Dom Sibley scored 305 as Surrey racked up a county record 820-9d against Durham at the Oval, the highest of an astonishing 59 centuries against the unfamiliar Kookaburra ball over the past two weeks in the Rothesay County Championship.
4,508 runs were accumulated across the first innings this week – the most ever during a round in County Championship history – as players raised their bat with regularity whilst bowlers were left feeling perplexed, none more so than Durham spinner George Drissell who registered figures of 1-247 off 45 overs.
It meant we once again witnessed more trivial scenes on day four, with Sam Curran opting to try his hand at some left-arm spin, whilst Indian wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan was keen to make the most of his short stint at Nottinghamshire as he removed the gloves to turn his arm over.
However, there were three positive results which was one more than last week as Lancashire ended their wait for a first win of the season and Division Two leaders Leicestershire were beaten for the first time, whilst Yorkshire won a crucial battle at the bottom in Division One to leapfrog Essex out of the relegation places.
So many performances with the bat makes the job of narrowing it down into an XI challenging, with a number of players making scores above 150 failing to make the cut.
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1. Dom Sibley (Surrey)
The former England international became the eighth Surrey player to score a triple ton in a mammoth 10-hour stay at the crease in the blistering South London heat.
His 475-ball innings, including 29 fours and two sixes, was a masterclass in risk-free accumulation as the 29-year-old demonstrated both skill and concentration.
A 334-run stand inside just 54 overs with the eye-catching Dan Lawrence was one of three major partnerships with fellow centurions Sam Curran and Will Jacks as the hosts prolonged Durham’s demoralising stay in the field.
When Sibley was finally dismissed in the 152nd over of the innings, he had propelled himself to the top of the Division One run-scoring charts and is now just 24 runs short of becoming the first player to pass 1,000 for the season.
Staying at the Oval, Durham captain Lees ensured his side recovered from a torrid first two days to head back up North with a draw.
The left-hander scored two centuries in the match – his 31st and 32nd career First-Class hundred – with a superb unbroken opening stand of 262 alongside Emilio Gay on day four becoming a new Durham record against Surrey.
Lees brought up his second ton in as many days on what proved to be the last ball of the match before hands were shaken, after top-scoring in the first innings with 125 to frustrate the Surrey attack, though ultimately was not enough to get his side anywhere close to avoiding the inevitable follow-on.
Worcestershire stand-in captain Libby achieved a career-best score of 228 not out as Division One’s bottom side compiled 679-7d against Hampshire at Southampton, their third highest ever First-Class total.
The opener occupied the crease for five straight sessions in a composed innings against an increasingly weary bowling attack, containing 18 fours and one six, carrying his bat when he decided enough was enough after 160 overs.
It was the 32-year-old’s second century of the season and second double century in the County Championship, passing 10,000 career runs in the process, sharing a 395-run partnership with Adam Hose for the third wicket – the first time two Worcestershire players have scored 200 in an innings.
4. Adam Hose (Worcestershire)
As mentioned, Libby was remarkably not the only Worcestershire player to score a double ton as Hose pummeled the Hampshire attack for a career-best effort of his own on an extraordinary first day at the Utilita Bowl which saw the visitors end on 456-3.
The big-hitting middle order batter was eventually dismissed in the penultimate over of the day for an astonishing 266 off just 253 balls, with 31 fours and seven sixes, the highest score by a Worcestershire player at number four and largest by a visiting player at Hampshire in Championship cricket.
A relentless knock which became more aggressive in approach as the day progressed provided the ideal contrast to Libby’s more steady platform and saw the pair guide the Pears to a fifth batting point before the close of play, having only recorded three in total during the campaign before this game.
The Glamorgan all-rounder has been one of the emerging talents on the domestic circuit in 2025, registering his second century and five-wicket haul of the season in their draw with Gloucestershire.
21-year-old Kellaway displayed immense maturity for his 139 off 239 balls, guiding Glamorgan to parity in the first innings along with fellow centurion Colin Ingram as the pair led a recovery from 121-4 to 375-5.
With a lead of 148, Kellaway then took charge with the ball on day four with career-best figures in the absence of frontline spinner Mason Crane who was forced to miss the whole innings with an injury.
The Welsh-born player, who has made waves for his ability to bowl with both hands, claimed figures of 6-111 with a quick burst after tea to give the hosts renewed hope of forcing a result but Gloucestershire held firm on 255-7 to secure the draw, though Glamorgan did close the gap behind 2nd place Derbyshire to just two points.
6. Matthew Revis (Yorkshire)
Local lad Revis backed up an unbeaten 93 at Trent Bridge last week with a career-best 150 to send Yorkshire on their way to a crucial second victory of the campaign in a bottom-of-the-table clash against struggling Essex at York.
The 23-year-old helped to rescue Yorkshire from 273-8, still trailing by 95 runs, to 459 all out in the highest ever ninth-wicket partnership against Essex worth 169 with Ben Coad, with Revis eventually the last man out after a 187-ball innings with 18 fours and two sixes.
After his third career First-Class century put the hosts on top, the all-rounder then claimed the key wicket of Jordan Cox on 55 as Essex were bowled out for 131 to set Yorkshire just 41 for victory which saw them climb above their opponents and out of the bottom two.
7. George Balderson (Lancashire)
Lancashire finally earned their first victory of the County Championship season with a comfortable 261-run win over previously-unbeaten Derbyshire at Chesterfield, with all-rounder Balderson contributing with both bat and ball.
Either side of a rapid 60-ball 82 which set up a Lancashire declaration with an insurmountable lead of 517, the right-arm seamer took four wickets in both innings to end with career-best match figures of 8-125 and climb to the top of the Division Two wicket-takers with 30 for the campaign.
First innings scalps included the dangerous Wayne Madsen in a valuable two-wicket burst after lunch on day two which saw the end of a valuable partnership forming between the Derbyshire captain and wicketkeeper Brooke Guest, before removing opener Mitch Wagstaff and first innings top-scorer Martin Andersson second time around.
The leg-spin all-rounder has been a fine example of the loan system working in county cricket this season, with Northamptonshire the beneficiaries, adding a career-best score with the bat to his career-best bowling figures back in April.
Batting in an unfamiliar role at number three, the on-loan Nottinghamshire man crafted a maiden First-Class ton with 122 off 179 balls against Kent – reaching the three figure milestone with a six – in what was the second of four Northants centurions during a Canterbury-record total of 722-6d.
Despite the dominance of bat over ball for the first three days, the visitors somehow found themselves in a position to push for victory as Kent slumped to 135-8 with Harrison adding a further three wickets to his two in the first innings and now finds himself as one of three bowlers in Division Two on 30 for the season.
9. Chris Green (Lancashire)
The Australian has been one of the standout overseas acquisitions since joining Lancashire in 2024 and celebrated a maiden red-ball hundred at Chesterfield to lead a first innings recovery on day one.
Having joined opener Keaton Jennings in the middle at 132-6, the pair put on a vital 106 runs for the seventh-wicket, with Green eventually out for a superbly controlled 121 just shy of close of play with the score on 363, hitting 20 fours and one six in his 167-ball innings.
The off-spinner also claimed two wickets apiece in both Derbyshire innings, dismissing Martin Andersson on 79 in the first and then making the crucial breakthrough on day four which opened the door for a flurry of wickets as the visitors wrapped up an emphatic victory.
10. Ben Coad (Yorkshire)
In a week not to be a seam bowler, Yorkshire’s Coad and Jack White will have been very satisfied with their match-winning contributions.
The canny seamer removed centurion Tom Westley on day one which triggered an Essex collapse from 222-1 to 368 all out and it was he who combined with Matthew Revis with the bat to turn the game on its head, reaching a career-best 89 for only his second First-Class fifty.
Coad then struck twice with the new ball late on day three to leave Essex on the backfoot at 6-2, from which they never recovered and the Yorkshire-born 31-year-old added a fifth wicket for the match early on the final day.
11. Naavya Sharma (Middlesex)
Playing in just his third First-Class game, 19-year-old right-arm quick Sharma impressed with six wickets as Middlesex shocked the leaders Leicestershire to win by an innings inside three days at Grace Road.
With 534 on the board, the England U19 prospect ripped through the Foxes middle order with four wickets in 11 balls, seeing the back of Lewis Hill, Peter Handscomb, Ben Green and Ben Cox during the final session on day two.
Unable to complete a maiden five-wicket haul, ending with figures of 4-43, Sharma did add a further two to his tally as Leicestershire fell to a similar fate in their follow-on as their collective batting unit faltered for the time this season.
Honourable Mentions
James Coles (Sussex), Colin Ingram (Glamorgan), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Somerset), Ashton Turner (Lancashire), Tom Westley (Essex) and Saif Zaib (Northamptonshire) all registered consecutive centuries in as many weeks – Zaib’s unbeaten 196 saw the left-hand middle order batter rise to the top of the Division Two run-scoring charts with 919.
Northamptonshire’s Justin Broad reached his maiden First-Class century, Ben Geddes scored three figures for the first time in a Middlesex shirt, Jack Haynes made a career-best 157 for Nottinghamshire and Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings passed 12,000 First-Class runs on the way to his ton.
There were also hundreds for James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Ben Brown (Hampshire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Harry Finch (Kent), Will Jacks (Surrey), Sam Robson (Middlesex) and Ricardo Vasconcelos (Northamptonshire).
Meanwhile, Daniel Bell-Drummond (158), Emilio Gay (156*), Dan Hughes (151) and Dan Lawrence (178) were all in excess of 150.
There was little to shout about with the ball for the seamers in particular, with Jack White’s match figures of 7-105 for Yorkshire against Essex a notable effort.
Somerset’s Jack Leach and Warwickshire’s Australian import Corey Rocchiccioli both recorded six-wicket hauls in a combined 108 overs, 6-121 and 6-173 respectively, as the spinners were relied upon to produce long spells in the batting-friendly conditions.
By Dom Harris
