County wrap: How the Aussies fared in the seventh round

Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan)

23 and 111

A new role at the top of the order greeted Australia's No.3 on his return to South Wales for a fifth county campaign to help Glamorgan accommodate skipper Sam Northeast, Kiran Carlson and Colin Ingram in their firing batting line-up. Labuschagne immediately looked at home against the new ball in the first innings with five boundaries in a fluent 23 before going large in the second innings with 111 off 200 to help get his side back into the match. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the Welsh county, Glamorgan falling two wickets short as Middlesex chased down their target of 213 late on the final day.

Nathan Lyon (Lancashire)

4-59 (26) and 2-95 (32)

 

6no

Lyon's Lancashire finally registered their first win of the season, and the Aussie off-spinner was a major factor. The 36-year-old spoiled England Test skipper Ben Stokes' first match for Durham in almost two years, dismissing him for two in the first innings. Lyon's four – his best return of the season to date – from 26 tidy overs ripped through Durham's middle order as Lancashire took a 121-run first-innings lead. Stokes responded with five-for in the Red Roses' second innings before Lyon claimed another two alongside George Balderson's 4-52 as Lancashire held on for their first win of 2024 by 60 runs. Lyon's six for the match moves him into the top 10 wicket-takers in division one with 18 at 26.50.

Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire)

160

A statement knock from the West Australian who amassed a record 316 runs for the first wicket with Ben Charlesworth (126) – the County Championship's highest opening stand against Leicestershire in first-class cricket. It was Bancroft's second straight century after hitting an unbeaten 130 in the second innings in Gloucester's drought-breaking win the previous week. They couldn't get the chocolates this week however as Peter Handscomb's second-innings 81 helped Leicester hold out in reply to Gloucestershire's 6(dec)-706, finishing seven down with a lead of 42 when stumps were called on day four.

Beau Webster (Gloucestershire)

44no

 

1-33 (16) and 1-20 (10)

A productive County Championship debut for the Marsh Sheffield Shield's reigning player of the season, hitting a quickfire 50-ball unbeaten 44 with two sixes before Gloucestershire declared their first innings closed. He was also economical for his two wickets of Rehan Ahmed caught behind in the first innings and Louis Kimber bowled in the second, conceding just two runs an over with his medium pacers for the match.

Marcus Harris (Leicestershire)

5 and 17

The Victorian opener has extended his stay with Leicester for an extra two matches but failed to make an impact in the first of those, trapped lbw in the first innings before edging behind in the second. Harris has one more match remaining in his 2024 county stint, against Marnus Labuschagne's Glamorgan at Grace Road this weekend.

Peter Handscomb (Leicestershire)

11 and 81

Handscomb continued his fine 2024 season with a solid second innings knock to ensure Leicester held on for a draw on the final day to keep their winless and undefeated record intact. The right-hander hit 13 fours in his 135-ball 81, taking his season tally to a club-high 445 at 63.57. Leicestershire sit third on the division two table with six draws from as many matches.

Matthew Renshaw (Somerset)

40 and 82no

Set 189 to win on the final day, Renshaw was the star for Somerset with a 122-ball unbeaten 81 to guide the club to second place in the division one standings. It was the left-hander's third half-century of the season, taking his tally to 403 runs at 44.77 with one game to come against Durham at Chester-le-Street this weekend in his seven-match stint for 2024. Renshaw also made a strong start in the first innings as Somerset amassed 554 before rolling Kent for 178 and enforcing the follow-on. England opener Zak Crawley then slammed a 267-ball 238 with 31 fours and four sixes to ensure the home side batted again before the Queenslander got his side over the line in the fourth innings of the match.

Sean Abbott (Surrey)

1-22 (6) and 1-39 (8)

 

2 and 38

Abbott played second fiddle to former South Australian quick Dan Worrall who destroyed Worcester with match figures of 10-57 from 28 overs. Abbott chipped in with wickets of former Adelaide Strikers' draftee Adam Hose in the first innings and Matthew Waite in the second, also hitting two sixes and two fours in a 31-ball 38 as two-time reigning champions Surrey registered their fourth win of the season to open up an 18-point lead over second-placed Somerset at the top of the division one standings.

Did not play

Wes Agar (Kent) – Agar was rested from Kent's loss to Somerset to manage his workloads.

Michael Neser (Hampshire) – The Queenslander arrived in the UK last week but was left out of Hampshire's XI against Nottinghamshire despite being named in the squad, with Muhammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott preferred in the two overseas spots available.

Peter Siddle (Durham) – The veteran quick was left out of Durham's XI against Lancashire as Ben Stokes returned, with England-capped seamer Matthew Potts, Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin preferred.

2024 Division One County Championship standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Drawn D	No results N/R	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Surrey SRY	14	8	2	4	0	0	34	37	231
2 Hampshire HAM	14	6	1	6	1	2	31	33	214
3 Somerset SOM	14	5	3	6	0	0	28	40	196
4 Essex ESS	14	6	3	5	0	12	34	36	194
5 Durham DUR	14	4	4	5	1	1	30	30	171
6 Worcestershire WOR	14	3	4	7	0	0	21	37	162
7 Warwickshire WAR	14	1	4	9	0	0	33	38	159
8 Nottinghamshire NOT	14	2	4	8	0	1	25	35	155
9 Lancashire LAN	14	3	6	5	0	3	15	34	134
10 Kent KEN	14	1	8	5	0	1	12	32	99

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

D: Drawn

N/R: No results

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points

2024 Division Two County Championship standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	Drawn D	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Sussex SSX	14	8	2	0	4	3	40	40	237
2 Yorkshire YRK	14	5	2	0	7	0	41	40	217
3 Middlesex MSX	14	5	2	0	7	0	28	32	196
4 Northamptonshire NOR	14	2	3	0	9	0	22	35	161
5 Leicestershire LEI	14	1	3	0	10	0	28	31	155
6 Glamorgan GLA	14	2	4	1	7	2	22	30	146
7 Gloucestershire GLO	14	2	5	1	5	2	27	29	142
8 Derbyshire DBY	14	1	6	0	6	1	20	31	122

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

D: Drawn

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points

Australians in the 2024 County Championship

Durham: Ben Dwarshuis, Ashton Turner (both T20s only)

Essex: Daniel Sams (T20s only)

Glamorgan: Marnus Labuschagne

Gloucestershire: Cameron Bancroft, Beau Webster

Hampshire: Michael Neser, Ben McDermott (T20s only)

Kent: Wes Agar, Charlie Stobo, Xavier Bartlett (T20s only)

Lancashire: Nathan Lyon, Chris Green (T20s only)

Leicestershire: Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris

Northamptonshire: Chris Tremain (first four matches only)

Somerset: Matthew Renshaw, Riley Meredith

Surrey: Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson (T20s only)

Sussex: Nathan McAndrew, Daniel Hughes