Championship team of the week: Barker, Rushworth, Lawrence… but who joins them in the XI?

The Cricketer looks at the star performers from the sixth round of the County Championship

Alex Lees (Durham)

99 v Worcestershire

Durham’s opener can consider himself in good company in round six, forming a two-man club with Joe Root of players to be dismissed on 99. He can at least say he lasted more balls than the England captain, surviving 202 to Root’s 199. Lees anchored Durham’s first innings, batting for 260 minutes as he posted his third fifty of the season. Brydon Carson was Durham’s second-highest scorer of the innings with 38 not out, an indication of the resilience displayed by Lees to come within touching distance of triple digits.

Will Young (Durham)

103 v Worcestershire

It was Lees in the first innings, Will Young in the second. The New Zealander didn’t carry the innings, enjoying healthy stands with Scott Borthwick, David Bedingham and Jack Burnham, but did top-score for Durham, facing 254 balls and batting for nearly six hours to sneak his 12th first-class century. Not an innings which will linger long in the memory for anyone other than die-hard county cricket fans but one deserving of more praise for its textbook demonstration of the role of a red-ball opening batsman.  

Joe Root (Yorkshire)

99 v Glamorgan

As his Yorkshire teammates crumbled around him, the England captain dug into score his second 50+ knock of the season. Unfortunately, while he managed to convert his first into a century – 101 v Kent – he fell agonisingly short against Glamorgan, bowled by Dan Douthwaite one run shy of three figures. Coming out to bat in the fourth over with Yorkshire 6 for 2, Root single-handedly propelled his side to 111 for 8 before putting on a ninth-wicket stand of 118 with Steven Patterson to lift Yorkshire to a respectable total. In all, he ate up 199 balls and just under five hours of play in a one-man batting masterclass.

^{England captain Joe Root batting for Yorkshire against Glamorgan}

Dan Lawrence (Essex)

152* v Derbyshire

To describe Dan Lawrence’s innings as merely destructive feels like an understatement. His first century of the season was stylish, boundary-laden and the fastest of his young career. In under three hours, he faced 133 balls and dispatched 22 of them over the boundary rope – six without touching the ground. His 221-run third-wicket stand with Tom Westley (106 from 112 balls) was a huge statement of his desire to retain his place in the England set-up and, on a day when all of Essex’s top four passed 50, it was the youngster who stole the show.  

Jack Leaning (Kent)

63 & 127* v Sussex

Scoring just his second first-class century since 2017 – and the sixth of his career – the former Yorkshire batsman was the brightest light in an otherwise dark and damp south coast encounter. Posting a resilient half-century as Kent crashed to 145 all out in their first innings, Leaning produced a steady performance in the second to finish unbeaten on 127 after nearly five and a half hours in the middle. His innings wasn’t without its flair – Delray Rawlins and Jack Carson among the victims of his eight boundaries – but will be remembered for its maturity and calm.

Jack Burnham (Durham)

102* v Worcestershire

The third of three Durham batsmen in this XI. He didn’t produce the eye-catching fireworks of partner Ned Eckersley (86 off 57 deliveries) but Burnham’s performance had far more emotional resonance. His century, brought up with a three off Charlie Morris as Durham declared on 389 for 5, was just the second of his career and his first since failing a drugs test in 2017.  The 24-year-old endured a nail-biting wait to reach triple figures, spending nearly seven overs in the nervous nineties and coming close to being overtaken by Eckersley, but hung on to hoist his bat in the air.

Ollie Robinson (Kent)

85, 4 catches v Sussex

In a match which featured two Ollie Robinsons, it’s the Kent wicketkeeper rather than the Sussex seamer who makes the cut. Bouncing back from a poor first innings, the 22-year-old put on a 172-run stand with Jack Leaning to help his side play out a rain-affected draw. With the gloves, he completed four catches, including hanging on to the delivery which dismissed captain Ben Brown and triggered Sussex’s slide from 202 for 6 to 256 all out.

Keith Barker (Hampshire)

84, 1-18 v Middlesex

The 34-year-old brought up a pair of milestones at Lord’s on May 15: his 50th wicket for Hampshire and his highest score with the bat since joining the county in 2019. And it’s the latter achievement which earns him a place in this XI. Entering the fray with Hampshire 73 for 6 late on day two, Barker played a destructive innings, punishing Blake Cullen and the typically miserly Tim Murtagh – hit for two sixes in three balls – on his way to 84 from 116 balls. His innings, which included 9 fours and 4 sixes changed the game for Hampshire, while his dismissal of Martin Andersson (lbw) was the cherry on top.

^{Durham's Will Young celebrates his century}

Simon Harmer (Essex)

9-80, 3-122 v Derbyshire

A career best haul in the first innings, match figures of 12 for 202, and a County Championship-leading 34 wickets in 2021. If anyone were going to take Essex’s season by the scruff of the neck and deliver a much-needed, emphatic victory, the veteran spinner would have been top of your list. His first-innings figures were the 13th best of all time for Essex and earned his side three bowling bonus points as they secured maximum points in Chelmsford and cruised to the top of the Group One table.

Kyle Abbott (Hampshire)

6-44, 5-41 v Middlesex

Middlesex’s batsmen will be thrilled to have both of their matches against Hampshire out of the way. In Southampton in April, Mohammad Abbas collected match figures of 9 for 39. In round six, the nightmare was his fellow overseas starlet, Kyle Abbott. The South African removed four of Middlesex’s top six as they slumped to 91 for 5 in their first innings, before sweeping up Blake Cullen and Ethan Bamber at the tail. In the second innings, the Abbott-Abbas axis picked up eight wickets to condemn Middlesex to yet more batting embarrassment. Abbott’s final wicket – trapping Bamber lbw to seal the win – brought up 50 for the season for himself and Abbas: unstoppable.  

Chris Rushworth (Durham)

5-56, 4-52 v Worcestershire

Durham’s right-arm seamer had a week to remember – taking his 528th wicket to replace Graham Onions as the county’s all-time leading wicket-taker  - and boy, did he do it in style. Collecting a first innings five-for to draw level with his former new ball partner, 36 overs into Worcestershire’s second Jack Haynes edged  a delivery to David Bedingham to bring up the milestone wicket. He collected three further victims as Durham cruised to victory, finishing with match figures of 9 for 108. A monumental week for the 34-year-old.