Well it’s that time of year again. In the past, barely anyone I know took any notice of the County Cricket Championship coming to a close, but since there are three horses in this race, people have started to take a bit of notice. With the added influence of the Great British summer (or lack thereof) likely to play a massive part on the way the final standings end up, things could not be more exciting!
With Somerset currently leading the title push, both Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire are still in with chances of meeting their title ambitions. It has to be said though, that the only way one of these two can possibly achieve this (with so little cricket actually played in both matches) is through highly contrived circumstances in an effort to gain a result.
At Chester-le-Street, the home side Durham fought hard to reach 171 for 2, a lead of 31, and Somerset will have to work hard for the victory that would assure them the Championship title for the first time. With Nottinghamshire 89-2 after three days of cricket, there will have to be some serious fiddling to ensure a result at Old Trafford, where they are being hosted by Lancashire.
Elsewhere at Headingly, Kent finished their first innings with an overall lead of 41 and by the close Yorkshire had reached 51 for 1 to go ten runs in front. Now they must force a win on the final day of the season to see if it is sufficient to clinch the Championship title for the first time since 2001.
With Somerset going top of the table for the time being due to gaining full bowling and batting points, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire will have to do something truly special, or something highly controversial, to prevent the Title from heading south to Apple Country!
