Ball One: Burns’ batters on a hot streak

After a stumble or two recently, it was business as usual for Rory Burns as Surrey eased away from the pack at the top of Division One.

Having scored some welcome runs himself in a hitherto lean season, the captain sat back and pondered which of his array of batters would deliver the innings that took the game away from the opposition. Not for the first time this season, it was Jamie Smith (138) supported by Jordan Clark, who chipped in with a handy 78. His five seamers then shared 20 Middlesex wickets between them and the points were bagged before rain could threaten the victory.

The cliche says batters set up matches then bowlers win them but, as England are showing under Ben Stokes’ chasing strategy, that dictum probably needs a revision these days. In 10 matches, Surrey have six centurions and another seven batters who have registered a 50. It’s hard to compete against such relentless firepower at the crease – as the last two seasons have shown.

Ball Two: Simple for Essex with Simon in their ranks

Can you say it’s pressure if the gap is 14 points? Well, Essex can only win their own matches, and four in a row has taken them to second place in the table behind Surrey.

We are, as we have been for so many seasons around this time, well into Simon Harmer cheat code territory and Tom Westley did not hesitate to press the button and launch his South African at Kent. Unusually (though not unprecedentedly) he featured first with the bat, coming in ninth with the lead a handy but hardly dominant 83. A couple of hours later, the declaration came 251 runs ahead.

The pads were whipped off and he was soon into the day job, opening the bowling en route to sending down 44.1 overs for his four for 72, Harry Finch’s century making the home side work for the win. After a quick blitz to beat the weather on the chase, Essex banked 21 points and Kent felt the trap door wobble a little more beneath them.

Ball Three: Holland and Fuller find success in fullness of time

Hampshire’s curiously stop-start season was back in start mode as they dispatched a disappointing Nottinghamshire side whose run of one win since mid-April needs arresting soon if they are to secure top-flight status for next year.

Usually the Hampshire narrative is predictable – James Vince, the captain, leads with the bat and the ultra-experienced seamers, Kyle Abbott, Mohammad Abbas and Keith Barker, knock over the opposition batters. Not so this time, as a couple of the chorus line stepped forward to find a spotlight for their efforts.

James Fuller made 46 and 52 not out from No 7 and bagged four wickets with his sharp fast-mediums as the home side forlornly chased 411. Ian Holland was even more productive, backing up his 138 not out in the second innings with match figures of five for 47.

It’s often remarked that the length of the English first-class season presents such a variety of conditions that all types of cricketer can find a pitch on which to shine. But it also demands a squad depth that captains must use properly from April to September – as Vince can attest.

Ian Holland is caught in the slips against Nottinghamshire. Photograph: Steve Poole/ProSports/Shutterstock Ball Four: How to secure a passage to India?

Old-school cricket prevailed at Edgbaston as Warwickshire, with a game in hand, ran up against an obdurate Lancashire side, the draw specialists securing their sixth in nine matches as rain washed out the last day.

While all-rounder George Balderson can be pleased with his work, the man most responsible for setting up Lancashire’s opportunity to go for the win on day four (nearly 300 ahead with four wickets in hand) was probably the captain, Keaton Jennings. He batted for more than two hours in the first dig for his 29, then more than four hours second time round for his 64 not out – the kind of knocks that strokemakers can play around in tough conditions.

Jennings is renowned for his effectiveness in countering spin and, with five Tests this winter in India and R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel’s fingers already itching, he must be hoping for the nod. The question hangs in the air though – do these innings help or hinder his cause in the age of Bazball?

Ball Five: Henry and chums show their pedigree

Possibly buoyed by their delirious success at the Blast Finals Day and possibly buoyed by the sight of rock-bottom Northamptonshire rolling into Taunton, Somerset swept aside their opponents to win by nine wickets and go fifth in the table with a chance to push on to third – an unlikely scenario after opening the campaign with five winless matches.

After half of Tom Abell’s batters had provided 40 or more to a first-innings total of 351, Northants lost 16 wickets on a disastrous second day, the seamers enjoying the return of the Duke ball after two matches with the Kookaburra in hand. Matt Henry and Craig Overton gobbled up 15 of the 20 Northants wickets available, the Kiwi pacer backing up his player of the match award in the T20 Final by extending his Championship record this season to 26 wickets at 17 in five matches.

He would not be short of offers to play elsewhere in the world right now (or he might rest up in preparation for a franchise contract) but he’s loving life in the West Country and long may it continue.

Ball Six: Tongue has final say

There are too many draws in Division Two, which is disappointing, but it does make for a tight chase for the second promotion spot, Durham all but over the horizon at the top.

Worcestershire leapfrogged Leicestershire into third place with what might be a crucial win at Stuart Broad’s alma mater, Oakham School.

Josh Tongue was the key man for the away side, rocking up after being released by England to steam in with five for 29 in Leicestershire’s second dig. The whys and wherefores of parachuting in a player half way through a match can produce pros and cons, but it doesn’t sit right with your correspondent on balance. It also doesn’t sit right that another England player, Rehan Ahmed, batted well for his 77 runs in the match but was not required to bowl in either of Worcestershire’s (completed) innings. The lad needs to bowl as much as possible if he is to learn his most difficult of crafts.

This article is from The 99.94 Cricket Blog Follow Gary Naylor on Twitter