The fourth round of the 2023 County Championship has come to an end with 10 sides in action across the two divisions. Here are five talking points from another rain-affected round of fixtures.
Jamie Smith, Kemar Roach and Dan Worrall reiterate Surrey title credentials
Surrey head coach Gareth Batty described Jamie Smith’s 88 against Warwickshire as the best knock he’s seen from the England Lions wicketkeeper-batter. It was high and deserving praise for what was undoubtedly the standout innings of a low-scoring affair as Surrey sealed victory in fewer than 190 overs of play. The win took Surrey to the top of the table and while Smith’s was the innings of the game, it was a victory ultimately laid upon the foundations of Kemar Roach and Dan Worrall’s excellence with the new ball.
Warwickshire fell to 23-3 and 39-6 against the new Dukes across the two innings with Roach and Worrall taking 15 wickets between them. Surrey go to Chelmsford next week for the latest test of their title credentials; they look the team to beat so far.
Middlesex secure hugely important second win on the bounce
If Middlesex were slightly fortuitous in victory over Nottinghamshire last week, they were thoroughly deserving of their win over Kent this time round. Middlesex, and their top order in particular, endured a grim start to the season but now find themselves with back-to-back wins. Kent are likely to be in and amongst the relegation battle alongside Middlesex and they will need a sharp uptick in batting returns sooner rather than later. With the exception of openers Ben Compton and Zak Crawley – who average 62.83 and 41 respectively this season – not a single Kent batter averages more than 27. Middlesex, meanwhile, are already in a position where two wins from their remaining 10 games will likely be enough for survival; in 2022, Northants, Somerset and Warwickshire avoided the drop with two, three and two wins respectively.
Durham continue to entertain
Durham have been the most entertaining team to watch so far this summer. Their XI for the home fixture against Derbyshire included three members of the England side that started the McCullum-Stokes era at Lord’s last year – Alex Lees, Matt Potts and new loanee Matt Parkinson. There are more than just echoes of England’s approach in how they go about their business.
Lees sets the tone up top and is scoring faster than at any point in his career. New recruit Ollie Robinson was the star performer this week, scoring a century at better than a run a ball. Not long ago Robinson was regarded as a more than decent England prospect, this innings showed exactly why he is so highly regarded despite a career first-class average in the low 30s. Brydon Carse was a fellow centurion as Durham secured maximum batting bonus points. With the ball, their attack of Potts, Carse, Parkinson and Ben Raine proved far too strong for Derbyshire on this occasion. Durham are top of the table with last year’s two relegated Division One sides Yorkshire and Gloucestershire still winless.
Sussex’s luck with the weather evens itself out
Sussex were extremely fortunate to avoid defeat against Yorkshire in the previous round of fixtures with rain wiping out all play on the final day with Yorkshire requiring 63 more runs to win. On this occasion Sussex were the side bemoaning the damp late April weather as they were unable to force through victory despite a dominant performance with bat and ball.
Cheteshwar Pujara racked up yet another hundred but Sussex will be most buoyed by the positive performances from youngsters James Coles and Oli Carter. Carter, a 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, in particular is enjoying a quietly excellent start to the summer.
Leicestershire find themselves in second
The game at Grace Road came nowhere near a result as both sides racked up big totals in another game interrupted by the rain. The draw means that Leicestershire – who finished bottom of the table in 2022 – find themselves in second place with more than a fifth of the season already negotiated. Peter Handscomb and Rehan Ahmed both fell just short of first innings hundreds for Leicestershire while Chris Cooke and Michael Neser’s 211-run eighth wicket stand played a major role in Glamorgan avoiding defeat.
