County Championship Division Two roundup: Alex Lees extends purple patch

The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action on day two of the tenth round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches in 2023

Cardiff (second day of four): Glamorgan 54-1, Leicestershire

Departing captain David Lloyd endured a brutal return to action for Glamorgan as he was dismissed for just six runs from five balls in the first innings of his side's Division Two LV= County Championship clash with Leicestershire.

Not a single ball was bowled on day one due to a combination of rain and bad light in Cardiff, and the second day looked on course to be equally frustrating after hours of delays.

But following only five deliveries in the morning, the action exploded into life late on Tuesday afternoon as Zain ul Hassan swept home a four with the first ball following the resumption before Lloyd – back from a hamstring issue and soon to be leaving the Welsh capital for Derbyshire – was bowled out by Matt Salisbury.

Ul Hassan reached 32 as part of a 44-run partnership with Sam Northeast to steady the ship following Lloyd's early exit as the home side posted 54 for 1 at the close of play on day two.

^{Brooke Guest made his first hundred of the summer (Getty Images)}

Hove (second day of four): Sussex 402, Derbyshire 212-3 - Derbyshire trail by 190 runs with seven wickets remaining

An unbeaten 80 by Derbyshire wicketkeeper-batter Brooke Guest frustrated Sussex on the second day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Hove.

Guest, who has yet to score a century this season, came in during the third over and was still there when bad light forced the players off at 5.45pm with his side 212 for 3 from 60 overs in reply to Sussex's 402 and trailing by 190.

In the context of the game, it was an important contribution from the 26-year-old who has so far shared a fourth-wicket stand of 70 with Leus du Plooy, the second-highest run scorer in Division Two. He has contributed 32.

With rain forcing the team off for an hour during the afternoon it was a frustrating day for Sussex, who have moved back into second place in the table as a result of Leicestershire's inactivity against Glamorgan by claiming five bonus points so far, but who are desperate to claim a second win of the season and enhance their promotion prospects.

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Worcester (second day of four): Yorkshire 407, Worcestershire 46-2 - Worcestershire trail by 361 runs with eight wickets remaining

Opener Finley Bean hit a career best 135 to consolidate Yorkshire's position of strength despite a second five-for of the season for Worcestershire's Adam Finch on day two of the LV= Insurance County Championship encounter with Worcestershire at New Road.

His third century of the season helped shepherd the Tykes to four batting points on another truncated day’s play in between the showers.

The 21-year-old profited from being dropped twice on the opening day and hit two sixes and 17 fours in his 180-ball knock. The partnership of 177 with Adam Lyth was Yorkshire's best opening stand for seven years.

Worcestershire fought back with Finch, who had conceded 48 runs in five overs on the opening day, taking five wickets today to finish with 5 for 100.

But Matthew Fisher and Ben Coad picked up a wicket apiece to reduce them to 46 for 2 from 13 overs by the close to maintain Yorkshire's grip on proceedings.

^{Finlay Bean made the highest score of his fledgling career (Getty Images)}

Chester-le-Street (second day of four): Gloucestershire 316, Durham 433-8 - Durham lead by 117 runs with two wickets remaining

Alex Lees gave the England selectors a gentle nudge after scoring his third century in as many innings to guide Durham into a strong position against Gloucestershire in their LV= Insurance County Championship clash.

Lees anchored the innings with a flawless knock of 195, posting his highest score as a Durham player since his move to Seat Unique Riverside in 2018. Graham Clark provided the perfect complement with 82 as the two shared a stand worth 195 after the hosts were reduced to 109 for 4 in reply to Gloucestershire's 316.

The two batters rebuilt the innings and propelled Durham ahead in the game, having skittled the visitors' tail within the first half-hour of day two. It allowed Brydon Carse to tee off late in the day to push the hosts into a 117-run lead at the close with two first-innings wickets remaining.

Related Topics

• County Championship Division Two roundup: Adam Lyth, Tom Clark and Chris Dent among the runs