Eighteen-year-old Tom Norton charged about Sophia Gardens chased by cock-a-hoop Glamorgan teammates, who clapped his back and rubbed his beard, as he became the youngest County Championship debutant to take a hat-trick, ruining Somerset’s innings in the process. Norton first removed James Rew for a duck, in what will count as a failed experiment to push him up the order, before Tom Lammonby pecked behind and Archie Vaughan doddered in front of his stumps.
“I don’t think I can put it into words to be honest. It’s the most mental 45 minutes I’ve ever had on a cricket field,” said Norton, the first championship debutant to take a hat-trick since 1906.
“I never thought this would happen. I was happy to get my first wicket yesterday to get me off my mark in first-class cricket but to take a hat-trick on my debut is something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. It’s a really special feeling, hopefully I’ll have my name in the record books for a long, long time.”
Dom Sibley has danced into the shop window this spring via weight of runs, and accumulated another 77 against Nottinghamshire in the top-of-the-table match at Trent Bridge. The formidable opening pair of Olly Stone and Josh Tongue wrestled out three of Surrey’s top order, but Dan Lawrence was unbeaten on 52 at stumps.
Ben Stokes’s first innings this season, at New Road, where he had lit the Bazball touch paper four years ago, lasted only 17 balls before he was caught at second slip for 14. There were no big runs against Worcestershire for Durham’s England hopngefuls Ben McKinney and Emilio Gay.
Derbyshire sashayed to 604 for seven declared, the sixth highest score in their history, thanks to Brooke Guest’s 141 and Martin Andersson’s 106. Weary Northants then folded to 38 for four before adding 60 more by the close.
At Bristol, a tight first-innings scramble was under way as Tawanda Muyeye (90), with help from the richly in-form Chris Benjamin (74 not out) and Ben Dawkins (65), inched Kent towards parity. Zak Crawley made only one before edging on to his stumps, and folding over his bat in disappointment. There were four wickets and a laser-sharp run-out for Gloucestershire’s Will Williams.
Dan Hughes’s first century of the season and an unbeaten 89 from John Simpson batting with the tail put Sussex on the front foot at Hove, despite a flurry of middle-order wickets. The excellent Tom Helm, on loan to Leicestershire from Middlesex, collected three wickets
Essex’s Simon Harmer (80 not out) and Jamie Porter (12) infuriated Hampshire with a last-wicket stand of 81, before James Fuller bowled Porter to complete a five-fer. Sam Cook then whistled out Toby Albert and Tom Prest before Hampshire got into the black.
Yorkshire lost six for 15 in a calamitous collapse at Edgbaston. Warwickshire’s Rob Yates, Dan Mousley and Sam Hain then piled on both pain and runs.
Ryan Higgins snatched three second innings wickets in 10 balls to leave Lancashire reeling on a damp day at Old Trafford. Earlier an entertaining innings of 67 from Leus du Plooy had kept Middlesex in the game against James Anderson, whose four wickets included his first caught-and-bowled for Lancashire since dismissing Grant Flower at Chelmsford in September 2005.
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