worse outcome after choosing to field first, as Adam Lyth (129) and Finlay Bean (164) piled on 307 for the first wicket – the highest first-wicket partnership in Scarborough’s history. After that, the visitors fought back well to bowl out the hosts for 456, but soon found themselves on the receiving end when it was their turn to bat, as they were dismissed for 197 and had to follow on. Zaman Akhter made his maiden half-century (70), but it wasn’t enough as Gloucestershire were all out for 237, beaten by an innings and 22 runs as Yorkshire recorded their first win of the season.

Finally, Northamptonshire decided to bat first on their trip to Sophia Gardens. They made 279, and were indebted to Gus Miller on his first-class debut for scoring 40 batting at No 9. Marnus Labuschagne (93) top-scored for the home side as they took control in their reply, with seven batters scoring 40 or more in their total of 490. Ricardo Vasconcelos had the misfortune of falling on 99 as his side looked to save the match. A career-best 168 not out from Lewis McManus ensured they did, as the away side eventually declared on 472 for eight. That left Glamorgan with 39 overs to chase down 262. Labuschagne’s rapid 64 gave them a chance, but in the end the pursuit was abandoned and they finished on 207 for eight.