The second round of the 2026 County Championship was completed today (April 13), with several England incumbents and hopefuls making an impact.
James Rew – 48
After making a century in the opening round of the season, Rew was only required to bat once in Somerset's victory at Chelmsford. He hit 48 off 67 balls following a top-order collapse which saw Somerset slip to 16-3, steadying their innings before Craig Overton scored a century from No.7.
Jack Leach – 1-8
Leach didn't bowl in Essex's first innings, as Somerset's seamers tore through Essex for 149. He was in action later on day one, however, when he was promoted to open the innings after Tom Kohler-Cadmore was injured out of action in the opening session. He was out for six having faced 12 balls, and dismissed Dean Elgar in Essex's second innings.
Sam Cook – 3-93 & 0-19
Cook was effective in keeping Essex in the match early in Somerset's first innings, taking wickets in consecutive overs in their early collapse. His third wicket of the innings was a gift, however, getting Will Smeed stangled down the leg side. He bowled two overs in Somerset's second innings, and conceded 19 runs off his second as Archie Vaughan and Joshua Thomas smashed their way to the 47-run target in 34 balls.
Tom Haines – 32 & 12
Sussex recorded their second consecutive win with a resounding victory over Warwickshire at home. Haines, however, failed to make a significant contribution with the bat. He was out to a loose drive to a ball from Ethan Bamber which castled his stumps, before he was beaten by late seam movement from Bamber again in their second innings.
James Coles – 11 & 9, 0-21 & 1-34
Coles also did not make a significant contribution to Sussex's win. He was out to a loose shot to Ed Barnard, having already been dropped by Jordan Thompson during his 12-ball first dig. In the second innings, he was trapped lbw by Michael Booth as a middle-order collapse threatened Sussex's win. He snared the wicket of Ed Barnard in the second innings, but went at over fives in each innings.
Ollie Robinson – 2-44 & 3-48
Robinson impressed once again following his opening round burst last week. He was miserly for his two wickets in Warwickshire's first innings and took three in the second, mopping up the tail after Fynn Hudson-Prentice cleaned up early on. A second win in a row means Robinson has a 100 per cent record as Sussex captain.
Liam Dawson – 1-22 & 2-37, 4
Hampshire struck back after their dismal innings defeat to Essex last week with a 214-run win over Yorkshire at Headingley. Dawson made scoring difficult for the most part, and picked up three wickets in the game, all tailenders. He drew a miscue from Dom Bess on the final day, getting him for the second time in the match before bowling Ben Coad to finish the game.
Sonny Baker – 4-45 & 1-57
Baker was a standout this round for his burst of wickets late on day one. He took three wickets in one over to set Hampshire up for a big first-innings lead.
Jamie Smith – 166 & 89
On a flat deck at The Oval, Smith made it back-to-back tons and finished just 11 runs short of a third consecutive hundred in Surrey's second innings. He is comfortably the leading run-scorer in Division One after two rounds, having scored 396 runs in four innings.
Ollie Pope – 103 & 83*
Pope's hundred in partnership with Smith on Day One took Surrey to a big fist innings score, before they were put under some pressure by Leicestershire's response of 691 all out. After they lost both openers while still trailing, Pope and Smith once against steadied the ship, with Pope finishing unbeaten on 83.
Matt Fisher – 2-119
Fisher toiled on a pitch with little in it for him to exploit, claiming the wickets of Rehan Ahmed and Tom Scriven in consolation.
Rehan Ahmed – 10, 2-58 & 0-70
Rehan played a loose shot to Fisher to give an edge through to Ben Foakes. He also suffered with the ball thanks to Smith and Pope, with Smith particularly attacking the leg-spinner.
Haseeb Hameed – 0 & 2
Hameed endured a tough personal round amid a hefty win for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan. He was dismissed off the first ball of the match from Timm van der Gugten, cleaned up by a delivery which moved back in through the air. It didn't get much better for him in Nottinghamshire's second innings, lasting just six balls before he was pinned in front by Van der Gugten.
Ben Duckett – 25 & 1
Duckett's game was only marginally better than Hameed's. He scored a typically brisk 25 before he got a leading edge and was caught at mid off. His second innings ended in disaster, however, when he was sent back by Ben Slater when he halfway down the pitch, and comfortably run out having faced one ball.
Josh Tongue – 1-10 & 1-62
In his first Championship outing of the season, Tongue bowled just four overs in the first innings but claimed the wicket of Zain-ul-Hasan, before he opened Nottinghamshire's account in the second innings, getting Eddie Byrom for nine.
Asa Tribe – 3 & 85
After a first-innings failure in which he failed to reach double-figures, Tribe was the standout in Glamorgan's second innings. He scored 85 off 104 ball, with the next highest run-scorer being No.9 Mason Crane with 39.
Ben McKinney – 244
McKinney was the standout batter of the round, registering his highest first-class score with a double on Day One of Durham's match in Bristol. He was final dismissed for 244 off 247 balls, helping Durham to amass 605-5 declared in their only innings.
Alex Lees – 129
Lees paired up with McKinney to put on Durham's third-highest opening partnership in County Championship history. They reached 305 together before Lees fell for 129.
Emilio Gay – 5
A batter's worst nightmare for Gay after his first round century. He watched from the dressing room for the majority of day one as Lees and McKinney piled on the runs, before edging to slip off his sixth ball at the crease. No.4 David Bedingham rubbed salt into the wound by notching his own century, leaving Gay the standout failure in the top four.
Matthew Potts – 1-46 & 3-49
After Durham declared shortly before lunch on day two, with Gloucestershire already one wicket down before Potts compounded their struggles after the break. He drew an edge off Ben Charlesworth to leave them 23-2, and claim his only wicket of the innings. He took three in the second innings, but most impressive was his brilliant one-handed diving catch to dismiss Will Williams and wrap up the match.
Zak Crawley – 26 & 5
A nightmare round for Zak Crawley after his double failures last week. Northants tore up the record books by reaching 684-2 in their first innings, with all of their top four making centuries. Having spent the best part of two days in the field, Crawley had his off stump castled by a ball that came back into him from Harry Conway. After Kent were made to follow on he got a second chance, but lasted only 10 balls before Conway drew a leading edge. To make matters worse for Crawley, his opening partner Ben Compton racked up an unbeaten century.
Shoaib Bashir – 4-76 & 0-24
Bashir took his best-ever County Championship figures in his second outing for Derbyshire. He helped keep Lancashire in check in the first innings, and his 10 not out with the bat saw Derbyshire take a slender lead into the second.
Other notable performances
James Anderson closed out the game at Old Trafford with a blistering spell on the final day. He took 4-7 in just 4.5 overs in his second spell, also inflicting the final run out to see Lancashire to victory by 29 runs. Craig Overton hit an extraordinary century from No.7 while captaining Somerset in the absence of Lewis Gregory. He scored 141 off 180 balls, rescuing Somerset from 114-5 in their first innings.
Also notable is Ben Foakes. His contribution of 63 to Surrey's first innings at the Oval and an unbeaten 28 in the second means his season average stands at 127.50.
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