Is the County Championship sport’s most competitive league right now?

1. Essex deed nan heights

If you’re nan shape broadside successful nan country, nan assurance that brings tin flooded setbacks for illustration a chromatic skimming crossed a pond. Essex illustrated that constituent by easing to a six-wicket triumph complete Leicestershire, whose admirable tone is improbable to support them successful nan apical flight.

They started well, Ben Green knocking complete some openers, but that only brought Essex’s Jordan Cox to crease, keen for clip successful nan mediate aft a frustrating IPL and pinch a Test debut imminent. He scored a maiden double period and was promptly replaced by Michael Pepper arsenic England decided that was astir apt enough.

Nick Kelly provided nan only guidance from nan location broadside pinch six Essex bowlers sharing nan wickets, truthful they could not person been amazed to find themselves backmost retired successful nan mediate arsenic Tom Westley enforced nan follow-on. As is truthful often nan case, it was much of a struggle 2nd clip round, pinch Lewis Hill’s period anchoring a stout Leicestershire effort correct down nan card.

A target of 215 is surely good wrong tricky territory, but nan people of a bully broadside is nan expertise to find personification to measurement up. Cue gangly Paul Walter (as pinch gangly Dan Burn, nan adjective is obligatory) pinch a ton, allowing his squad to return down nan M1 pinch 23 points successful nan bag.

2. Coles connected a basking streak arsenic Sussex triumph again

The array ne'er lies – aliases truthful they opportunity – but Essex person not been nan champion squad successful nan first half of nan season. That accolade belongs to Sussex, who way them because of a 12-point punishment they were fixed owed to management issues. The truth their players person responded pinch specified verve is simply a superb testament to nan activity connected nan field, if not disconnected it.

Glamorgan (another 2026 feelgood story) rolled down to nan seaside and were themselves rolled successful 53 overs, 5 bowlers pecking distant astatine nan batting bid for illustration seagulls connected nan pier swooping connected your chips.

Since he received a bid of £390,000 successful nan Hundred auction, 22-year-old James Coles has struggled a spot for shape this season, but he’s backmost pinch a bang, hammering 11 sixes and 22 fours en way to 224 not out. Glamorgan, to their credit, did not instantly fold, but still fell 98 runs short of making their hosts bat again, their past man falling to, who else, that man Coles.

3. I cognize I shouldn’t opportunity this, but …

Across 16 seasons of this column, I cannot person written a condemnation much often than variants on: “Somerset’s triumph puts them backmost successful nan hunt conscionable down nan leaders.” It’s what they do.

Somerset’s triumph puts them backmost successful nan hunt conscionable down nan leaders but, conscionable maybe, this clip it could beryllium a portent for nan 2nd half of nan Championship. Jinx aliases not, specified thoughts are inevitable if you dispatch nan champions by 308 runs.

There were maiden Somerset hundreds of years for Jordan Hermann and Thomas Rew (who is moreover younger than his relative James was erstwhile he deed his) but this was a triumph calved of experience. Haseeb Hameed’s men fell to Lewis Gregory (34), Migael Pretorius (31), Craig Overton (32), Jack Leach (34) and Jake Ball (35), a substitute for Gregory. Keep those thirtysomethings fresh and it really, really could happen.

Thomas Rew tries (and fails) to make a drawback successful nan lucifer betwixt Nottinghamshire and Somerset. Photograph: Naomi Baker/Getty Images

4. Both sides find thing successful a draw

At Scarborough, 2 sleeping giants met arsenic Yorkshire and Warwickshire fought each different to a standstill successful nan oversea breeze. That mightiness sound unfair, but since 2015 they person only won a Covid-truncated Championship/Bob Willis Trophy and 2 One-Day Cups betwixt them, which is simply a mediocre return fixed their histories, section value and resources.

The tie past week helped neither to amended connected that record, though it proved to beryllium precisely nan correct benignant of hard-fought cricket they will request to play to get nan wins they will need.

What mightiness activity for Yorkshire is giving Will Luxton an extended tally successful nan side. Still only 23, he seems to person been successful and retired of nan XI for years now but, opening for nan 2nd clip this season, he made a career-best 167 and 69, which whitethorn beryllium his summons to nan slot until nan extremity of September. If he’s nan early of nan club, his coach and skipper should backmost him.

Faced pinch an unreachable target of 453 successful 15 overs and a day, only Dan Mousley sold his wicket cheaply arsenic each Bear dug successful to spot retired nan draw. Those scoring rates (indeed, nan old-fashioned thought of batting time) won’t triumph galore matches, but it forges squad tone – which is important to Warwickshire aft a dismal fewer weeks successful nan Blast – and provides a level to push on. They are only 5 points disconnected nan lead.

5. Potts fires Durham to nan top

It’s a very different communicative successful Division Two, wherever Durham tin astir apt commencement programming Trent Bridge and nan Oval into their satnavs fresh for 2027.

Despite Harry Came’s 105 being overmuch nan highest people of nan match, Derbyshire were swept speech by an innings astatine Chester-le-Street, Durham extending their lead complete third-placed Kent to 30 points.

Kasey Aldridge picked up 5-19 successful nan first innings and Matthew Potts 8-66 successful nan second. That some are useful bats excessively is simply a bonus, but a invited 1 successful a region pro.

And it seems that is apt to beryllium nan destiny of Potts, overlooked for England again contempt his proven worth bowling agelong spells successful English conditions. It whitethorn beryllium expected of specified a wholehearted cricketer, but it is to his in installments that he responded to disappointment pinch a 10-wicket haul. He mightiness beryllium down nan world pecking order, but he’s a section leader for sure. 

6. Lancashire arsenic soft arsenic aged Blackpool rock

The break for nan Blast came astatine a bad clip for Kent, truthful they will person made nan agelong travel to Blackpool wanting to re-establish momentum. There, they simply kicked soil successful nan look of a moribund Lancashire to do precisely that.

Liam Livingstone’s 5 wickets connected time 1 had shouted nan locals, but a dismal effort successful nan first innings – 87 each out, Keith Dudgeon picking up six wickets – put nan location broadside connected nan backmost foot. Chris Benjamin whacked a period successful Kent’s 2nd excavation and Hasan Mahmud matched Dudgeon’s haul to guarantee that Jimmy Anderson’s men sewage obscurity adjacent their target of 424.

Lancashire person injuries but they are consistently underachieving again successful 2026. They will person to return a leafage retired of Kent’s book if different play (probably Anderson’s last) is not to descent away. Two trophies successful nan 21st period is conscionable not acceptable.