Coles Named County Championship Player of the Round

Coles double takes Sussex within touching distance of the top

Sussex star James Coles has been named Rothesay County Championship Player of the Round after a masterful unbeaten maiden Championship double-century helped his side to a crushing victory over Glamorgan at Hove.

Coles scored 224 not out from 226 balls, hitting 22 fours and 11 sixes, as Sussex replied to Glamorgan’s first-innings 155 with 521. He then took 3-34 with his left-arm spin to see Glamorgan bowled out for 268 and Sussex come out as victors by an innings and 98 runs.

“It’s pretty incredible, I didn’t think I was going to do that anytime soon,” Coles told ecb.co.uk about passing the 200 mark in first-class cricket for the first time. “It was a pretty special day.”

Going into the match, Coles had scored an unbeaten 63 for England Lions against South Africa A, a knock that stood him in good stead as he returned to four-day cricket.

“That Lions game helped because I did well against some seriously good bowlers. It gave me a bit of confidence. Netting before as well, I was feeling like I was in a good place.

“My main mindset going in after watching Glamorgan’s first innings was that the pitch was doing a fair amount, so I was conscious about making sure I left well. It’s probably the best I’ve left all season. I was pretty disciplined outside off, which I probably haven’t been for most of the season this year.”

On accelerating through the innings, he said: “Batting with the tail, you get a bit of a licence. That’s where I caught up a bit towards the end. I’d scored a double-ton once at school, but that’s a bit different!

“It didn’t actually cross my mind. The moment of realisation was when I took a single on 198 and took one off the third ball of an over and left Jaydev [Unadkat] with three balls. Prior to that, I’d only been leaving him with two balls. I thought ‘if I’ve left myself stranded here because he gets out because I’ve left him an extra ball, I’m going to be seething!’

“Before that, there wasn’t a lot of thought going into it. I reckon I was only on 130 when Jaydev walked out. I didn’t think 200 was really on the cards, but he played very well.”

Sussex now sit second in the Division One table, just one point behind leaders Essex despite starting the season with a 12-point deduction due to the club’s financial problems.

“We’re just rolling with it at the minute, but I think this game has given the boys a lot of confidence,” Coles said. “We’ve got a really nice balance to our team – two spinners and our seamers all have a bit of variety and are all bowling well.

“That third innings was the best bowling performance I’ve seen from us. We completely controlled the game. They batted well but then we got them in a cluster. That basically sums up four-day cricket and how you’re meant to play it.

“It was a pretty special game for us. Obviously, there’s a lot of cricket still to be played, but fingers crossed.”

Coles received the maximum of three votes for his brilliant innings. Durham’s Matthew Potts also received three votes and has gone top of the leaderboard after his 10-wicket match haul against Derbyshire, including second-innings figures of 8-66.

Dan Lawrence of Surrey was awarded three votes for his incredible batting in Surrey’s draw with Hampshire that saw him score 218 and 101, while 18-year-old Thomas Rew received three votes for his 68 and 127 not out, his maiden first-class ton, in Somerset’s crushing win over champions Nottinghamshire.

There were also three votes for Yorkshire’s Will Luxton, who also hit his first first-class century, 167, in Yorkshire’s draw with Warwickshire, and three votes for England’s Jordan Cox who returned to Championship action with 204 in Essex’s six-wicket win over Leicestershire.

Northamptonshire’s Saif Zaib was given three votes for his knock of 142 in his side’s victory over Gloucestershire, Kent’s Bangladeshi international Hasun Mahmud received three for his nine wickets on debut in the win against Lancashire, including second-innings figures of 6-69, and Middlesex skipper Leus du Plooy picked up three after scoring 85 and 101 not out in a 141-run victory over Worcestershire.

Leaderboard: 10 – Matthew Potts (Durham); 8 – Leus du Plooy (Middlesex), Craig Overton (Somerset), Ben Raine (Durham); 7 – Tom Abell (Somerset), Ethan Bamber (Warwickshire), James Rew (Somerset); 6 – Matt Critchley (Essex), Jake Lehmann (Hampshire).

Round Eight votes

Division One

Surrey v Hampshire: 3 – Dan Lawrence (Surrey), 2 – Dom Sibley (Surrey), 1 – Jake Lehmann (Hampshire).

Sussex v Glamorgan: 3 – James Coles (Sussex), 2 – Jaydev Unadkat (Sussex), 1 – Tom Haines (Sussex).

Nottinghamshire v Somerset: 3 – Thomas Rew (Somerset), Craig Overton (Somerset), 1 – Jordan Hermann (Somerset).

Yorkshire v Warwickshire: 3 – Will Luxton (Yorkshire), 2 – Ed Barnard (Warwickshire), George Hill (Yorkshire).

Leicestershire v Essex: 3 – Jordan Cox (Essex), 2 - Lewis Hill (Leicestershire), 1 – Shane Snater (Essex).

Division Two

Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire: 3 – Saif Zaib (Northamptonshire), 2 – James Bracey (Gloucestershire), 1 – Calvin Harrison (Northamptonshire).

Lancashire v Kent: 3 – Hasan Mahmud (Kent), 2 – Keith Dudgeon (Kent), 1 – Harry Finch (Kent).

Durham v Derbyshire: 3 – Matthew Potts (Durham), 2 – Harry Came (Derbyshire), 1 – Kasey Aldridge (Durham).

Worcestershire v Middlesex: 3 – Leus du Plooy (Middlesex), 2 – Zafar Gohar (Middlesex), 1 – Sebastian Morgan (Middlesex).

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