How have England players performed in the Vitality County Championship?

Round Seven

Zak Crawley's highest score at county level of 238 from just 267 balls proved to be in vain as Kent suffered defeat at Somerset. 

Having fallen first ball in the first innings, Kent were dismissed trailing by a massive 376 and needed something special to salvage any hope. Step forward Crawley, to pulverise the Somerset bowling attack.

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Across two innings, Kent scored 470 runs on the third day with Crawley's aggression leading the way. He blitzed 31 fours and four sixes in an innings that threatened to change the momentum of the match.

Crawley's only bigger score in first-class cricket came for England in a Test against Pakistan back in 2020, an astonishing 267. That innings took nine hours; this one lasted a little more than five. 

It had not been a glamorous start to the campaign for Crawley, who had just 67 runs in his first seven innings after this week's golden duck. But this performance will certainly serve as a confidence booster ahead of the international summer.

England's Men's Test captain Ben Stokes made his return to county cricket and he marked it in style, taking a five-wicket-haul with a red ball for the first time since 2018.

Stokes claimed 5/98 in the second innings at Blackpool, going alongside his 2/71 in the first innings. Perhaps more encouragingly for England fans is the fact that he bowled 38 overs in the match, a figure which included 10 successive overs in the second innings.

His role with the bat was limited, scoring just two and 18 - though the latter included this stunning, Headingley 2019-esque reverse sweep against Nathan Lyon. But as Stokes works his way back to full fitness to fulfil his role as an all-rounder, the volume of overs delivered, coupled with the wickets tkane, is certainly a positive sign.

Elsewhere, there were half-centuries for England's number three and four. Ollie Pope's first of the season was 63 in Surrey's victory over Worcestershire, an important innings that helped his side recover from 15/4. Meanwhile, Yorkshire suffered a narrow defeat at Sussex but Joe Root's 67 became his third successive score over 50, following the back-to-back hundreds he scored in recent matches.

Performances:

Rehan Ahmed (vs Gloucestershire) - 2/153, 10 & 55

Gus Atkinson (vs Worcestershire) - 0/22 & 1/37

Zak Crawley (vs Somerset) - 0 & 238

Ben Foakes (vs Worcestershire) - 1 & 3, eight catches

Jack Leach (vs Kent) - 2/22 & 2/119, 22*

Saqib Mahmood (vs Durham) - 0/31 & 0/59

Ollie Pope (vs Worcestershire) - 63 & 1

Matthew Potts (vs Lancashire) - 3/100 & 0/25

Ollie Robinson (vs Yorkshire) - 3/25 & 4/42

Joe Root (vs Sussex) - 67 & 10

Ben Stokes (vs Lancashire) - 2/71 & 5/98, 2 and 18

Round Six

Saqib Mahmood made his long-awaited return from injury and claimed two wickets, despite his Lancashire side suffering defeat to Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. 

It was Mahmood's first senior appearance in nearly a year after suffering a recurrence of a stress fracture, with it being a year to the week since he featured in a first-class fixture. He claimed the early first-innings wicket of Ben Slater, caught at third slip, then nicked Slater off to the wicket-keeper in the second innings.

Mahmood, who holds an England Development Contract, bowled significantly fewer overs in the Nottinghamshire first innings compared to his frontline bowling counterparts - 18 overs, with the next-lowest at 30 - in an effort to manage his return from injury.

His Lancashire team-mate Tom Hartley struck 50 in the second innings as the Red Rose looked to salvage a result on the final day. Slumping to 61/6 and still trailing by 111, Hartley's rearguard gave his side hope of batting deep enough into the final day for a draw, but it wasn't to be, in a nine-wicket defeat.

Performances:

Brydon Carse (vs Hampshire) - 1/66 & 0/8, 18

Zak Crawley (vs Worcestershire) - 6 & 10

Ben Foakes (vs Warwickshire) - 52, three catches

Tom Hartley - 1/108, 6 & 50

Saqib Mahmood - 1/61 & 1/22

Ollie Pope (vs Warwickshire) - 44 & 13*

Matthew Potts (vs Hampshire) - 0/90 & 2/19, 34

Round Five

Joe Root made it back-to-back centuries in the Vitality County Championship with a superb 156 against Glamorgan. He and his Yorkshire team-mates wasted no time in piling on runs: Root's 50 came in 44 balls and his century from exactly 100. In all, he faced just 165 balls and hit 21 fours.

It's the fifth time that Root has struck consecutive hundreds at first-class level, and the first time he's managed it in domestic cricket since 2013. All three other occasions have been at Test level since 2021.

Harry Brook once again impressed too, hitting 65 from 83 balls. It's the fourth time Brook has passed 50 this season with only Durham's Ollie Robinson doing so more often so far in 2024 - Brook has two centuries to Robinson's five half-centuries.

One note of concern from Headingley, though. Matthew Fisher slipped chasing a ball to the boundary on day three, and took no further part in the match after suffering an injury to his left ankle. Yorkshire do not have a fixture during round six and it is hoped that Fisher, who walked gingerly but unaided to the dressing room after suffering the injury, will recovery quickly.

At Emirates Old Trafford, Zak Crawley hit 41 in a low-scoring first innings between Lancashire and Kent. Only Joey Evison and Grant Stewart outscored him across both sides' first innings as Kent went on to win by seven wickets. 

Performances:

Rehan Ahmed (vs Middlesex) - 42 & 2/86

Harry Brook (vs Glamorgan) - 65

Zak Crawley (vs Lancashire) - 41 & 1

Matthew Fisher (vs Glamorgan) - 0/56 & 0/2

Tom Hartley (vs Kent) - 0/24 & 0/42

Ollie Robinson (vs Derbyshire) - 2/65 & 0/18

Joe Root (vs Glamorgan) - 156

Round Four

The prospect of Joe Root and Harry Brook batting together was a mouth-watering one, and they duly delivered with an astonishing partnership against Derbyshire.

Root had 40 when joined by his international colleague on the first day, and the pair quickly set about their business. Brook took three boundaries in his first eight balls, punishing any bowling errors. It was indicative of the style in which both played that, despite Root having a sizeable lead when the partnership began, they reached their respective centuries just two overs apart.

Together, they added 201 for the fourth wicket before Root was bowled on 119. Brook continued to 126 not out before Yorkshire declared. It's Brook's second century of the season and his second-highest in a Yorkshire shirt.

It wasn't just at Headingley that big runs were scored. Ben Duckett recorded his first century of the season and went on to reach a glorious 218. It's the fifth double century of his first-class career, his fourth in the County Championship, and his first in Division One.

In a little over seven hours of batting, Duckett struck 25 fours and a six. It was a critical knock for his county, too, in a bizarre-looking card where six batters were out for single-figure scores, while three passed 50.

At The Kia Oval, Gus Atkinson claimed five wickets in the match as Surrey dispatched Hampshire by an innings. It was a busy weekend in the field too for Ollie Pope, who claimed eight slip catches.

In a high-scoring, rain-affected draw at Leicester, Rehan Ahmed followed two wickets with a typically pacy 85. It took him just 105 deliveries and the partnership (167 in 31.5 overs) he shared with Peter Handscomb ensured there would be no chance of an innings defeat.

Performances:

Rehan Ahmed (vs Northamptonshire) - 2/64, 85

Gus Atkinson (vs Hampshire) - 3/40 & 2/31

Shoaib Bashir (vs Worcestershire) - 2/97

Harry Brook (vs Derbyshire) - 126*

Ben Duckett (vs Warwickshire) - 218 & 7

Matthew Fisher (vs Derbyshire) - 4/96

Ollie Pope (vs Hampshire) - 13 & eight slip catches

Matthew Potts (vs Essex) - 1/86

Joe Root (vs Derbyshire) - 119 & 3/78

Round Three

In a week with several England stars rested across the county game, Matthew Potts stood out for a second consecutive week - this time with the ball rather than the bat.

Potts took five wickets in Durham's match against Worcestershire, including the big second-innings scalp of Jason Holder. It formed part of his county's first win since their promotion back to Division Two.

Ben Foakes was at his best behind the stumps as defending champions Surrey claimed their first victory of the season. The gloveman took five catches and a stumping in an innings win at Kent.

Performances:

Shoaib Bashir (vs Nottinghamshire) - 1/35 & 0/91

Harry Brook (vs Middlesex) - 3 & 0

Zak Crawley (vs Surrey) - 5 & 4

Ben Foakes (vs Kent) - 24, five catches, one stumping

Matthew Potts (vs Worcestershire) - 22*, 3/40 & 2/57

Ollie Robinson (vs Gloucestershire) - 0/83 & 2/48

Joe Root (vs Middlesex) - 5 & 32

Round Two

Matthew Potts emerged from a high-scoring affair at Edgbaston with his maiden first-class century. Utilised as a nightwatcher with Durham asked to follow on, Potts negotiated 10 balls on the third evening but made hay on the final day.

His side began the last day still 169 behind, despite more than 1200 runs being scored across the teams' first innings. So it was important that someone stand up and deny Warwickshire, and Potts did just that.

Across 74 overs, he built the innings with some stylish shots thrown in to see out the draw for Durham. He'd struck a quickfire 44 in the first innings too.

At Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol, there were half-centuries apiece for Joe Root and Harry Brook.

The pair batted together only briefly, adding 38 for the third wicket. But Root hit 51 in his first match since the Test tour to India and Brook struck 68 to follow his astonishing century in the opening round.

Performances:

Gus Atkinson (vs Somerset) - 3/57 & 1/60, 15 & 3*

Shoaib Bashir (vs Surrey) - 1/76, 10* & 2

Harry Brook (vs Gloucestershire) - 26 & 68

Brydon Carse (vs Warwickshire) - 0/128, 12

Ben Duckett (vs Worcestershire) - 9 & 63

Matthew Fisher (vs Gloucestershire) - 3/65 & 1/58, 20 & 8*

Ben Foakes (vs Somerset) - 57, six catches

Ollie Pope (vs Somerset) - 11 & 11

Matthew Potts (vs Warwickshire) - 44 & 149*, 0/106

Joe Root (vs Gloucestershire) - 2 & 51

Round One

Harry Brook starred in the opening round, blitzing a 69-ball century on the final day of Yorkshire's match with Leicestershire.

Bad weather meant the fixture meandered to a draw with the White Rose were batting in the match's second innings on the final afternoon. Brook's innings, along with a century for Adam Lyth, did remove any slight possibility of a Leicestershire innings victory. 

Brook showed his class, smashing 14 fours and two sixes in his fastest first-class century. It was his first for his county since May 2022, having scored four Test hundreds in between.

Ollie Robinson twice took two wickets in the innings as Sussex drew with Northamptonshire, bowling a sublime yorker to castle Ben Sanderson as his side pushed for victory. Robinson also smashed a rapid 32 in Sussex's only batting innings.

Performances:

Rehan Ahmed (vs Yorkshire) - 28, 0/43

Harry Brook (vs Leicestershire) - 100*

Ben Duckett (vs Essex) - 21 & 5

Matthew Fisher (vs Leicestershire) - 1/59

Ben Foakes (vs Lancashire) - Did not bat, one catch

Tom Hartley (vs Surrey) - 16*, 0/4 from one over

Ollie Pope (vs Lancashire) - Did not bat

Ollie Robinson (vs Northamptonshire) - 2/67 & 2/19, 32*