A short two-week stint of Rothesay County Championship action has passed by as the counties turn their focus back to the Vitality Blast for the foreseeable future. It is safe to say that the Kookaburra ball trial still has work to be done, with batting records broken up and down the country. In Division One, Surrey have returned to their seemingly rightful place at the summit, scoring three more bonus points than Nottinghamshire to open up a one-point lead.
Leicestershire suffered their first defeat of the season with an innings and 127-run loss at home to a rampant Middlesex. The race for promotion is heating up with Derbyshire and Glamorgan separated by just two points following the former’s 261-run defeat at the hands of Lancashire – the Red Rose’s first win of the campaign.
1. Alex Lees – Durham (125 & 100*)
Coming into bat after spending 161.3 overs in the dirt and conceding 820 runs, it is fair to say that Alex Lees has probably had more enjoyable matches in his career. With a draw so obviously on the cards for the vast majority of the game, all Lees could do was bat time, and that is exactly what he did. The former England man struck at just above 50 to notch his second First Class century of the season, before falling to master of the Kookaburra ball – Dan Worrall.
After waiting two-and-a-half months for his second ton of the season, his third came one day later. Unsurprisingly, Durham were following on and still trailed Surrey by 458 with almost a full day’s play in store. Lees dug deep to form an unbroken 262-run partnership with Emilio Gay – who also tonned up with 156 – steering Durham home to a respectable if predictable draw. As soon as the Durham captain reached the three figures, both sides shook hands to call time on the match.
2. Dom Sibley – Surrey (305)
So, to the reason Durham found themselves so far behind the game. Dom Sibley notched a maiden triple-century, grinding out over 10 hours at the crease and facing 475 deliveries. Sibley played an anchor role as Surrey’s world class talent shone through, with Sam Curran (108), Dan Lawrence (178) and Will Jacks (119) all scoring centuries as the Three Feathers recorded their highest ever First Class score – 820-9d. The record was previously set in May 1899 when they scored 811 against Somerset.
The knock was the second triple-century of the red ball season following Tom Banton’s opening game 371 against Worcestershire. Sibley has fired himself to the top of the Division One batting table with 976 at an average north of 75 – 128 runs clear of second placed Haseeb Hameed. Almost a guarantee that the opener will break 1,000 runs for the calendar year, it will be the first time Sibley will reach the milestone since 2019 when he made his Test debut in the winter.
3. Jake Libby – Worcestershire (228*)
Dropping down to number three is Jake Libby, another opener who enjoyed success against the Kookaburra ball. An outside shout for an England call-up in early 2022, the Worcestershire man has endured a tough first half of the 2025 campaign, with this only the fifth time he has scored 30 or more runs in 17 visits to the crease. It was the Libby of old that batted against Hampshire, batting for 621 minutes and striking at just above 50 to produce his highest career score.
He formed a staggering 395-run partnership with Adam Hose after two early Hampshire wickets looked to be paining a familiar picture for Worcestershire. Such partnerships have eluded the Pears in 2025 having secured a mere three batting bonus points in eight games before collecting all five on offer this week. Libby’s efforts took the Worcestershire innings so deep that Hampshire’s strike bowlers were removed almost entirely from the attack, with Tilak Varma and Tom Prest bowling nine and 12 overs respectively.
4. Adam Hose – Worcestershire (266)
To the other end where Adam Hose produced the highest ever score by a visiting player at the Utilita Bowl. In a stark contrast to his batting partner, Hose’s 266 came up in quick time, facing just 253 balls before his innings came to an end in the closing stages of day one. The knock now contributes to over half of the 32-year-old’s runs for the season, having scored 248 runs in his previous 11 innings this year.
The score will come as a relief to both Hose and Worcestershire staff. The former Warwickshire man has been a valuable member of his side’s makeup in recent weeks, assuming the captaincy in the T20 Blast after injury to Brett D’Oliveira. Since his move south of Birmingham in 2023, this is the first time Hose has reached triple figures in a Pears shirt across any format, surpassing his previous best of a T20 95 scored against Nottinghamshire last month.
5. Saif Zaib – Northamptonshire (196*) (1-36)
One of the most improved players across the country this season is Northamptonshire’s Saif Zaib. With three centuries to his name at the beginning of April, Zaib has notched five more this season while batting in the middle order, firing himself to the top of the run scorer’s table for Division Two with 919 at an average of 65 – only behind Sibley in the whole country. He was one of four Northamptonshire men to ton up alongside Ricardo Vasconcelos (100), Calvin Harrison (122) and Justin Broad (157*).
Another high scoring game, Zaib came to the crease with Northants 288-4, still trailing Kent by 278. A strong partnership with Tim Robinson set the foundations for a large score before Broad helped the all-rounder accelerate the run rate. The declaration came with Zaib agonisingly four runs short of a maiden double century, but with victory in mind. Kent trailed their visitors by 156 runs, finishing the game 160-8 as Northamptonshire almost pulled off a spectacular win.
6. Ben Kellaway – Glamorgan (139) (1-71 & 6-111)
You’re not supposed to have favourites, but Ben Kellaway has been a personal favourite of mine in this season’s championship. The ambidextrous spinner is a genuine England candidate having scored 659 runs at an average of 65.9 and taking 18 wickets at 31. Kellaway’s second century of the season came against Gloucestershire, forming a 264-run stand with Colin Ingram on his road to 139. While his first century against Kent was at a more progressive rate, Kellaway this week proved his ability to bat for long periods at the crease and absorb pressure.
With the ball in hand, Glamorgan were aiming to defend a 148-run advantage after the innings break. Gloucestershire steered themselves away from safety as they ended the game on 255-7, but Kellaway took six of the wickets that fell. The most threatening bowler by some distance, the 21-year-old also showed nous to still remain economical, conceding just 111 runs from his 38 third innings overs.
7. James Bracey (WK) – Gloucestershire (133 & 13) (1 catch & 1 stumping)
On the opposite side to Kellaway was James Bracey who notched his third First Class century of the season. Bracey has made quite a habit of stabilising Gloucestershire’s batting efforts in 2025, with last week being no different. The wicketkeeper arrived at the crease with his side 148-4, but number three Ollie Price departed three balls later, leaving Bracey to navigate the lower order by himself.
He posted 133 at a comfortable strike rate, with Zaman Aker’s half-century providing the ex-England man with valuable time at the crease to build a threatening score. A blitz of wickets saw the Bristol outfit falter from 275-6 to 291-9 before Bracey upped the tempo to steer his men to 380 all out. His crucial 89-run last wicket partnership with 20-year-old Archie Bailey – who scored 19 from 56 deliveries – proved critical in Gloucestershire eventually holding out for a draw.
8. Ben Coad – Yorkshire (89) (2-83 & 3-33)
The importance of Yorkshire’s 10 wicket victory over Essex cannot be understated. The White Rose have moved above their southern opponents in the Division One table, leaving Essex three points adrift in the relegation zone. It was Ben Coad’s efforts with the bat that has got him into this side, scoring 89 from 100 deliveries to give Yorkshire a 91-run lead at the innings break. His quickfire partnership with Matthew Revis – who scored 150 – saved Yorkshire from a position of struggle after another middle-order collapse.
Defending a lead going into the second innings, Coad got the new ball talking as he dismissed Paul Walter and first innings centurion Tom Westley for ducks, leaving Essex 6-2. Nightwachman Simon Harmer was sent to the crease to nullify the threat of further Essex collapse, but Coad quickly dismissed him on the morning of day four, allowing his fellow Yorkshire bowlers to get stuck into a fragile batting lineup.
9. Corey Rocchiccioli – Warwickshire (4) (6-173)
A by-product of the Kookaburra ball trial has been the increase in foreign bowlers signing on short-term deals. Whether it be a short-term offer or a season-long contract, there were 15 overseas bowlers used in the past week, with seven coming from down under. Warwickshire made the move to sign Australian off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli for their trip down to Sussex, with the 27-year-old earning his money by bowling 54.4 overs in his only bowling innings.
Born in Perth, Rocchiccioli quickly adapted to conditions at Hove, breaking the opening Sussex stand just before it reached the century mark. On an extremely flat wicket, the Australian bookended the innings, taking the wickets of the hosts top three, before striking again to claim the final three wickets of the innings. Bears fans will be encouraged to see a frontline spinner make their eleven as he sticks around to face Worcestershire and Essex later this month.
10. Jack Leach – Somerset (6) (6-121)
No matter how well – or how poorly – England’s Test side are performing, there is always one spot that is seemingly up for grabs heading into a mammoth run of fixtures. Rather ironically, lots of England fans are calling for Jack Leach’s return into the fold before The Ashes to take the place of county teammate Shoaib Bashir. Fans clamouring for Leach to play in Australia is a full circle moment, given how Travis Head aimed to hit him out of the series on day two at The Gabba four years ago.
Leach bowled beautifully against Nottinghamshire to concede just 121 runs from 53.2 overs, taking six wickets in an innings for the 12th time in his career. The 34-year-old was made to work for his wickets, dismissing a Nottinghamshire middle order that were happy to spend time at the crease and build sizeable totals. The Taunton-based side now sit fourth in the Division One table, 23 points behind leaders Surrey.
11. Jack White – Yorkshire (0*) (3-68 & 4-37)
While Ben Coad is lauded for his work with the bat, Jack White’s performance was purely celebrated for his skills with the ball. The Yorkshire man dismissed Paul Walter, Matt Critchley and Michael Pepper in the first innings, claiming their wickets before the dangerous trio could kick on and become an issue at the crease.
In the second innings, defending the previously mentioned lead of 91 runs, White returned to the attack after Coad’s assault on the top order – combined with a solitary George Hill wicket – left Essex wounded at 44-4. The 33-year-old claimed the wicket of Critchley for the second time in the game, this time for a five-ball duck, as well as youngster Charlie Allison, reducing them to 48-6. Jordan Cox and Pepper were what can only be described as a nuisance, prolonging the inevitable before White sent the Essex wicketkeeper and tailender Khaleel Ahmed back to the pavilion, leaving his batsman a target of 41 runs to claim a second red-ball win of 2025.