The Cricketer reflects on round 10 of the 2023 LV Insurance County Championship season by nominating a standout XI…
After the 10th round of County Championship matches, The Cricketer selects a team of the week...
Rob Yates (Warwickshire)
The second round with the Kookaburra ball proved tricky for county openers but the Warwickshire batter found form at Canterbury, registering a career-best 228 not out against Kent. The Bears completed victory inside three days, courtesy of taking a huge first-innings thanks to Yates' fine double century. He batted through, putting on century stands with Glenn Maxwell and Michael Burgess, almost doubling his red-ball runs tally for the season which now stands at 477 in 11 innings.
Alex Lees (Durham)
Another ton for the Durham batter, who has responded superbly to losing his England place at the end of last summer. This 195 against Gloucestershire was his third in a row, having doubled up against Leicestershire in the last round, and included a fifth-wicket stand worth 195 with Graham Clark. "He's showing the way again if there's an opening for an England opener," said Durham head coach Ryan Campbell. Scoring at a strike rate of 73.75 is another reason to think his international career may not yet be over.
Tom Westley (Essex)
The Essex captain reeled off a third century of the campaign, his second in as many games, as the Chelmsford club kept themselves in the title hunt with a last-gasp victory over Lancashire. The visitors were reduced to 55 for 4 in their first innings but rallied thanks to their skipper, who put on 155 with Paul Walter.
Rob Yates found some much-needed form at the top of the order (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Dan Lawrence (Essex)
With time taken out of the game (just 4.4 overs were bowled on day one) Essex had to press the accelerator in their second innings to give them enough time to bowl out Lancs at Blackpool. Lawrence's punchy 135 off 125 balls, including nine sixes, did just that, as the hosts were set an unlikely 430 on day four. Essex got the job with just 10 deliveries remaining - with Lawrence taking the decisive catch - to close the gap to Surrey.
Rob Jones (Lancashire)
A rare appearance for a batter who hit a century in a losing cause, but this was a heroic effort from the Warrington-born Jones in just his second Championship match of the season. For so long, the 27-year-old looked to be helping Lancs to their highest total to win a county game, reaching his third first-class hundred while marshalling the middle and lower-order. And though when he found the grateful hands of Lawrence it sparked wild celebrations among the away side, the standing ovation he received upon leaving the field was more than deserved.
James Rew (Somerset)
A fifth Championship century of the summer for the 19-year-old, the leading run-scorer in Division One this summer. Rew became Somerset's youngest double centurion, hitting 221 as they recovered from 80 for 5 against Hampshire. The only question now is when does his country make the call?
Dan Lawrence's century proved pivotal for Essex (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire)
James had a hand in not one, but two Surrey collapses at the Kia Oval. He struck early to remove Jamie Smith and Tom Latham during the hosts' early wobble from 66 for 1 to 70 for 4 before carving up the tail, with a burst of four wickets to finish with a career-best haul of 6 for 74. Fifty off 95 balls at No.8 to help Notts put nearly 400 on the board and completed a fine all-round performance.
Tom Bailey (Lancashire)
While Westley's first-innings century frustrated Lancashire, Bailey proved a thorn in Essex's side with the ball. After accounting for Nick Browne and Lawrence early in the innings, he returned to mop up the tail, striking four times in quick succession as Essex collapsed from 275 for 5 to 282 all out, finishing with 6 for 59. He added a further three wickets, including bagging Browne for a second duck, in the second innings.
Kyle Abbott (Hampshire)
Nick Gubbins and Liam Dawson stole the headlines, with their dogged half-centuries in the second innings at Taunton earning Hampshire a draw but without the contribution of Abbott, there wouldn't have been a result to salvage.
Typically impressive with the ball, he had a hand in the first five Somerset wickets to fall, returning 4 for 56 and running out George Bartlett. Yes, a certain Rew undid his hard work but there can be little denying that something about Somerset brings out the best in Abbott, who now has 57 first-class wickets against the county. His real heroics, however, were with the bat, with his mammoth 177-run ninth-wicket stand with Felix Organ rescuing Hampshire from 152 for 8. He finished unbeaten on 89 from 152 balls.
Celebration time for Shoaib Bashir (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
Shoaib Bashir (Somerset)
It was only his third first-class appearance but boy, did 19-year-old offie Bashir look right at home. An unbeaten 44 (61) at No.11 as part of a 108-run 10th-wicket stand with Rew was just the beginning of a fantastic outing for the teenager, who returned match figures of 6 for 155. In the second innings alone, he picked up 3 for 67 – both openers and James Vince for a four-ball duck – and bowled 23 maidens from 37 overs.
Oliver Hannon-Dalby (Warwickshire)
Warwickshire romped to victory inside three days in Canterbury and central to their success was Hannon-Dalby, who collected four wickets in each innings.
In the first, he accounted for dangerous opener Tawanda Muyeye, removed Jordan Cox and Joey Evison cheaply, and got the better of Grant Stewart, who had frustrated the Bears with an explosive 50. In the second, he ended Stewart's resistance for a second time as well as picking up top-order duo Ben Compton and Joe Denly, and tailender Arshdeep Singh. Figures of 8 for 115 represent a tidy return for a little over 37 overs' work.
Honourable mentions: Sam Whiteman, Michael Neser, Rishi Patel, Finlay Bean, Leus du Plooy, Kasey Aldridge, Matthew Potts, Paul Walter, Will Young, Brett Hutton, Sam Robson, James Coles, Brydon Carse, Nick Gubbins
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