Durham opener Mark Stoneman’s farewell century condemned Hampshire to relegation from the Specsavers County Championship Division One, with Durham winning by six wickets at the Ageas Bowl. Stoneman, who is joining Surrey over the winter, frustrated Hampshire all day with a near flawless ton, as Durham won with three overs to spare. Hampshire knew they had to win, with Lancashire crumbling to defeat at Warwickshire, but were eventually left ten points adrift at the bottom end - signalling an end to two a season stint in the top division. The home side had set a target of 296, after batting for an hour in the morning, but other than a late flurry of wickets, they never looked like stopping the...
Hamish Marshall played his part in guiding Gloucestershire to an unlikely draw in their final Specsavers County Championship game of the season against Sussex at the Brightside Ground, Bristol. Playing his last game for the county, after ten years of service, the 37-year-old New Zealander struck 77 between mid-morning and midafternoon to lay the foundations for a decent day's batting from the host county. In the end, his 135 run partnership, for the sixth wicket, with wicket keeper Phil Mustard, was the difference between losing and ending the campaign with a share of the spoils. Speaking after his last game, Marshall said: "It's tough to leave something you love, but it was nice to get a few runs in my...
Kent’s irritation at missing out on promotion went some way to explaining the defiance of their skipper Sam Northeast who, on the final day of the Specsavers Championship campaign, elected to notch his fifth first-class ton of the summer rather than conspiring in any sort of last-day contrivance with Division 2 champions Essex. The top two sides in the second tier finally shook hands on a draw at 4.20pm, by which time Kent had reached 288 for five declared for an overall lead in the match of 437. Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s chief operating officer, presented Essex with their trophy and winners’ cheque soon after, leaving Kent contemplating another season in the lower ranks and to mull over the opening...
For the first time in 92 years Derbyshire finished a County Championship season without a single victory after losing to Worcestershire by nine wickets in their final Specsavers Division Two fixture at New Road. Having started the last day at 15 for one, still 212 behind, they held off the home side for five hours until they were dug out for 266. Worcestershire had to make 40 and lost Brett D’Oliveira before securing third place behind Essex and Kent. At least the division’s bottom county went down on a note of defiance thanks to Wayne Madsen’s sixth championship century of the season and Harvey Hosein’s achievement in becoming only the fourth Derbyshire wicketkeeper to make a hundred and a fifty...
Well that is that! Middlesex are crowned champions on a thrilling final day of the season at Lord's... DIVISION ONE Middlesex 270 & 359-6d v Yorkshire 390 & 178 - Middlesex win by 61 runsHampshire 411 & 245-9d v Durham 361 & 297-4 - Durham win by 6 wickets Warks 219 & 279-7d v Lancs 152 & 109 - Warwickshire win by 237 runs DIVISION TWO Gloucs 229 & 337-7d v Sussex 435 - Match DrawnKent 441 & 280-5d v Essex 292 - Match DrawnWorcs 475-7d & 43-1 v Derbyshire 248 & 266 (fo) - Worcestershire win by 9 wickets A SEASON TO REMEMBERWhen they look back on the annals of cricketing history the 2016 Championship season will stand out. From the first ball to the last and all the...
