Wars of the Roses Averted – Again

The final round of the Vitality County Championship still had a few things to settle, but the weather meant that some of the potential drama ebbed away. To stay up, Lancashire needed to win and hope that they could overhaul Nottinghamshire. Only 26 overs of play were possible in the first two days at Worcester, where the home side were put in to bat. Worcestershire were reduced to 56 for seven, but recovered to 180 all out, despite Anderson Phillip taking five for 65. Lancashire needed to pile up the batting points, but were bowled out for 177, and so by the end of the third day they knew they would be playing Second Division cricket in 2025. On the final day the home side reached 223 for nine before the game ended as a draw. The retiring Joe Leach was unbeaten on 30 when the game ended. Two years ago, Lancashire had been runners-up in the league, so it has been a rapid decline for them.

Meanwhile, at Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire were put in to bat and had reached 324 for six by the close of the second day. Nineteen-year-old Freddie McCann hasn’t been the most high-profile emerging teenager this summer, but his 130 was his second century in five matches. Kyle Verreyne then hit 148 not out to take his side up to 487 all out. Warwickshire replied with 373 for seven, Sam Hain top-scoring with 153 not out, as the game ended in a draw.

Champions Surrey travelled to Chelmsford, where Essex chose to bat first. Dean Elgar (182, his best score in the Championship) and Tom Westley (135) put on 253 for the second wicket, then Matt Critchley scored (112) before Essex declared on 508 for eight. Surrey gave debuts to three players: Yousef Majid picked up two wickets, starting with Westley. Josh Blake kept wicket and took a catch before making 38 not out in Surrey’s reply of 267 for seven, with Dom Sibley top-scoring with 125 as the game ended in a draw. Ollie Sykes was the third debutant. Jamie Porter took one wicket in the innings, which was enough to ensure he was the joint leading wicket-taker of the summer, with 56.

Hampshire finished as runners-up, 17 points behind Surrey, after they beat Somerset in three days at Taunton. The hosts chose to bat first, but were bowled out for 136, with Kyle Abbott and Liam Dawson both taking four wickets. Hampshire took a solid lead, bowled out for 196, with Jack Leach taking five for 52 to keep his side in it. In their second innings, Somerset made only 180, Abbott taking five for 37. Needing 121 for victory, Hampshire fell to 46 for four, but Dawson joined James Vince and they saw them most of their way there, eventually winning by five wickets. Dawson ended the summer with 956 runs and 54 wickets, narrowly missing out on the now very rare season double.

The first two days were lost to the weather at Chester-le-Street, where Kent chose to field first. Alex Lees hit 144 out of Durham’s total of 360, with Matt Parkinson taking six for 109. Bottom side Kent had reached 353 for eight when the game ended in a draw, and will hope to rebuild in the Second Division next summer.

Yorkshire were odds-on to join Sussex in winning promotion out of the second tier and they dominated proceedings at Headingley, where Northamptonshire were completely overrun as they fielded two first-class debutants in Krish Patel and Fateh Singh. The visitors were all out for 147, with Ben Coad taking four for 51 to ensure he was the joint leading wicket-taker of the summer on 56. Adam Lyth (147) equalled the away side on his own, adding 260 for the second wicket with James Wharton, who went on to make a mammoth 285, hitting 32 fours and ten sixes. Yorkshire went on to score 726 for seven – the second highest score in the county’s history, beaten only by an effort back in 1896. Northamptonshire finished the game on 71 for two in their second innings. Yorkshire and Lancashire confirmed their division swap within an hour of each other on the third afternoon.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire’s challengers Middlesex were frustrated at Hove, where no play was possible in the first two days. When the game did get going, the London outfit was asked to bat and Sam Robson made 113 before the rest rather fell away as they were dismissed for 271, James Coles taking a career-best four for 61. The game then took on an end-of-term feeling as, first, Tom Haines hit 105 before Coles (132 not out) and John Simpson (87 not out) put on an unbeaten 226 for the fifth wicket, with nine bowlers used by the visitors. Sussex ended on 459 for four, 20 points clear at the top of the table and 41 ahead of third-placed Middlesex.

The first two days were also lost at Grace Road, where Derbyshire eventually chose to field first and bowled out Leicestershire for 280. They had reached 252 for three in reply when the game ended in a draw, meaning Derbyshire picked up the wooden spoon, 20 points adrift of the rest. Wayne Madsen was on 105 not out, and for the home side Alex Green made his first-class debut, but was out for nought and did not take a wicket.

Finally, hosts Glamorgan were put in to bat by Gloucestershire at Sophia Gardens after the first day was lost to the weather. Colin Ingram’s 84 was enough to make him the summer’s leading runscorer, with 1351, narrowly beating Durham’s David Bedingham, who made 66 to take him to 1331. Chris Cooke hit 101 not out and his side immediately declared on 381 for four. The visitors forfeited their first innings and Glamorgan their second to make it a one-innings match, but the away side faltered badly in their run chase, bowled out for just 189 to give Glamorgan the victory by 192 runs.

So, as the autumn leaves began to fall, a compelling summer of county cricket came to a close. Surrey confirmed their status as the county to beat as they continue to dominate in the 2020s, with a squad that has far more strength in depth than any of their rivals can match. There had been many great games across the season, with Somerset’s victory over Surrey earlier in the month arguably the pick of the bunch. Fans will have enjoyed seeing the start of the careers of teenagers Farhan Ahmed, Rocky Flintoff and Archie Vaughan, two of them sons of former England captains, the other the younger brother of prodigy Rehan Ahmed (who holds the record as the youngest debutant for England in all three formats), who might prove himself to be even better than his older brother. In that sense, the future of county cricket seems in good hands – but I wish I could share the same confidence in those who run the game. The marginalisation of county cricket (and indeed of international cricket – never has a series against Australia passed me by as much as the recent one) to accommodate the much-derided Hundred seems fundamentally flawed, whatever benefits its cheerleaders claim for it. Lalit Modi may have his own reasons for his scepticism about the future of that tournament, but his financial analysis of the revenue projections raised some awkward questions.

The Playfair website will be up and running again next summer, but in the meantime I will be working on producing next year’s annual, which will be with you for the start of the next season. Enjoy the winter, which begins with England’s women in action in the T20 World Cup on Saturday, while England’s men start their Test series in Pakistan a week today. Who needs a break, after all?