County Championship 2022 | Division One Round-up

The 2022 County Championship resumed on Sunday, June 26, with a set of four Division One matches across England. At the end of the opening day of action, here is a look at the high points from each of those four matches.

Surrey vs Kent

Table-toppers Surrey took on struggling Kent at London’s Kennington Oval. Kent skipper Jack Leaning won the toss and opted to field and ended up paying a heavy price for it.

Surrey captain Rory Burns formed a 64-run opening stand with Ryan Patel. The two lost their wickets in succession and were replaced by middle-order batters Hashim Amla and Ben Geddes in the middle. Both batsmen plundered identical tons during their 213-run partnership.

After their dismissals, Jamie Smith and dynamic all-rounder Sam Curran piled on Kent’s pain with rapid half-centuries. Curran finished the day unbeaten on a 28-ball 53* as his team racked up 445-5 at stumps on Day 1.

Brief scores:

Surrey: 445-5 (95.4)

Hashim Amla 124, Ben Geddes 124;

Toby Pettman 2-75, Matt Milnes 2-95 

Northamptonshire vs Warwickshire

In search of their first win of the season, Northamptonshire took on Warwickshire at the County Ground. Winning the toss and batting first at their home venue, Ricardo Vasconcelos’ Northamptonshire piled up 420-6 off 96 overs. Middle-order batter Rob Keough scored 130 at a breakneck pace, while Joshua Cobb charted 88 runs from just 103 balls.

Wicketkeeper-batter Lewis McManus (57*) and Tom Taylor (19*) will resume the Northamptonshire first-innings on Day 2 tomorrow.

Brief scores:

Northamptonshire: 420-6 (96)

Rob Keough 130, Joshua Cobb 88;

Will Rhodes 2-44, Henry Brookes 2-72

Gloucestershire vs Lancashire

In another Division One game of the day, Ryan Higgins-led Gloucestershire faced Lancashire on the opening day of their 4-day encounter. The Gloucestershire finished the day at 279-7 off 86 overs after winning the toss and opting to bat first at their home ground in Bristol.

Currently placed at the bottom of the Division One points table, their innings has been fueled by opener Chris Dent’s powering unbeaten ton. Dent finished the day at 109 and will resume action with tail-ender Zafar Gohar tomorrow.

Among Lancashire bowlers, Jack Morley claimed three wickets for 79 while Tom Bailey and Luke Wood picked two wickets each.

Brief scores:

Gloucestershire: 279-7 (86)

Chris Dent 109*, Miles Hammond 37;

Jack Morley 3-79, Luke Wood 2-49 

Essex vs Hampshire

High-flying Hampshire, enjoying their number 2 spot on the Division One standings, suffered one of their worst days of the season against Essex at Chelmsford. Tom Westley-led Essex won the toss, batted first and were bowled out for 238 inside 72 overs.

Despite shooting out the hosts in their first-innings before stumps, Hampshire finished the opening day on a backfoot. They lost as many as six wickets in the remaining 22 overs, managing just 68 on the board.

Essex’ Simon Harmer was the wrecker-in-chief as he took four wickets in his eight-over spell. The Day 2 will begin with Hampshire trailing Westley and co. by another 170 runs.

Brief scores:

Essex: 238 (71.5)

Shane Snater 71, Tom Westley 46;

Kyle Abbott 3-41, Liam Dawson 3-71

Hampshire: 68-6 (22)

Nick Gubbins 34, Ian Holland 11;

Simon Harmer 4-23, Samuel Cook 2-12