County wrap: How the Aussies fared in the ninth round

Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan)

93 and 64

 

Season to date: 330 runs at 55.00

Some pre-match technique tweaks paid dividends for the Australian No.3 with back-to-back half-centuries in Glamorgan's draw with Northants. Labuschagne relished the return to the red-ball format after passing 20 just twice in six T20 innings prior to the County Championship's return. The right-hander went at better than a run-a-ball in Glamorgan's second innings as they attempted to chase down 262 in the final session on day four before batting out a draw eight-down.

"I went out there with a nice clear mind, I worked on a few little technical changes over the week," Labuschagne said after the first innings. "Always trying to get my technique in a space where I feel confident and that's where I felt I was and went out there and just played, got on top early and I was able to ride the momentum."

Nathan Lyon (Lancashire)

3-62 (23) and 1-54 (23)

 

Season to date: 24 wickets at 29.20

A solid outing for the veteran off-spinner after a month-long break while the T20 Blast got underway. Lyon was economical as ever across both innings and his three wickets in the first helped roll Kent for 244 to set up an innings victory and Lancashire's second win of the season. The 36-year-old's four wickets for the match takes him into the top 10 in division one this year.

Nathan McAndrew (Sussex)

1-44 (13) and 2-45 (12.4)

 

53

 

Season to date: 3 wickets at 29.66, 53 runs at 53.00

McAndrew's most telling impact in his first red-ball appearance of the county season was the final one of the match, removing Louis Kimber (243 off 127 with 21 sixes) who had just hit the second fastest first-class double century of all-time and was threatening to do the impossible of lifting Leicestershire from 6-144 to their fourth-innings target of 464. The South Australian's crucial strike – Kimber dragging a leg-cutter onto his stumps – was his second in as many overs and ensured Leicester fell 18 runs short. McAndrew also chipped in with a handy half-century in the first innings in a 105-run eighth wicket stand with skipper John Simpson.

Peter Handscomb (Leicestershire)

92 and 1

 

Season to date: 641 at 64.10

The Victorian fell narrowly short of his third ton of the season, top scoring in Leicestershire's first innings 275 with his fifth knock over 50 for the campaign. Could only manage one in their thrilling fourth-innings chase, watching on as Kimber almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Handscomb has been Leicester's most prolific batter so far this season and was also in fine touch during the T20 break with 213 runs at 35.50 as the side's skipper.

Sean Abbott (Surrey)

1-42 (15) and 2-50 (19)

 

18

 

Season to date: 10 wickets at 31.70, 118 runs at 23.60

A tidy three-wicket match for the NSW allrounder at a miserly 2.7 runs per over helped Surrey complete an innings thumping of Worcestershire as the two-time reigning champions cemented their spot at the top of the division one standings. In comes on the back of a fine first half of the T20 Blast for Abbott who is Surrey's leading wicket-taker in the T20 format this summer with 15 at 15.86 following his haul of 5-18 last week.

Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire)

29 and 26

 

Season to date: 561 runs at 51.00

A pair of starts for the West Australian but like his teammates he couldn't kick on as Gloucester fell to an innings and 22-run loss to Yorkshire. Bancroft and his opening partner Ben Charlesworth fared radically different to Yorkshire's first-wicket pair of Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean who both hit centuries in a 307-run opening stand in their only innings for the match.

Beau Webster (Gloucestershire)

0 and 30

 

2-80 (23)

 

Season to date: 150 runs at 50.00, 10 wickets at 24.60

Followed a golden duck in the first innings with 30 in the second as Gloucester endured a tough trip to northern England. Webster grabbed a pair of wickets to help his side take 10-149 after Yorkshire's 307-run opening stand.

Charlie Stobo (Kent)

1-70 (23)

 

36 and 64

 

Season to date: 1 wicket at 70.00, 100 runs at 50.00

The West Australian's first county appearance of the season was a tough innings defeat at the hands of Lancashire, although Stobo certainly held his own with the bat at No.7 with the top score of their second innings – a career-best first-class knock of 64. The 29-year-old also took 1-12 in his only T20 Blast match of the season so far after being brought in a cover for Xavier Bartlett (whose stint was cut to T20s only) and now the injured Wes Agar. The loss keeps Kent anchored to the foot of the division one standings and in danger of being relegated.

Did not play

Michael Neser (Hampshire): The Queenslander was again kept out of Hampshire's XI by fellow overseas quicks Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas. Neser played seven of eight T20 matches during the Blast break for a return of 11 wickets, Hampshire's top wicket-taker in the format so far this season.

Wes Agar (Kent): Agar's second stint at Canterbury was cut short by a shoulder injury, returning home to Adelaide earlier this month. However, the club did secure his return for a third consecutive season in 2025 with Agar signing an all-format deal from April until the end of July next year.

Marcus Harris (Leicestershire): Harris' stint with Leicester as a late replacement for Will Pucovski finished at the end of May after the opening eight rounds, the left-hander scoring 388 runs at 43.11.

Matthew Renshaw (Somerset): Renshaw's 2024 county season also ended after eight games, the Queenslander returning home after amassing 414 runs at 37.63 with three half-centuries.

Riley Meredith (Somerset): Predominately signed for the white-ball formats, Meredith wasn't selected for his first red-ball county opportunity of the season as Somerset keep the Tasmanian tearaway on ice for their T20 title tilt, currently third in the South Group with five matches to play.

Daniel Hughes (Sussex): Hughes was also mainly signed for the white-ball formats with the veteran left-hander named in Sussex's 13-player squad but not selected for their thrilling win over Leicester.

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	8	5	1	2	0	0	19	22	137
2 Essex ESS	8	4	1	3	0	0	17	20	125
3 Somerset SOM	8	2	1	5	0	0	20	22	114
4 Durham DUR	8	2	1	4	1	1	14	14	99
5 Hampshire HAM	8	2	1	4	1	2	11	16	97
6 Nottinghamshire NOT	8	1	2	5	0	0	14	22	92
7 Warwickshire WAR	8	0	2	6	0	0	20	21	89
8 Lancashire LAN	8	2	3	3	0	0	12	19	87
9 Worcestershire WOR	8	0	3	5	0	0	13	19	72
10 Kent KEN	8	1	4	3	0	0	7	15	62

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	Drawn D	No results N/R	Deductions Ded.	Batting Bonus Bat	Bowling Bonus Bowl	Total points PTS
1 Sussex SSX	8	4	1	3	0	2	24	22	132
2 Middlesex MSX	8	3	0	5	0	0	18	18	124
3 Yorkshire YRK	8	1	2	5	0	0	19	24	99
4 Glamorgan GLA	8	1	1	6	0	0	16	17	97
5 Leicestershire LEI	8	0	1	7	0	0	22	18	96
6 Northamptonshire NOR	8	0	1	7	0	0	19	19	94
7 Gloucestershire GLO	8	1	2	4	1	0	20	16	92
8 Derbyshire DBY	8	0	2	5	1	1	14	14	75

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

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), Ashton Agar (T20s only)

Somerset: Matthew Renshaw, Riley Meredith

Surrey: Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson (T20s only)

Sussex: Nathan McAndrew, Daniel Hughes