The County Championship - The story of the fourth round of fixtures

22 May 2017 07:55

The latest round of the Specsavers County Championship is almost completed.

Seven games which began on Friday have reached a conclusion, with the only fixture still ongoing being that between Sussex and Durham at Hove, which only started on Sunday.

Here, Press Association Sport picks out some highlights.

STAR BILLING

Veteran Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara has been in magnificent form for Surrey. The 39-year-old scored a century in each innings against champions Middlesex at Lord's, taking his run tally for the Championship season so far to 588 at an average of 117.6. He has now also passed 20,000 first-class runs.

TALKING POINT

James Anderson will undergo a scan after suffering a groin injury while bowling for Lancashire on the first day of the Roses match. He bowled just 5.3 overs and had to bat with a runner. There are fears the problem could threaten his involvement in England's Test series against South Africa this summer. On the positive side for England, former captain Alastair Cook continued his fine start to the season with another hundred in Essex's emphatic victory over Hampshire.

STAT ATTACK

Glamorgan's Colin Ingram proved he is capable of playing the long game as he grafted his way to a painstaking and match-saving 155 over almost 10 hours against Nottinghamshire at Cardiff. His century came off 294 balls and overall his innings occupied 427 deliveries in 593 minutes. That equates to a strike rate of 36.29.

FAMILIAR CENTURION

Marcus Trescothick continues to bash out the runs - and the tons. His century in Somerset's draw against Warwickshire was a record 50th for the county in first-class cricket and also took him past 25,000 first-class runs. Overall, the 41-year-old former England opener has now scored 94 hundreds in all forms of cricket in his career.

TWEET OF THE ROUND

"Great to be out in the middle with LEGEND @Trescricket when this happened!! Special in many ways!!" - Somerset's Peter Trego pays tribute to team-mate Trescothick after his record-breaking ton at Taunton.

SURPRISE CENTURION

While it is hardly a surprise to see Trescothick reaching three figures, it was a complete shock for Yorkshire seamer Jack Brooks to do so in the Roses match against Lancashire - and not least to the man himself. Batting at number nine, Brooks hit an unbeaten 109. The 32-year-old later described his accomplishment as "surreal" and admitted he never expected to achieve such a feat. He celebrated it in style by dropping his bat and punching the air.

NEXT CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES

Division One, May 26: Essex v Surrey, Somerset v Hampshire.

Division Two, May 25: Derbyshire v Leicestershire. May 26: Glamorgan v Durham, Kent v Sussex, Northamptonshire v Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire v Gloucestershire.

Source: PA