Centuries from three South Africans drove their respective clubs to dominant performances in this week’s County Championship fixtures. GARETH STEVENS reports.
A second innings hundred from Keaton Jennings, son of U19 World Cup-winning coach Ray, has taken Durham to the brink of victory against Sussex at Chester-le-Street. His patient 103 at the top of the order was the backbone of Derbyshire’s 359-6.
The declaration left Sussex needing 492 runs for victory. They were never in the contest and were left teetering on 173-9 at stumps on day three. Durham should wrap up a commanding victory early on the fourth morning.
Ashwell Prince’s career best 257 not out saw Lancashire declare on 650-6 in their encounter with Northamptonshire at Old Trafford. They then proceeded to destroy their demoralised opponents, dismissing them for 180. The South African pair of Richard Levi and Andrew Hall were the only batsmen to offer any resistance, scoring 59 and 42 not out, respectively.
After being asked to follow on, Northamptonshire reached 231-8 at stumps on day three. Hall once again dug in and he will resume his innings on 36 not out. His only motivation will be to deny Lancashire victory for as long as possible. It seems that the rest of the season will be a battle for survival for the horribly out of form Northamptonshire.
Gloucestershire drew with Glamorgan in a high-scoring encounter in Bristol. The hosts battered first and posted 391. In response the Welsh club declared on 615-7 with Jacques Rudolph’s 139 being the highest score of the match.
Gloucestershire were left with 84 overs to survive as a draw was their best possible outcome. They ground out the final day, finishing on 165-5 to earn the draw.
Elsewhere, former Proteas hockey player Wayne Madsen failed twice in a Derbyshire team struggling for runs. He scored 7 and 17 in consecutive innings, as Kent enforced the follow on. The only consolation was forcing Kent to bat a second time, but their openers knocked off the required runs in just 10.1 overs, stealing a 10 wicket victory in Canterbury.
Surrey are in a tussle with Leicestershire on a flat Oval wicket. Hashim Amla’s 71 contributed to Surrey’s first innings of 522. The bowlers then got the most out of their home deck, dismissing Leicestershire for 271 and enforcing the follow on.
Going into the final day, the visitors are 141-2 in their second innings, still trailing by 110. The mission will be to bat out the day with their remaining eight wickets. A draw is the most likely result as the friendly pitch holds no demons for the batsmen.
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