It hasn’t been the most prolific start for Steve Smith in the County Championship, but the Australian vice-captain has added another screamer to his career highlights reel over the weekend.
On day four of Sussex’s draw against Leicestershire at Grace Road, Smith held onto a stunning one-handed grab at second slip to remove young all-rounder Rehan Ahmed for 9 in the second innings.
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Sussex was hunting quick wickets after enforcing the follow-on Saturday afternoon, but centuries from Rishi Patel and Wiaan Mulder ensured the hosts escaped with a stalemate.
Smith scored 3 (14) in his only knock against Leicestershire, trapped LBW by seamer Wiaan Mulder with a delivery that slid past the right-hander’s inside edge.
Victorian captain Peter Handscomb, who missed out on Ashes selection last month, registered 26 and a duck for Leicestershire, bringing his season tally to 395 runs at 56.42 in five County Championship matches.
Elsewhere in England, Marcus Harris’ poor run of form continued during Gloucestershire’s drawn contest against Derbyshire, scoring 7 (42) before becoming Luis Reece’s first victim of the match.
Since being named in Australia’s squad for the World Test Championship final and first two Ashes matches, the Victorian opener has registered scores of 1, 26, 37, 5 and 7 in the County Championship, having started his campaign with an elegant century against Glamorgan.
Meanwhile, Somerset wicketkeeper James Rew has cemented his status as a future superstar of English cricket, smacking twin centuries in this week’s draw against Lancashire at Old Trafford.
The 19-year-old, who represented England in last year’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup, plundered 105 and 118 not out in the rain-affected contest, making him the leading run-scorer of County Championship’s Division One with 539 runs at 67.37.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Rew has become the youngest Somerset cricketer to score two hundreds in a first-class match.
Lancashire seamer James Anderson finished with 2-16 from 14 overs in the first innings before sustaining a minor groin strain, ruling him out for the rest of the match, while Test spinner Jack Leach claimed 1-57 for Somerset.
West Australian opener Sam Whiteman has a forgettable outing for Northamptonshire, scoring 8 in both innings as the hosts suffered a thumping innings defeat to Nottinghamshire.
Northamptonshire was rolled for 71 in the second innings, with South African seamer Dane Paterson claiming 5-16, while England Test opener Ben Duckett scored 39 (43) in his lone knock for the visitors.
Over in Cardiff, Queensland all-rounder Michael Neser starred for Glamorgan in the first innings of the Welsh county’s ten-wicket victory over Worcestershire, claiming 4-40 and top-scoring with 86.
Glamorgan teammate Marnus Labuschagne contributed 42 (76), also creating a crucial breakthrough with his part-time off-spin.
New South Wales all-rounder Sean Abbott continued to turn heads for Surrey, smacking 48 (75) and claiming 3-31 in this week’s nine-wicket triumph over Middlesex at The Oval.
The 31-year-old, along with Neser, will join the Australian squad’s training camp later this month ahead of the World Test Championship final against India.
Surrey teammate Daniel Worrall, who represented Australia in three ODIs in 2016, was the pick of the bowlers in the first innings, taking 5-48 to help bowl out Middlesex for 209, while England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes scored 22 in his lone knock for the hosts.
Ashes hopeful Zak Crawley registered 7 and 56 in Kent’s rain-affected drawn contest against Hampshire in Canterbury, with South Australian paceman Wes Agar claiming 3-114 for the hosts.
Kent was rolled for 95 in the first innings but held their nerve on day four to clinch a stalemate, courtesy of some heavy drizzle.
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Meanwhile, Durham secured a thrilling one-wicket win over Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street over the weekend, chasing the 246-run target in nailbiting scenes on Sunday morning.
The hosts were in dire straits at 8-173 on Saturday evening, but an unbeaten half-century for Ben Rain and a patient 25 from Matthew Potts guided Durham to an unlikely victory.
Potts, one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, also claimed eight wickets across the match, while England superstar Jonny Bairstow scored 27 and 36 for Yorkshire in the gutting defeat. Meanwhile, former New South Wales seamer Mickey Edwards, representing Yorkshire under a UK passport, went wicketless in the loss.
Yorkshire is yet to register a victory in the County Championship this summer, reeling at the bottom of the Division Two ladder.
