County Championship 2023

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The 123rd iteration of the County Championship. Guildford remembers them all...

This year it is sponsored by Bazball, as McCullum and Stokes are urging counties to replicate England's bold new approach.

The ECB seem to be right behind this, as they've instituted some rule changes. Points for a draw have been reduced from 8 to 5; batting bonus points now kick in from 250 runs, up to 450 runs, rather than the old method of between 200 and 400; pitches are expected to be flatter; and the Kookaburra ball will be used in rounds nine and ten.

On the flip side, the Dukes balls are expected to be more potent for the bowlers, so it could be carnage if the batsmen take it on.

The structure for the season remains the same as last year, with a top division of ten and a second division of eight. Two go up, two go down, and it's a straight league format with no play-offs or finals. And it looks as though this structure will remain for the foreseeable future, after the counties didn't buy into Strauss' reforms.

Surrey are the defending champions after, dare I say, a somewhat unexpected victory last year, and have been installed as the bookmakers' favourites to win it again. However, Hampshire, Essex and Lancashire are all expected to be well in the hunt, along with newly-promoted Nottinghamshire. Middlesex and Northants are the current favourites for the drop.

In Division Two, Yorkshire, blighted by off the field scandal and financial strife, are nonetheless strong favourites to bounce straight back up to the top flight, with Sussex second favourites (despite only winning once last season) and Glamorgan just behind.

So, will Somerset finally end all those years of hurt? Will Dom Sibley blast a 50-ball ton? Will someone break Lara's 501? And, most importantly, will Leicestershire actually win a game of cricket?

guildfordbat wrote:Not often my thinking works out as good as this ... so please forgive me milking Yorkshire's woes following their Double Night Watchman Plan.

Buoyed by his two cheap - if not give away - night watchmen wickets last night, Neser went on to finish with a sevenfer as Yorks were skittled for 106 and Jonny left marooned on 20 not out.

Ha...I thought you did rather well on the warning of dire consequences there , Guildford. Certainly didn't do Yorkshire much good...though I suppose it is possible they just really didn't want to send Jonny in late on day one so soon after his first workout back with the gloves. But of course it didn't even achieve that aim so a fail all round !

Neser did his chances of a call up later in the Ashes no harm at all with the seven wicket haul , hat trick included. At least Jonny got a bit of a look at him though it appears he didn't get a lot of the strike anyway.

Watching a bit of the Glamorgan second innings at the moment and the ball doesn't seem to be going around corners so the Neser demolition is pretty impressive stuff. Yorkshire having a pretty rotten few weeks on one front or another ...

Lot of rain messing up a few games today , eh ?

alfie wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Not often my thinking works out as good as this ... so please forgive me milking Yorkshire's woes following their Double Night Watchman Plan.

Buoyed by his two cheap - if not give away - night watchmen wickets last night, Neser went on to finish with a sevenfer as Yorks were skittled for 106 and Jonny left marooned on 20 not out.

Ha...I thought you did rather well on the warning of dire consequences there , Guildford. Certainly didn't do Yorkshire much good...though I suppose it is possible they just really didn't want to send Jonny in late on day one so soon after his first workout back with the gloves. But of course it didn't even achieve that aim so a fail all round !

Neser did his chances of a call up later in the Ashes no harm at all with the seven wicket haul , hat trick included. At least Jonny got a bit of a look at him though it appears he didn't get a lot of the strike anyway.

Watching a bit of the Glamorgan second innings at the moment and the ball doesn't seem to be going around corners so the Neser demolition is pretty impressive stuff. Yorkshire having a pretty rotten few weeks on one front or another ...

Lot of rain messing up a few games today , eh ?

Ha ... in return as well, Alfie.

Good point too about Nesser increasing his chances of an Ashes call up. Atm I would put him ahead of Abbott currently playing for Surrey.

Yeah, shame about the weather holding up most of the games today although Surrey might settle for more of the wet stuff. 

Hampshire collapsing against Warwickshire in the battle of the teams that just don't quite look as good as they do on paper.

Some pretty dramatic finishes today, but frustrating that another round of fixtures has been blighted by rain. It has been some pretty poor weather in England so far this spring.

As mentioned above, Hampshire shot out for 97 in the third innings, handing Warwickshire an unlikely innings win. Rushworth outshining Woakes with 7/38, and only two batsmen getting into double figures, with Vince getting a half-century. Vince featured in an unlikely 62-run 10th wicket stand with Mohammad Abbas, which saved Hampshire from complete humiliation. Vince averaging 90 for the season so far.

Surrey just about held on for a draw v Essex, and Nottinghamshire did likewise, although Notts needed Olly Stone to hobble out to the middle and see off the final 5 balls. Broad's defensive vigil of 50 balls proving highly important.

Probably the most dramatic game was in Division Two. Yorkshire needed 492 to defeat Glamorgan, and Lyth propelled them along with a brilliant 174 off 220 balls; but when he fell Yorkshire collapsed into disarray, and they only just about clung on for the draw with 9 wickets down.

Ollie Robinson limped off with cramp in Sussex's draw, but his match figures were stupendous - 14/117, with seven-for in each innings.

How do we fit YJB, Foakes and James Rew into the batting line up for the Ashes this summer?

Yorkshire's winless start to the season continues. Today they were defeated by one wicket by Durham. Durham were chasing 246 in a low-scoring game, and Yorkshire had them on the ropes at 173/8, but a 50 by Ben Raine (FC average 22) and a supporting act of 25 by England's Potts took Durham close, before the injured Carse scored the winning runs, with the aid of a runner, to put Durham past the winning post.

It means Durham are starting to run away at the top in Division Two with three wins from five, while Yorkshire are set to be bottom of the table and already 26 points (at least) adrift of promotion.

The final day of the Lancashire Somerset game has been a terrible advert for 4 day cricket. Somerset going at 3 an over against Vilas and Croft bowling seam up, who are now taking an age to bowl the final few overs. Rew’s first innings ton was excellent - the second was decidedly easier!

Lancs twitter account being very petty about Somerset not declaring on this pudding, seemingly forgetting Lancashire could bat again the old fashioned way by actually taking some wickets. But they’d rather pick Tom Hartley to bowl darts than Parkinson.

Seems like there was a fair bit of disagreement between Lancashire and Somerset! Craig Overton said they offered Lancashire a chase of 350 in 90 overs, but Lancashire weren't agreeable, and Somerset didn't want to offer something more generous.

James Rew, only 19, has made a great start to the season with the bat - the only Division One player to cross 500 runs so far and with an average of 67. The one concern I would note is his strike-rate is below 50 and only marginally better than Sibley this season, which could cause issues in this new era, were England to be interested.

Just one set of fixtures before the CC takes a bit of a break. Surrey and Warwickshire the ones in a title race, with 3rd placed Hampshire quite a way back.

Duty281 wrote:Yorkshire's winless start to the season continues. Today they were defeated by one wicket by Durham. Durham were chasing 246 in a low-scoring game, and Yorkshire had them on the ropes at 173/8, but a 50 by Ben Raine (FC average 22) and a supporting act of 25 by England's Potts took Durham close, before the injured Carse scored the winning runs, with the aid of a runner, to put Durham past the winning post.

It means Durham are starting to run away at the top in Division Two with three wins from five, while Yorkshire are set to be bottom of the table and already 26 points (at least) adrift of promotion.

Yorkshire haven't exactly had much luck either - lost two matches by one wicket each, and in their other match were rained off from a winning position. All while not having exactly their strongest team available (Root spending his time not playing in the IPL)

Seems like Yorkshire's winless start to the season will soon be over. They bowled out the also winless Derbyshire for 111, Matt Fisher 5/30, and Yorkshire are 200/3 in reply.

Cook's also notched up his first century of the season and his 74th FC hundred in total.

Duty281 wrote:Seems like Yorkshire's winless start to the season will soon be over. They bowled out the also winless Derbyshire for 111, Matt Fisher 5/30, and Yorkshire are 200/3 in reply.

Cook's also notched up his first century of the season and his 74th FC hundred in total.

With the sort of luck Yorkshire have had lately , it will probably rain for three days

Nice to see Cook in good form. Seeing as England tempted Moeen back into the fold , what price an approach to the Chef if Crawley gets injured ?

(That was a joke in case anyone was wondering)

Yes, or Derbyshire will do what England did in Brisbane in 2010 and rack up 500/1 in the third innings!

I'd still rather have Cook in the team than Crawley. Wonder how Cook would have fared with Bazball?

I said it jokingly, but Derbyshire are actually fighting back. Yorkshire's lead was 242, and they ripped Derbyshire apart early on to leave the hosts reeling at 17/4. But Haider Ali and Leus du Plooy have combined in an unbeaten partnership of 231 (more than doubling their team's first innings score!) in 309 balls, to put Derbyshire into a narrow lead of 6 and still only 4 down. The players are off for bad light, so unlikely to see any more play today.

Can they press on tomorrow and give Yorkshire a tough target?

Have to also note Dom Bess' figures in this second Derbyshire innings - 15-1-95-0 About as far from the test team as it's possible to be.

Elsewhere, in Division 1, looks like Essex, Warwickshire and Kent will be handing out thrashings. Winless Lancashire have a sizable lead over Hampshire, but are currently struggling to take wickets in the 3rd innings.

Also, Rehan Ahmed has bowled a wicket-less but quite economical 20 overs for Leicestershire in their battle against Gloucestershire.

Craig Overton might have received the worst decision I’ve seen at any level of cricket today - given out caught when the ball bounced about a foot in front of the fielder.

https://twitter.com/somersetccc/status/1668280075437973507?s=46&t=wiyMk89KEarOmJqGyH0sCA

Cheers for flagging up. That is a jaw-droppingly incompetent decision. Let's assume the umpire was feeling the effects of the hot weather.

Don't know how Derbyshire managed this big partnership, because the ball's doing all sorts, yet they remain at the crease. If they get the lead to 200+, definitely game on.

Derbyshire get the lead up to 97 at lunch, but they are five down, after losing Ali to what looked a harsh LBW decision. However Guest has established himself at the crease. The second new ball didn't do much for Yorkshire, but there's plenty of seam movement off the pitch and low bounce to keep the bowlers more than interested.

Very well poised. Yorkshire could take a couple of quick wickets and knock Derbyshire over fairly quickly, however if Derbyshire bat through the afternoon then that lead could be around 200. And 200 will be tough on this...

Yorkshire lose 3 wickets in the final 5 overs of the day to end 65 behind with 4 wickets in hand - Masood 68* the key you’d think…

Yeah Derbyshire got their lead to 211, when number 11 Lakmal had to retire hurt due to copping a very nasty blow on his head. He was also unable to bowl, giving Yorkshire a significant advantage in the chase. Yorkshire were cruising and then, like you say, the late collapse has left it very well balanced. In news that will inflame Guildford, the second of the three lost was a nightwatchman.

Also important to note it's probably three wickets in hand, as Dawid Malan was unable to field for Derbyshire's second innings and Yorkshire don't expect him to bat. So Masood, Bess, Thompson and Coad is all that's left, unless they try and get Malan out there if two are needed with nine down or something. Should be a great finish. Masood definitely the key.

Also have a potentially interesting situation with Surrey and Kent. Surrey needing 501 to win, but are 263/3 at stumps.

Duty281 wrote:Yeah Derbyshire got their lead to 211, when number 11 Lakmal had to retire hurt due to copping a very nasty blow on his head. He was also unable to bowl, giving Yorkshire a significant advantage in the chase. Yorkshire were cruising and then, like you say, the late collapse has left it very well balanced. In news that will inflame Guildford, the second of the three lost was a nightwatchman.

Also important to note it's probably three wickets in hand, as Dawid Malan was unable to field for Derbyshire's second innings and Yorkshire don't expect him to bat. So Masood, Bess,  Thompson and Coad is all that's left, unless they try and get Malan out there if two are needed with nine down or something. Should be a great finish. Masood definitely the key.

Also have a potentially interesting situation with Surrey and Kent. Surrey needing 501 to win, but are 263/3 at stumps.

Ha! Thanks for the call out, Duty, although I hope I only get inflamed when it's my own team goofing in this way! As for Yorks here, I'll just smile knowingly and smugly whist quietly (but not too quietly) saying, ''I told you''.

Yep, potentially interesting at Canterbury as you astutely say although I do fear the new ball due in 6 overs will help the hop county. We never know but my guess is that Surrey will end up about 80 runs shy - they let Kent's tail wag too much this morning.

JDizzle wrote:Craig Overton might have received the worst decision I’ve seen at any level of cricket today - given out caught when the ball bounced about a foot in front of the fielder.

https://twitter.com/somersetccc/status/1668280075437973507?s=46&t=wiyMk89KEarOmJqGyH0sCA

Hope the umpire has apologised after seeing this on replay - at full speed in real time (and with the fielder's shadow affecting the view), it probably wasn't so obvious, and especially to the fielders, so I maybe have a little sympathy.
Was listening to some of the radio coverage of Lancashire yesterday, and there was some discussion of introducing a form of review system in the County Championship - probably not the full on Hawkeye + Snicko system but some from of video assistance that would have clearly shown a decision like this to be wrong.

Yorkshire get their first win, winning by three wickets. Dawid Malan was actually OK to bat, but he perished to the very first ball of the day. Dom Bess, however, scored 41, a vital knock for him as he endured a mostly torrid game until that point, and Masood remained unbeaten and just short of a century.

Derbyshire only got a few near misses after the Malan wicket, including a strange LBW appeal against Masood where the umpire appeared to give it out and then changed his mind.

Yorkshire lost Malan first ball of the day, but then Masood and Bess saw them home comfortably.

Lancashire also home comfortably in the end.

A couple of Somerset wickets gone, and an already tall order surely now out of reach, with 200+ needed and only 4 wickets in hand.

Kent v Surrey getting more interesting - under 200 needed now and still 7 wickets in hand. Surely still too much, but they are giving it a really good go.

Warwickshire looking pretty good for either an innings win or a small run chase, still 100 run lead with the last 5 Notts wickets to claim.

Glamorgan fighting hard, and almost up to level scores with 5 second innings wikets in hand. Still odds on a Durham win, but being made to work for it.

Gloucestershire v Leicestershire looking more like a draw.

Worcestershire just starting a run chase of 386 - surely too much in 2.5 sessions.

Worcestershire are going hard at that chase - 50 up in 9.2 overs. Will be 79 overs total. You'd surely think they'd lose a couple of quick wickets at some point and be on the defensive, but for now they're giving it a go.

Surrey are probably favourites if they get into lunch three down, with Kent by no means out of it. Some good fixtures this week.

Definitely a few games in the balance at the moment - the sort of position where a qicket or wto would really change the complexion of things.
Surrey needing 166 with 7 wickets in hand would look much less solid at say 150 with 5 wickets

So tea on day 4;

Surrey nearly there thanks to centuries from Sibley and Foakes - 49 needed with 6 wickets left

Notts 20 runs ahead with 4 wickets remaining. Only lost 2 wickets so far today, so if they get out with a draw will definitely have been earned.

Good afternoon for Glamorgan, now leading by 132 with 3 wickets left.

Leicestershire chasing another 172 runs for a victory that looked unlikely at lunch. A Gloucestershire collapse from 160-5 to 180-9 played a big part in this opportunity.

Worcestershire giving it a good go, but still been 191 runs with 8 wickets left - surely not enough time to force a win, although they have managed to get half way in 45 overs.

Notts (probable) survival is almost entirely down to Joe Clarke who has made 216 in this innings, with none of his teammates even reaching 50. Still time for Warwickshire to force a result, they perhaps have 20 overs to bowl Notts out, and have enough time to chase them down.

Foakes and Sibley have been amazing. A win for Leicestershire would propel them back up to a promotion hunt.

Worcestershire need 120 off 120 balls, seven wickets left. It's quite possible...

Duty281 wrote:Notts (probable) survival is almost entirely down to Joe Clarke who has made 216 in this innings, with none of his teammates even reaching 50. Still time for Warwickshire to force a result, they perhaps have 20 overs to bowl Notts out, and have enough time to chase them down.

Foakes and Sibley have been amazing. A win for Leicestershire would propel them back up to a promotion hunt.

Slightly surprised that the Notts v Warwickshire game has been called as a draw already - Notts only led by less than 50 with 4 wickets left, so a couple of quick wickets and the tail not wagging could have seen a result fairly quickly.

Leicestershire with a decent chance of nicking this - under 100 runs to get in about 20 overs.

Worcestershire also under 100 to get with 7 wickets in hand - 17 overs to get them.

So a day of incredible chases then.

Surrey chasing down 501, with centuries from Sibley, Foakes and Smith, the second largest chase in County Championship history.

Leicestershire chasing down 221 in 42 overs, with Rehan Ahmed promoted to 3 and bashing 71.

And Worcestershire looking to chase down 386 inside 79 overs, a 97 from Libby and century from Azhar Ali getting them close. They need 8 off the last over, 3 wickets left...

Notts and Glamorgan also rescuing unlikely draws with strong batting performances.

Duty281 wrote:And Worcestershire looking to chase down 386 inside 79 overs, a 97 from Libby and century from Azhar Ali getting them close. They need 8 off the last over, 3 wickets left...

Wicket off the first ball of the last over! Sussex clinging on.

Ends as a draw. Sussex with a huge appeal for caught behind on the 3rd ball, not given, and Worcestershire couldn't find the boundaries at the end. A draw and a thrilling one at that.

dummy_half wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Notts (probable) survival is almost entirely down to Joe Clarke who has made 216 in this innings, with none of his teammates even reaching 50. Still time for Warwickshire to force a result, they perhaps have 20 overs to bowl Notts out, and have enough time to chase them down.

Foakes and Sibley have been amazing. A win for Leicestershire would propel them back up to a promotion hunt.

Slightly surprised that the Notts v Warwickshire game has been called as a draw already - Notts only led by less than 50 with 4 wickets left, so a couple of quick wickets and the tail not wagging could have seen a result fairly quickly.

Leicestershire with a decent chance of nicking this - under 100 runs to get in about 20 overs.

Worcestershire also under 100 to get with 7 wickets in hand - 17 overs to get them.

Yep and more surprisingly, Warks effectively gave up the fight even earlier when they handed keeper Burgess the ball for a couple of overs before shaking hands on the draw.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/paul-nixon-leicestershire-investigating-allegations-as-coach-leaves-1383362

Sounds like Leicestershire are in full-blown crisis. Their head coach has left and is being 'investigated' over allegations, plus several players are leaving. All this despite their good start in the County Championship.

Duty281 wrote:Sounds like Leicestershire are in full-blown crisis.

Did you even read the article you linked? The chief executive is very clear:

The club is not in crisis.

It's just a full-blown mess.

Haven't kept a close eye on the County Championship this week. I understand it's the round with the Kookaburra ball, not the Dukes.

Star performance was surely Liam Dawson, who took 10/130 across two innings and scored 141 in Hampshire's innings win.

Daniel Bell Drummond scored an unbeaten treble ton for Kent, in what's looking like a win for them. Somerset destroyed Notts by 399 runs, with Rew getting another century.

Most interesting game has been Surrey/Lancashire, which has see-sawed all over the place, but where Lancashire have taken control due to Bailey's four wicket spell this evening. Surrey still need 151 with 5 wickets left. Jacks and Curran the key.

Duty281 wrote:Haven't kept a close eye on the County Championship this week. I understand it's the round with the Kookaburra ball, not the Dukes.

Star performance was surely Liam Dawson, who took 10/130 across two innings and scored 141 in Hampshire's innings win.

Daniel Bell Drummond scored an unbeaten treble ton for Kent, in what's looking like a win for them. Somerset destroyed Notts by 399 runs, with Rew getting another century.

Most interesting game has been Surrey/Lancashire, which has see-sawed all over the place, but where Lancashire have taken control due to Bailey's four wicket spell this evening. Surrey still need 151 with 5 wickets left. Jacks and Curran the key.

That Somerset game was an odd one. I was able to follow the first day and a half, and we were well behind. Bowled out cheapily, and Notts almost at our score for the loss of 4.

Then the next day and a half, step forward Matt Henry, George Bartlett, Josh Davey and James Rew. I'd argue Henry's performance was star performance. His spell at the end of the Notts first innings, where he took 4-26 changed the game

Duty281 wrote:Haven't kept a close eye on the County Championship this week. I understand it's the round with the Kookaburra ball, not the Dukes.

Star performance was surely Liam Dawson, who took 10/130 across two innings and scored 141 in Hampshire's innings win.

Daniel Bell Drummond scored an unbeaten treble ton for Kent, in what's looking like a win for them. Somerset destroyed Notts by 399 runs, with Rew getting another century.

Most interesting game has been Surrey/Lancashire, which has see-sawed all over the place, but where Lancashire have taken control due to Bailey's four wicket spell this evening. Surrey still need 151 with 5 wickets left. Jacks and Curran the key.

Wonder if Ben and Baz noticed

Duty281 wrote:Haven't kept a close eye on the County Championship this week. I understand it's the round with the Kookaburra ball, not the Dukes.

Classic joined-up, strategic thinking there, doing it when the Test squad are all away.

Afro wrote:That Somerset game was an odd one. I was able to follow the first day and a half, and we were well behind.

Funnily enough I've been on a little county ground trip, and I was in Taunton for day 3. Rew is clearly not the finished article yet, so it's probably good that there's no rush with Bairstow and Foakes around, but I think he's a future England wk. Aldridge looks a good prospect too.
Hameed got himself runout trying to kickstart the Notts innings, and then with Henry and Overton putting on the pressure Notts just seemed to lose interest in coming back for day 4.

Lowlandbrit wrote:Rew is clearly not the finished article yet, so it's probably good that there's no rush with Bairstow and Foakes around, but I think he's a future England wk. Aldridge looks a good prospect too.

I really like Rew. Out of all the Somerset prospects, he's the one I'd be most surprised if he didn't play for England in the future.

Aldridge looks decent, good fielder too and knows how to hold a bat. I was in Cardiff for the Blast game last week and he took a great one handed catch on the boundary.

Did you see much of Bashir, the young offie? Haven't been that impressed from what I have seen, but he is being talked up by some.

Afro wrote:Did you see much of Bashir, the young offie? Haven't been that impressed from what I have seen, but he is being talked up by some.

No, Notts didn't hang around long enough for him to get a bowl while I was there.

Pope almost certainly being out for the rest of Surrey's season is likely to open the gate further to the chasing pack.

Worcestershire have been forced to follow on vs Yorkshire, despite the 10th wicket putting on 63. And, surely because of this, they have sent 10 and 11 out to open! Can’t be nightwatchmen as they have faced 6 overs and counting… Never seen the like!

Hampshire sent Kyle Abbott out to open after making 89* from 10! What is happening.

JDizzle wrote:Worcestershire have been forced to follow on vs Yorkshire, despite the 10th wicket putting on 63. And, surely because of this, they have sent 10 and 11 out to open! Can’t be nightwatchmen as they have faced 6 overs and counting… Never seen the like!

And they saw it to close! Sick

Nice bit of lateral thinking. Why not when they're obviously well set ? Facing the new ball a bit different , of course ; but even if it didn't work there wasn't a huge downside.

Probably won't escape defeat anyway but top marks for innovation

Got some interesting games on the final day:

Lancashire need 430 to beat Essex, or bat all day to survive. Lawrence got a ton for Essex yesterday.
Northants lead is 314 v Middlesex, with three wickets left.
Hampshire trail Somerset by 136, two wickets down in their second innings.
Surrey lead Notts by 156, five wickets down. Apparently Foakes' glovework has been good in that one.

Sussex lead Derbyshire by 188, five wickets down.
And Worcestershire trail Yorkshire by 143, no wickets lost thanks to their unusual opening duo!

Lancashire giving the target a bash - 140/1 at lunch, Wells leading the charge. 290 more needed off 64 overs. Hampshire on the verge of losing, which would be another blow to their fading title ambitions.

Surrey leading by 255, Lawes getting his first half-century, and seven down. Will there be a generous declaration, or are they happy enough with the prospect of a draw?

Rain blunting Yorkshire's chances of winning, and blunting their promotion hopes further.

Great little spell by Aldridge in Taunton 2 for 5 runs from a 4 over spell and now Duty's man Dawson in

Lancashire still pushing. They slipped to 194/4, but Salt and Jones have put on 80 in 22 overs, leaving them needing 156 off 32 overs to complete a chase of 430.