Five things we learnt from Round Four of the LV= Insurance County Championship 2023

Division One:
Middlesex 229 & 86/1 beat Kent 186 & 128 by nine wickets
Warwickshire 150 & 141 lost to Surrey 281 & 16/1 by nine wickets

Division Two:
Durham 452/9d beat Derbyshire 165 & 280 by an innings and seven runs
Gloucestershire 248 & 121/4 drew with Sussex 455/5d
Leicestershire 407 & 252/3d drew with Glamorgan 465

Settled Surrey justify title favouritism

The reigning champions have made just two changes to their line-up across their opening three matches: young star Tom Lawes in for Ben Foakes in the second fixture, with England's wicket-keeper replacing Sean Abbott for this round's trip to Edgbaston. Changing the balance of the team did little to slow down momentum, as they bowled Warwickshire out twice for a combined score of just 291. 

This was a statement victory against the 2021 champions and demonstrated the facets which made Surrey title winners last year. They have experience in abundance and Kemar Roach and Dan Worrall shared 17 wickets, while their homegrown talent continues to shine, not least through Jamie Smith, whose 88 was the top score in the match and led a recovery from 99/4. 

From a bowling perspective, this was quite the performance. Surrey dropped a bowler and yet still prevented Warwickshire reaching 150 in either innings. The tables above illustrates a few key bowling stats. Notably, it's a little over two years since they faced fewer runs in a match, while the comparison of scores under 200 faced suggests this attack is even more imperious than last season. Those three instances in 2022 all came in different matches. It is a long season and Surrey are under pressure to keep this form going, but few players will relish facing their attack this year.

Age is no barrier to Tim Murtagh

On 4 September, Middlesex will take to the field for the 11th time in this year's LV= Insurance County Championship. By then, Tim Murtagh will be 42. His date of birth will be, by 62 days, closer to the beginning of World War II than it will be the start of the match. And yet the former Ireland international and county legend keeps on going, and keeps on demolishing opposition batting orders.

Middlesex's victory over Kent saw the visitors dismissed twice for under 200, with Murtagh claiming a 10-wicket-haul for the fifth time in his first-class career, and his first in nearly nine years. He set the tone early with a wonderful set-up to Zak Crawley, who he'd later dismiss second time around, as part of a quartet of first-innings scalps. Crawley and Daniel Bell-Drummond were victims from the first two balls of the second innings, and missing the hat-trick didn't stop Murtagh from running through the middle order.

His tenth, that of Matt Quinn lbw, was his 1000th for Middlesex in all formats. Murtagh's overall first-class tally stands at 934; only 15 bowlers this century have reached the four-figure milestone - James Anderson was the most recent. On the possibility of reaching it, Murtagh said: "If I'm not worth my place in the team or playing, then I don't want to carry on just for the sake of another 30 or 40 wickets, or whatever it may be at the end of the season."

On this week's evidence, he is certainly worth his place in any team.

Yet another England keeping option

If all of the debate around England's Test wicket-keeping situation revolves around the return of Jonny Bairstow - who scored a rapid 97 and 57 for Yorkshire's 2nd XI on his return to cricket - and the incumbent Ben Foakes, perhaps Ollie Robinson could make a left-field claim to the gloves. His move from his native Kent to Durham at the end of last season raised eyebrows, especially among the Canterbury faithful who considered the loss of the talented 24-year-old to be devastating.

From his perspective, few questioned it: club captain Sam Billings withdrew from this year's IPL barely six weeks after Robinson's move was announced, so Robinson would've had fierce competition. He has shown himself to be impressive with both bat and gloves and a first century for Durham this week was timely. 

It was also critical for Durham, and it was eye-catching. Durham were 126/4 at one stage and Robinson's century, which totalled 114 (107) and was achieved in 93 balls, made all the difference. His average stands at 50.50 for his new club, albeit across just six innings. More pertinently, his 2023 strike rate of 86.07 is bettered only by Tom Hartley (100.71) and Sol Budinger (100.00) among players to score at least 100 runs. Keep that up and his Durham teammate Ben Stokes may take notice.

Carse proving himself a true all-rounder

Another Durham player in whom Stokes may take notice: Brydon Carse. Last week, he struck his highest first-class tally with 91, from just 110 balls, against Glamorgan. Against Derbyshire, he bettered that still, a magnificent 108 not out continuing the tempo set by Robinson. 

Carse was promoted to bat number seven - having been number eight in his three previous innings this campaign - and it's a move that clearly worked. His first-class batting and bowling average both begin with 30 and while he'll want to push the bowling number lower, it's hardly a bad record to have. He's got 11 wickets so far this season but has been bowling quick, as this clip shows:

Carse already has England experience having featured in nine ODIs, the first three of which came under Stokes' captaincy during the COVID-19-affected series against Pakistan in July 2021. He'll have an eye on a spot in the Test team this summer - as will Matthew Potts, aiming to add to his five caps. Potts took three wickets in the first innings and five in the second, including ripping through the tail, to seal Durham's victory.

Leicestershire out to defy expectations

Few observers gave Leicestershire much chance for the 2023 season. They finished bottom of Division Two last year, and on the opening day of this season, it was 568 days since their previous first-class win. Fast-forward to the end of April, though, they're yet to be beaten, and sit second. 

Hosting Glamorgan would've brought back traumatic memories - last season, Sam Northeast struck 410 not out in the visitors' 795/5 declared, before inflicting a final-day innings defeat. Glamorgan weren't quite as dominant with the bat but did emerge from the first innings with a 58-run lead, and hope of forcing yet another late victory. But after the early wicket of Sol Budinger, Leicestershire held firm as Rishi Patel hit his second century alongside his captain, Lewis Hill. 

Patel's maiden hundred had been just as influential, 125 while chasing 389 against Yorkshire in the opening round setting the platform for that incredible win. They've passed 400 in each of their three matches so far and it has become apparent very quickly that the Foxes are not to be underestimated this season.