County Championship 2021: Group 2 roundup, Sunday, 23 May

May 24, 2021

County Championship 2021: Group 2 roundup, Sunday, 23 May Image

Four of the six teams of Group 2 were in action on day four in the sixth round of the County Championship 2021. Let us have a look at how it went for them.

Gloucestershire v Somerset, Bristol

Somerset 300/8 decl. (Abell 132*; Worrall 3-52) drew with Gloucestershire 27/6 (Brathwaite 15; Overton 4-16)

Craig Overton claimed three wickets before rain ruined Somerset’s chances of a win against Gloucestershire on the final day. Only 5.2 overs of cricket was possible in the day.

Overton got rid of Tom Smith, Tom Lace and Iain Cockbain to reduce Gloucestershire from 16/2 to 27/6. Josh Davey chipped in with two wickets as well.

Gloucestershire remain top of Group 2, only one point clear of Somerset.

Surrey v Middlesex, The Oval

Surrey 190 (Burns 64; Andersson 3-30, Cullen 3-30) and 259/2 decl. (Burns 104*; Bamber 1-39) drew with Middlesex 160 (Simpson 68; Clark 4-41, Roach 4-61) and 250/6 (Gubbins 124; Roach 5-86)

Middlesex fell 40 runs short to win over Surrey before rain played spoilsport on the final day of the contest. Surrey resumed at 135/0 and declared at 259/2 before lunch. Skipper Rory Burns remained unbeaten on 104, while Ollie Pope added a quickfire 37 not out.

Set out to chase 290 in 71 overs, Nick Gubbins (124) and Peter Handscomb (70) showed no mercy to the Surrey bowlers. They forged 172 runs for the third wicket. Despite that, Kemar Roach’s 5-86 brought Middlesex back into the game. However, the arrival of rain ensured the match result in a draw.