County Championship R6 Team of the Week: Ben Foakes sends England a reminder

Another week of the Rothesay County Championship has come and gone, with both divisions now beginning to take shape with all teams having played five matches.

In Division One, Nottinghamshire continue to set the pace with another impressive team performance, whilst a battling Worcestershire were once again left to rue a missed opportunity as they were beaten for a fourth time in a row.

13,000 people were tuned in on the live stream to witness the climax at Chelmsford as Essex successfully negotiated the final day to rescue an improbable draw, though there will have been slightly less outside interest on matters at Edgbaston where only 15 wickets fell across the four days.

There were just the two games in Division Two but important first victories of the campaign for both Glamorgan and Northamptonshire to bunch up the table, raising more alarm bells for the pre-season favourites Lancashire who still remain without a win.

Here are the standout performers from another action-packed round of county cricket.

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Adam Lyth (Yorkshire)

The experienced left-arm opener catapulted himself to the top of the Division One scoring charts with his second century of the campaign as Yorkshire came agonisingly close to a win at Chelmsford.

The 37-year-old followed up a first innings 58 on a low scoring first two days with a patience personified 185 which underpinned a second innings total of 426-6 declared, becoming the first player to surpass 600 runs in the top flight this season, though the visitors were left frustrated by a resilient Essex rearguard on the final day.

Lyth’s 39th century of his First-Class career spanned six and a half hours, which included 23 fours and one six, sharing a 153-run stand for the second wicket with James Wharton before Jonny Bairstow and Matthew Revis added some impetus to set the hosts a target of 520.

Jake Libby (Worcestershire)

Libby’s heroic 167 on day four almost guided Worcestershire to an unlikely victory at Sussex.

The opener, who had only passed 50 once so far this campaign, occupied the crease for over six hours in his 252-ball innings to anchor a sizeable chase of 361 but none of his teammates scored more than 34 and when he fell still 75 runs short of the target, so did most of the visitors’ hopes.

Libby has a remarkable record at Hove, scoring a career-best 215 and 198 on consecutive appearances at the ground between 2022 and 2023, though his latest effort proved not enough as Worcestershire slipped to a fourth successive defeat and are rooted to the foot of the Division One table.

Tom Latham (Warwickshire)

New Zealand Test captain Latham certainly made up for lost time as he recorded the highest score by a Warwickshire First-Class debutant on day one against Surrey.

After a hand injury delayed the arrival of their premier overseas signing, Latham struck a classy 184 off 319 balls on a belter of a batting track as the hosts piled on a mammoth 665-5 declared in their first innings at Edgbaston.

The 33-year-old Kiwi looked untroubled at the crease for his 21 fours and one six, despite only arriving in the country three days earlier, putting on two century partnerships with Rob Yates and Ed Barnard against the side he had a short stint with in 2023.

Ben Foakes (Surrey)

Sticking with the run fest in the West Midlands and it was England’s forgotten man Foakes who showcased why there may still be life in his international career yet with a career-best knock to ensure the defending champions secured a fourth draw in five outings.

On a graveyard of a pitch for bowlers, Surrey somehow managed to find themselves in a spot of bother at 369-9 at the end of day three and still some way short of the follow-on target.

Wicketkeeper Foakes who was on 85 overnight, brought up his ton with successive sixes off Rob Yates and in the process passed 9,000 First-Class runs.

Often questioned around his ability to bat with the tail, Foakes put on 158 for the tenth wicket with Matthew Fisher in 58 overs, eventually ending unbeaten on 174 off 361 balls which eclipsed his 141 against Hampshire in 2016, and whilst it was not quite enough to avoid the follow-on, it did ensure enough time was taken out of the final day to confirm an inevitable draw.

Ed Barnard (Warwickshire)

Regardless of the batting-friendly surface at Edgbaston, it remains difficult to ignore a player registering a career-best score which was the case for the Warwickshire all-rounder.

Fresh from match-winning contributions against Yorkshire last time out, Barnard made his ninth First-Class century in a fluent 177 off 254 balls with 17 boundaries against a Surrey attack which toiled away in difficult conditions.

Barnard, who was dropped on 78, added 169 with Tom Latham and a further 215 with Zen Malik on a second day which saw just two wickets fall – one of which belonging to Barnard himself when he trapped Rory Burns LBW early in the Surrey innings.

George Hill (Yorkshire)

Young all-rounder Hill has enjoyed a productive start to the season for Yorkshire which continued with nine wickets at Chelmsford.

After being dismissed for a first ball duck with the bat, Hill responded well by taking figures of 6-51 as the visitors bundled Essex out for 123 to establish a first innings lead of 93.

The 24-year-old seamer claimed another three wickets second time around, including the vital wickets of Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper who had provided resistance for a combined 475 balls, to end with match figures of 9-82 and take his tally to an impressive 22 for the campaign.

Ben Kellaway (Glamorgan)

After reaching career-best scores in each of his previous two games, 21-year-old Kellaway went one better as he made his maiden century in style to help Glamorgan rout Kent for a first win of the season.

Kellaway’s stunning knock of 181 not out at Canterbury lifted the visitors to a commanding first innings total of 549-9 declared, demonstrating patience around the three-figure landmark and clean striking with three successive sixes before his captain called them in.

With the hosts crumbling with the bat on both occasions, the all-rounder capped off a memorable performance with the final two wickets to fall on day three as Glamorgan completed victory by a huge margin of an innings and 161 runs.

Fynn Hudson-Prentice (Sussex)

In what had been a fairly quiet start to 2025 for the all-rounder, Hudson-Prentice took career-best figures of 5-40 as Sussex’s impressive return to Division One continued with a hard fought win over bottom side Worcestershire.

His third First-Class five-wicket haul put the hosts on top after dismissing their opponents for 180, thanks largely to Hudson-Prentice’s quick burst of three wickets in the afternoon session on day two which began with the key dismissal of Kiwi overseas Henry Nicholls.

It was later Hudson-Prentice who then got the game-changing wicket of opener Jake Libby on 167 to claim his seventh and final wicket of the match, with the visitors in sight of the 361 target, before Ollie Robinson sealed the win by 47 runs.

Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire)

The East Midlands outfit have been the surprise package of the County Championship season so far, comprehensively brushing aside Hampshire to extend their lead at the top of the table.

In truth, any one of six Notts players would have been deserving of a place in this side but the game was an unforgettable one for homegrown Patterson-White, who notched his first ton at Trent Bridge in a career-best effort.

Playing in just his second game of the campaign, the left-hander made 135 off 213 balls in a 238-run stand with fellow centurion Jack Haynes as the hosts recovered from a wobble at 84-6 in their second innings to seize full control.

Despite a lead of 137 on first innings, in which Patterson-White contributed 33 useful runs to ensure Notts reached 300, they opened the door for the visitors with a top order collapse, before the pair batted their side into an unassailable position in a partnership lasting 57 overs.

The 26-year-old brought up his second career century with a six pulled over the leg side, upping the tempo as his innings went on, before being the last man out with Hampshire set a daunting 482.

His left-arm spin was only required to bowl 8.3 overs throughout, though he did manage to claim the final wicket to wrap up the victory by 366 runs inside three days.

Tom Taylor (Worcestershire)

Like Jake Libby, Taylor may have been on the wrong end of the result at Hove but he was an impressive performer for Worcestershire nevertheless.

A blistering spell either side of the lunch interval on day one saw Sussex collapse from 80-0 to 88-6, with the potent right-arm seamer finding swing and the bat edge to claim five of them which included the prize scalps of the talismanic Tom Haines and John Simpson.

After making a joint top-score of 32 at number ten, Taylor then struck twice again early as the Worcestershire bowlers tried to keep their side in the contest, ending with match figures of 7-93, though the first innings deficit proved too costly in the end.

Kyle Abbott (Hampshire)

Another player on the losing side despite his best efforts was experienced South African pace bowler Abbott, taking eight wickets and the only Hampshire player to reach 50 with the bat at Trent Bridge.

The 37-year-old recorded his 43rd First-Class five-wicket haul on day one as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 333, being made to wait for his rewards to end with 5-57 after consistently testing spells.

Hampshire slumped to 106-7 with the bat, before Abbott launched an impressive counter attack to ensure they avoided the follow-on until he was the final man out for 67 off just 51 balls with eight fours and three sixes.

Abbott then removed both Notts openers early and added a third later in the innings to finish with match figures of 8-119 but the partnership between Jack Haynes and Liam Patterson-White ended any chance of a Hampshire fightback with their second innings ending even more miserably than the first.

Honourable Mentions

As previously mentioned, there were a number of key contributors to Nottinghamshire’s impressive victory over Hampshire.

Young prodigy Freddie McCann scored 138 for his third career century, whilst fellow local boy Lyndon James took his second career five-fer with 5-22 to help clean up the Hampshire second innings.

Meanwhile, Pakistan seamer Muhammad Abbas made his debut for Notts against his former county and had an immediate impact with typically economical figures of 5-31 in the first innings.

Elsewhere, 21-year-old Jack Carson scored his maiden century to rescue Sussex from 88-6 to 284 all out on day one against Worcestershire.

Matt Critchley took six wickets in the match and was at the crease for more than 80 overs in the second innings to help Essex save their game with Yorkshire, alongside Michael Pepper and Simon Harmer.

There were three Warwickshire centurions in their huge total against Surrey, with the third coming from 27-year-old Zen Malik who made a fluent 105 not out from 119 balls in just his second First-Class appearance.

Division Two

In Division Two, the experienced Timm van der Gugten claimed three wickets apiece in both innings to help Glamorgan thump Kent.

Finally at Northampton, where the hosts earned their first win under head coach Darren Lehmann against struggling Lancashire.

Calvin Harrison’s four wickets on the final day helped his temporary side defend 236, Australian Liam Guthrie provided valuable contributions with bat and ball, whilst a second innings onslaught with the bat from Ben Sanderson (65 off 28) ultimately proved decisive.

As for the Red Rose, despite still remaining winless and falling to the bottom of Division Two, Marcus Harris registered another century as he races towards the 1,000 run-mark, whilst George Balderson and West Indian Anderson Phillip both took six wickets in the match.

By Dom Harris

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