Test hopefuls Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley sent a timely reminder to the England selectors with stunning all-round efforts in the Rothesay County Championship.
The spin bowling pair both struck centuries and claimed two five-wicket hauls, a feat only achieved by Liam Dawson over the previous two campaigns and Richard Hadlee in 1987.
Ahmed’s memorable performance helped Division Two table-toppers Leicestershire take a giant step towards promotion with four games remaining, whilst Hartley’s heroics guided a rejuvenated Lancashire to a second successive win which keeps their hopes alive of an immediate return to the top flight.
In what was a good week for former England Test spinners, Jack Leach took six wickets in the second innings of Somerset’s victory over Durham, whilst Dom Bess went one better in Yorkshire’s draw with leaders Surrey, where Dom Sibley also became the first player to surpass 1,000 runs for the campaign.
Elsewhere, Essex earned a crucial victory away at Sussex in their fight for survival but bottom side Worcestershire let slip a strong position against rivals Warwickshire to remain firmly rooted to the foot of the table.
But who else joined Ahmed and Hartley in the standout performances from the latest round of action as the County Championship edges nearer to the September finishing line?
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1. Ben Charlesworth (Gloucestershire)
The result may not have gone Gloucestershire’s way at Cheltenham but 24-year-old Charlesworth offered spirited resistance in registering his second century of the campaign.
In response to the visitors’ 557, the left-hander showed positive intent after the early loss of Cameron Bancroft by reaching his half-century with a six, before bringing up his fourth First-Class ton off just 123 balls in a second-wicket partnership worth 171 with Joe Phillips.
Charlesworth was eventually dismissed for an outstanding season’s-best 160, a five-and-a-half hour knock with 22 boundaries and one six, though ultimately his side were unable to avoid the follow-on as that dismissal sparked a collapse for the hosts from 296-3 to 381 all out.
Second time around, the opener once again proved a frustrating figure for the Lancashire bowlers in a 98-run opening stand with Bancroft and top-scored with 71 off 122 balls on a pitch offering assistance for the spinners.
2. Kiran Carlson (Glamorgan)
Glamorgan skipper Carlson led by example to guide his side to a fourth victory of the season and leapfrog Derbyshire into second in the table.
After building a substantial first innings lead, Glamorgan were pegged back in the second innings by a rallying Kent on a slow surface but it was the part-time spin of Carlson who made the crucial breakthrough of top-scorer Harry Finch on 68 with the visitors’ lead passing 160.
Taking over from frontline spinner Ben Kellaway who left the field after a marathon 30-over spell, Carlson took a further two wickets – his first scalps of the campaign – to help swiftly remove the tail and set the hosts a potentially tricky 189 to win.
Falling to 40-3 early on a potentially tense final day, the captain steadied the ship with a fluent knock that quickly vanished any nerves inside the home dressing room, striking the winning runs to finish unbeaten on 89 off 115 balls as the Welsh side completed the win by five wickets to boost their bid for promotion.
3. Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
The first Englishman since Sir Ian Botham in 1980 to score a century and take 13 wickets in the same First-Class game, a game of a lifetime in what has already been an impressive campaign by the 20-year-old.
Greater responsibility in the top order with the bat has seen the all-rounder produce four centuries so far this season at an average of 45.78 – only Northamptonshire’s Saif Zaib has more.
What made his 115 in the first innings at Derby even more impressive was that he was in the middle at 0-2 after the early loss of both openers, before fluently racing to the 80’s by lunch with a mixture of classical and flamboyant stroke play.
With ball in hand, the leg-spinner twice produced career-best figures – 6-51 in the first innings followed by 7-93 in the second – to also become the first Leicestershire player to take more than 12 wickets and score a century in the same match since Fred Geeson in 1901.
When Derbyshire’s final day resistance was finally ended, the visitors had extended the gap to their now third-placed opponents to 51 points with a sixth win of the season and look well set to secure Division One status after a 22-year hiatus.
4. Beau Webster (Warwickshire)
The Australian all-rounder returned from Test duty in the Caribbean with a crucial final day century as Warwickshire recovered to secure an unlikely victory against neighbours Worcestershire at Edgbaston.
The Tasmanian had only passed 50 once in his first 4 games for the club but finished unbeaten on 100 as the hosts sensationally chased a target of 393 with five wickets in hand after being second best for the majority of the first three days.
In easing batting conditions, Webster’s controlled 166-ball innings was involved in a pivotal 160-run partnership with Zen Malik, who made a career-best 142, for the fourth wicket and then went on to add 84 in just 11.2 overs with Kai Smith to see them over the line with 82 balls to spare.
The 31-year-old had earlier scored one of two half-centuries in the first innings as Warwickshire could only muster 184 in reply to Worcestershire’s 333 and also claimed 3-39 with the ball in the second innings which included the key wicket of opener Gareth Roderick.
Nottinghamshire’s surprise pursuit of the County Championship title has been underpinned by a real team effort with significant contributions throughout the side.
Local boy James has enjoyed a productive campaign and masterfully crafted a maiden double century as Notts were forced to settle for a high-scoring draw against Hampshire at Southampton.
The 26-year-old arrived at the crease with the score 232-5 but made an unbeaten 203 off 236 balls, with 20 fours and eight sixes, overtaking his previous high score of 164 to ensure the title challengers secured maximum batting points and keep pace with leaders Surrey.
6. Matt Critchley (Essex)
Critchley played a star role with bat and ball as Essex hammered Sussex by an innings at Hove to condemn their hosts to a first home Championship defeat since May 2022 and secure a huge victory in their attempts to avoid relegation.
The all-rounder has once again been a consistent performer in the red ball format but his side, so often Surrey’s nearest challengers, have found themselves in an unexpected scrap to maintain their Division One status.
Critchley’s 123 was his 10th First-Class hundred, putting on 194 for the fifth-wicket inside 43 overs with fellow centurion Jordan Cox as Essex piled on 504 to lead by exactly 300 runs, taking full advantage of the relatively short leg-side boundary for his five sixes.
Having not been required to bowl during the first innings, the leg-spinner made the key breakthrough of Tom Alsop on 72 which triggered a collapse of 87 runs for the final seven wickets as Sussex fell 39 runs short of making Essex bat again – Critchley finishing with figures of 4-41 to move on to 23 wickets for the season, in addition to his 616 runs.
7. Luis Reece (Derbyshire)
In all, it proved to be a hugely disappointing performance by Derbyshire in a highly-anticipated top-of-the-table clash with Leicestershire as the danger looms of a disappointing T20 Blast campaign negatively impacting their early season red ball form.
However, all-rounder Reece did have a successful personal outing in what has been an injury-hit season for the 34-year-old, taking career-best match figures of 11-120 at Derby to move to the top of the Division Two wicket-taking charts with 34.
After removing Rishi Patel on the third ball of the match, it was not until the morning of the second day where Reece did the damage, taking five wickets in a five-over blitz as Leicestershire collapsed from 360-3 to 398 all out.
Having been spared the follow-on on a challenging surface, the left-arm medium pacer took four wickets within the opening 12 overs to give the hosts a glimmer of hope but by the time he bowled Ben Green to complete his second five-wicket haul of the match, the lead had extended well over 400.
8. Ethan Brookes (Worcestershire)
It may have ended in disappointment for Worcestershire at Edgbaston, though Brookes did have joy against his former county with a career-best 140 which underpinned the Pears’ first innings total of 333 after opting to bat first.
The 24-year-old held firm on a first day when the visitors toiled to 262-8 but came out on day two in scintillating fashion, bringing up only his second First-Class century with a six, one of eight maximums in total, the second most in an innings by a Worcestershire player only behind Graeme Hick’s 11 at Taunton in 1988.
Brookes was eventually out on 140 but showed his ability to clear the ropes again in the second innings, adding a further seven to his tally in a score of 87 – becoming a record for any individual at Edgbaston – which was once again the standout contribution as Worcestershire recovered from 132-7 to set the hosts a challenging 393 to win.
9. Chris Green (Lancashire)
The Australian has been one of the most impressive overseas imports in county cricket since arriving at Lancashire in 2024 and added to his maiden First-Class hundred at Chesterfield in the last month with another ton on a slow Cheltenham Festival pitch.
A personal best of 160 off 199 balls, including 13 fours and eight sixes, was the highest score by a Lancashire number eight and gave the Red Rose the upper hand as they posted a formidable 557 against Gloucestershire, despite Green having walked out to the middle with the scenario much less convincing at 209-6.
Along with Tom Hartley, the pair put on a record-breaking stand for the ninth-wicket worth a staggering 212 runs, eclipsing Lancashire’s previous highest set all the way back in 1907.
In his primary bowling role, whilst outdone by his spin partner, Green also managed two wickets in both innings to claim match figures of 4-137 as the visitors enforced the follow-on on their way to a second victory under interim captain James Anderson.
10. Tom Hartley (Lancashire)
Speaking of Hartley, the somewhat forgotten man who has seemingly been cast aside from the England setup after a solid showing in the India Test tour at the beginning of last year.
With a lot of talk around who will be England’s go-to spinner ahead of the Ashes, Hartley displayed his capability with the bat as well in that double-century stand with Chris Green, striking a career-best of his own with 130 off just 153 balls, eclipsing the 73 not out against Essex in 2023 for a maiden First-Class century.
The 26-year-old left-arm spinner took charge with the ball, returning figures of 6-116 in the first innings and 5-99 second time around on the final day for his best ever output in a man-of-the-match display to ensure his side were only required to knock off 110 during the final session which they accomplished with ease to move into the promotion hunt after a slow start to the season.
11. Jack Leach (Somerset)
Another former left-arm England spinner in Leach, who Somerset will be perhaps selfishly glad was not called up to replace injured teammate Shoaib Bashir for the fourth Test and instead was able to register a second six-wicket haul in successive Championship games at Taunton to help Somerset beat Durham in a low-scoring contest which concluded well inside two days.
On a very green surface, it was the seamers who did most of the damage on day one as 22 wickets fell but Leach (6-63), along with Archie Vaughan, bowled 45.2 of the 58.2 overs in Durham’s second innings and accounted for all ten wickets as the hosts were left a target of just 86.
Leach’s seven scalps for the match puts him onto 39 for the season, just two behind Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott at the top of the wicket-taking charts, with Somerset in third also making ground on the top two ahead of a crunch clash with Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge this week.
Honourable mentions
Warwickshire’s Zen Malik produced a superb career-best 142 to anchor the successful run chase against Worcestershire in just his sixth First-Class appearance.
Around the grounds, there were also three figures for Hampshire duo Tilak Varma (112) and Felix Organ (122) in their draw with Nottinghamshire, whilst Leicestershire captain Peter Handscomb (101) and Lewis Hill (151) completed a remarkable scorecard with three centurions and eight single-figure scores in their first innings at Derby.
He may not have reached the century milestone but Somerset top order batter Tom Lammonby made a crucial 89 in the first innings on a pitch where no other batter scored more than 42.
Lancashire wicketkeeper prospect Matthew Hurst was overshadowed by events lower down the order, though his 106 was a career-best and just a second First-Class hundred of his burgeoning career.
There were three tons in Middlesex’s 625-8d against Northamptonshire, including one on Championship debut for New Zealand great Kane Williamson (114), as well as Max Holden (151) and Leus du Plooy’s (105) first of the campaign.
Sussex’s James Coles (52 and 108) and Yorkshire’s Matt Revis (110*) both continued their fine red ball form with the bat – the former in a quite frankly ridiculous run with three previous County Championship innings of 148*, 53 and 150.
Pakistan seamer Khurram Shahzad produced a brilliant opening spell to claim 6-42 on his red ball debut for Worcestershire, though it was perhaps not the best of the round as Somerset’s Craig Overton took advantage of favourable conditions to register 6-23 from 10 overs on a chaotic first morning at Taunton.
Yorkshire’s Dom Bess took 7-162 against Surrey at Scarborough in what proved to be a high-scoring drawn contest.
Elsewhere, Middlesex’s Ryan Higgins (match figures 7-105) and Kent’s Matt Parkinson (match figures 8-185) both had a productive week with the ball, whilst Durham spinner George Drissell (5-59) also claimed a maiden First-Class five-wicket haul.
By Dom Harris
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