Numerous England players were in action this week in another round of the 2024 County Championship, which concluded today (May 20). Here’s how they fared.
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Ben Stokes
England’s Test captain returned to competitive cricket for Durham against Lancashire, in his first game since the Test series in India in early March. Stokes did not enjoy great returns with the bat, scoring two and 18, getting caught at slip in the first innings off Nathan Lyon before being bowled reverse-sweeping Luke Wells in the second. However, he was at his best with the ball, picking up seven wickets including five second-innings wickets in 20 overs – his first five-wicket haul since July 2018.
Joe Root
Root continued his fine form, top-scoring with an 88-ball 67 in Yorkshire’s first innings against Sussex. His half-century followed consecutive hundreds against Derbyshire and Glamorgan in the previous two round. However, he was out for 10 in the second innings as Yorkshire fell short of a 183-run chase.
Zak Crawley
The most notable batting performance from an England player in this round came from Crawley, who sprung back to form with a 267-ball 238. Crawley’s stellar knock came under pressure, with Kent bundled out for 178 in the first innings, Crawley himself out for a golden duck. Before his double-century in the second innings, Crawley had only mustered 63 runs in his seven Championships innings this season. After reaching his double, he fell shortly before stumps on Day 3, with 31 fours and four sixes in his 238.
– 238 runs
– 267 balls
– 31 fours
– 4 sixesZak Crawley’s epic knock comes to an end late on day three at Taunton 👏#CountyCricket2024 pic.twitter.com/uNUtUpfavW
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) May 19, 2024
Jack Leach
Four months after leaving England’s tour of India due to a knee injury, Leach played in his first county game of the season this week for Somerset against Kent. The left-arm spinner bowled only seven overs in the first innings, but took two key wickets. He had to do the hard yards in the second innings as Kent scored 564, Leach picking up another two wickets for 119 in 31 overs.
Ollie Pope
Surrey wrapped up yet another victory at The Oval inside three days, with Pope playing a crucial knock in the first innings. After Surrey were reduced to 15-4 by Worcestershire on the first morning, Pope scored a gritty 110-ball 63 in a 148-run stand with Dan Lawrence to lead their resurgence. He was out cheaply in the second innings, dismissed by Ben Gibbon for one, but Surrey completed a massive 281-run win.
Dan Lawrence
After a couple of low scores with the bat coming into this week’s clash, Lawrence played defining knocks in both innings to help Surrey continue their unbeaten run. After his important partnership with Pope in the first innings, in which Lawrence top-scored with 84, his 87 in the second innings helped Surrey to 427. He had a mixed game with the ball, hit for 53 runs in 3.3 overs in the second innings despite taking two wickets.
Ben Foakes
After a half-century in Surrey’s previous match, Foakes scored only four runs across both innings against Worcestershire. He was dismissed by Leach in the first innings and trapped lbw by Matthew Waite in the second. However, he had a game to remember behind the stumps, taking eight catches including five grabs in the second innings. Six of those catches came off the bowling of Daniel Worrall, who picked a 10-f0r in the match.
Ollie Robinson
Robinson bowled his best spell of the season so far in Sussex’s thrilling 21-run win over Yorkshire at Hove. Yorkshire were just 25 runs short of their target of 183 on day three, before Robinson picked three wickets for no runs to bring Sussex within one wicket of victory. He got Adam Lyth caught behind with a quick bouncer for the first of those three before getting Jordan Thompson and Dom Leech in his next over. His 4-42 in the second innings came on the back of 3-25 in 15.3 overs in the first innings.
A County Championship classic at Hove! 😮
Chasing 183 for victory, Yorkshire looked to be favourites at 158-6 with Adam Lyth on 73*.
Ollie Robinson had other ideas though, taking three wickets without conceding a run, before a run out for the final wicket sealed a Sussex win! pic.twitter.com/AJ1T37uFS1
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) May 19, 2024
Rehan Ahmed
Ahmed struggled with the ball in Leicestershire’s draw against Gloucestershire, but he still made a vital contribution with the bat. He picked up two wickets in Gloucestershire’s only innings, conceding 153 runs at 5.33 an over. However, he had an opportunity to make amends with the bat and scored a 57-ball 55 in Leicestershire’s second innings as they eked out a draw after following on.
Matthew Potts
Another player seeking an England recall, Potts had a decent outing in the first innings for Durham against Lancashire, returning figures of 3-100. While he bowled only three overs and went for 25 in the second innings, he took a brilliant catch running behind to dismiss Wells off the bowling of Stokes. Potts has picked 11 wickets across five matches so far this season.
Jordan Cox
After a string of low scores in his last three matches, Cox, who has yet to make his international debut, scored a match-winning hundred. Cox scored 112 off 192 deliveries in his second century of the season, helping Essex chase down 330 against Warwickshire with four wickets to spare. Essex had been bowled out for 162 in their first innings in response to Warwickshire’s 397, Cox top scoring in that innings as well with 47.
Sam Cook
Cook continued his wicket-taking run in Essex’s win, picking up three wickets and taking his tally for the season to 28 in five matches. With spots up for grabs in England’s Test bowling department, Cook’s latest performance furthers his position in the running for an international call-up.
