County wrap: How the Aussies fared in the sixth round

Marcus Harris scored another big hundred for Lancashire, but a pair of Aussie quicks ensured it wasn't for a winning cause

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Marcus Harris (Lancashire)

121 (230) & 43 (73) Season to date: 749 runs at 83.22

The competition's most in-form batter top scored for the Red Roses in both innings to extend his lead at the top of the Division Two runs tally. Unfortunately for Lancashire though, the support was lacking from his teammates as they lost 8-49 following Harris' dismissal in the second innings to go down to Northamptonshire by 70 runs.

His first innings 121 across five hours featuring 18 boundaries was his third century of the season so far, with his three half-centuries on top of that giving him the impressive feat of being the quickest Lancashire batter to hit six 50-plus scores for the club, in just nine innings. For the record, the previous best was by West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Luis Reece and Liam Livingstone in 11 innings.

Here’s how Harris brought up his century against Northants.

He’s now averaging over 90 in this year’s @CountyChamp! 🤯

🌹 #RedRoseTogether pic.twitter.com/Bj6uhWCuYG — Lancashire Cricket Men (@lancscricket) May 10, 2025

He appeared on his way to another big score in the second innings with seven boundaries in his 43 before being stumped for the second time in three innings attempting to heave leg-spinner Calvin Harrison over the leg side. Harris has been thriving not as opener but in the No.4 spot for Lancs, with his 749 runs almost 200 more than the next best in the second division so far this season – Max Holden (561). Harris will take over as the club's interim red-ball captain from the next round after Keaton Jennings announced he was stepping down following their loss to Northamptonshire, which put them at the bottom of the Division Two standings.

Most Runs County Championship Division Two 2025 Player Total 1 Marcus Harris M Harris 749 2 Max Holden M Holden 561 3 Ollie Price O Price 515 4 Wayne Madsen W Madsen 465 5 Colin Ingram C Ingram 451 6 Caleb Jewell C Jewell 433 7 Ben Compton B Compton 429 8 James Bracey J Bracey 404

Beau Webster (Warwickshire)

15 (21) 2-88 (28) Season to date: 106 runs at 53.00, 2 wickets at 74.00

Webster wasn't able to turn his start into a big score as batters cashed in on a flat deck at Edgbaston, with three of his teammates hitting centuries as Warwickshire amassed 5(dec)-665 batting first. Surrey then replied with 504 runs of their own, former England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes remaining unbeaten to contribute 174 of those. The Australian allrounder picked up his first wickets of the campaign – one each with his pace and off-spin – but toiled for 28 overs to earn the scalps of Ryan Patel and Tom Lawes as the match unsurprisingly ended in a stalemate. Webster has two games left, at home against Hampshire and away to Worcester, before joining the Test squad for the WTC final.

Harry Conway (Northamptonshire)

3-48 (17.1) & 2-36 (13) Season to date: 13 wickets at 15.00

Conway continued his impressive start to a month-long stint with Northamptonshire, joining forces with former Queensland quick Liam Guthrie to deliver Darren Lehmann his first win as coach of the club. The right-armer, who was delisted by South Australia last month, did his chances of finding another home no harm, with five wickets for the match to go with his eight on county debut the week prior.

Lancashire opener Keaton Jennings was flying in the first innings with four early boundaries off Guthrie, racing to 41 off 44 balls before Conway knocked back his middle stump with a ball that swung between his bat and pad. He then wrapped up the Lancashire tail on day two, finding the edge of Anderson Phillip and Tom Bailey to first slip to finish with 3-48.

16.3 | Partnership broken! 🔓

Conway bowls Jennings to give us a much needed breakthrough. 💥

Lancashire 59/3.

Watch live 👉 https://t.co/CU8uwteMyd pic.twitter.com/DpmwGfN96B — Northamptonshire CCC (@NorthantsCCC) May 9, 2025

Conway then helped break the back of the Red Roses' resistance on day three, teaming up with leg-spinner Calvin Harrison (4-32) to spark as collapse of 8-49. Former Perth Scorchers recruit Matty Hurst lost his off stump to a beauty from Aussie quick without scoring and George Balderson also edged behind to fall for a duck as Conway's Northants ran away with victory by 70 runs. Next weekend will see Conway face off with Marnus Labuschagne in his first game of the season for Glamorgan.

32.3 | One brings two. 👀

Conway bowls Hurst with a beauty and he has to go for a duck.

Lancashire 117/4.

Watch live 👉 https://t.co/CU8uwteMyd pic.twitter.com/TLqPORqFDI — Northamptonshire CCC (@NorthantsCCC) May 11, 2025

Daniel Hughes (Sussex)

25 (65) & 0 (7) Season to date: 365 runs at 40.55

Hughes fought hard for his 25 in the first innings after Sussex were sent in by Worcestershire, putting on 80 with opening partner Tom Haines (53) to give his side a solid foundation. The left-hander fell for a seven-ball duck in the second however as Sussex slumped to 3-18, but a middle- and lower-order rearguard in both innings gave the Sharks enough runs to defend, with Fynn Hudson-Prentice taking five wickets in the first innings and former England quick Ollie Robinson 3-66 in the second to get their side over the line by 47 runs. Hughes has been one of the side's best in their five games this season and he'll be looking to add to his 365 runs at Taunton this weekend.

Liam Guthrie (Northamptonshire)

2-72 (18) & 3-34 (10.4) 43 (47) & 16 (33) Season to date: 12 wickets at 35.91, 69 runs at 13.80

Back in the Northants side for week six, Guthrie made the most of his opportunity with vital contributions with bat and ball in their tight 70-run win over Marcus Harris' Lancashire. Playing as a local player for Darren Lehmann's side due to his heritage, the left-hander crashed seven fours in a career-best 43 in the first innings as Northamptonshire's lower order rallied on day one, before doing the same in the second innings, contributing 16 in a remarkable 81-run ninth wicket stand with Ben Sanderson (65 from 28 balls) to give his side a total to defend.

The former Queensland left-armer then ensured they did just that, dismissing both Lancashire openers in the second innings – Keaton Jennings caught at square leg and George Bell chipping a catch to short midwicket – before returning to wrap up the match with the winning wicket of Will Williams late on day three. Guthrie's 3-34 in the second innings was his best return of the season so far, as well as his best match for Northants after picking up two wickets in the first innings, which could have easily been more, but the slip cordon dropped three chances off his bowling, including Harris on 82, who went on to make 121.

7.5 | Another great grab! 🙌

Bell chips one up and Zaib takes a smart diving catch.

Lancashire 33/2.

Watch live 👉 https://t.co/CU8uwteMyd pic.twitter.com/4hEf50F2D1 — Northamptonshire CCC (@NorthantsCCC) May 11, 2025

Did not play:

Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan): Australia's Test No.3 will join Glamorgan for this Friday's clash with Northamptonshire as he ramps up his preparation with two appearances for the Welsh county ahead of the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's in June.

Cameron Green (Gloucestershire): Gloucestershire had the weekend off in Division Two with Green set to be back in action on Friday when they host Kent at Bristol in what is his second last appearance of his five-match stint prior to the WTC final.

Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire): The West Australian opener also had the weekend off with Gloucestershire having the bye.

Brendan Doggett (Durham): Durham's bye came at a good time for Doggett as he nurses an ankle niggle with the right-armer no doubt keen to ensure he is back to full fitness after being included in Australia's WTC final and Caribbean Test squad. Durham host Nottinghamshire in their next match beginning Friday.

Jordan Buckingham (Yorkshire): The South Australian quick wasn't included for Yorkshire's clash with Essex after conceding more than seven runs per over for his two wickets in their match prior.

Peter Handscomb (Leicestershire): Handscomb's Foxes were another to have the bye in week six of the season with the Victorian heading to Lord's on Friday to face Middlesex, a ground where he has good memories having hit a century in the corresponding fixture last season.

Caleb Jewell (Derbyshire): The Tasmanian's county also had the weekend off but Jewell will be back in action looking to convert one of his fifties into a big hundred against Marcus Harris' Lancashire in round seven when Derbyshire travel to Old Trafford.

Kurtis Patterson (Surrey): The former Test batter wasn't required by Surrey for their draw with Warwickshire at Edgbaston after joining the three-time reigning Division One champions last week as batting cover for the rest of May with their England players unavailable.

Fergus O'Neill (Nottinghamshire): The prolific Victorian seamer's four-game stint has ended, finishing with 21 wickets at 17.90, as well as 93 runs.

Will Sutherland (Yorkshire): The Victorian captain will be available for rounds eight and nine of the County Championship during his stay for the entire T20 Blast season.

Wes Agar (Kent): The SA quick isn't scheduled to arrive in Canterbury until the end of May, ahead of the start of the T20 Blast. It will be Agar's third stint with Kent.

Chris Green (Lancashire): The Sydney Thunder spinner signed a two-year contract last October for the duration of the T20 Blast group stages in 2025 and 2026 (May-July), which like last year, will also include additional appearances in the County Championship and one-day competitions.

Riley Meredith (Somerset): The Tasmanian speedster returns to Somerset for a second straight season in May.

Nathan McAndrew (Sussex): South Australia's Sheffield Shield-winning quick will be available in June and July, playing in both the County Championship and T20 Blast.

Gurinder Sandhu (Sussex): The right-armer will join Sussex for June and July with Indian left-armer Jaydev Unadkat unavailable until September.

2025 Division One standings

Team Matches played M Wins W Losses L Drawn D Deductions Ded. Batting Bonus Bat Bowling Bonus Bowl Total points PTS 1 Nottinghamshire Men NOT 5 3 0 2 0 12 15 91 2 Warwickshire Men WAR 5 2 0 3 0 11 12 79 3 Sussex Men SSX 5 2 1 2 0 9 15 72 4 Surrey Men SRY 5 1 0 4 0 13 10 71 5 Essex Men ESS 5 1 1 3 0 7 14 61 6 Hampshire Men HAM 5 1 1 3 0 4 14 58 7 Durham Men DUR 5 1 2 2 0 13 13 58 8 Yorkshire Men YRK 5 1 2 2 1 7 15 53 9 Somerset Men SOM 5 1 2 2 1 6 15 52 10 Worcestershire Men WOR 5 0 4 1 0 0 13 21 Legend M: Matches played W: Wins L: Losses D: Drawn Ded.: Deductions Bat: Batting Bonus Bowl: Bowling Bonus PTS: Total points

2025 Division Two standings

Team Matches played M Wins W Losses L Drawn D Deductions Ded. Batting Bonus Bat Bowling Bonus Bowl Total points PTS 1 Leicestershire Men LEI 5 3 0 2 0 16 15 95 2 Derbyshire Men DBY 5 1 0 4 0 13 13 74 3 Middlesex Men MSX 5 2 1 2 0 5 12 65 4 Kent Men KEN 5 2 2 1 0 3 14 57 5 Northamptonshire Men NOR 5 1 2 2 0 9 15 56 6 Glamorgan Men GLA 5 1 2 2 1 10 11 52 7 Gloucestershire Men GLO 5 0 2 3 0 13 14 51 8 Lancashire Men LAN 5 0 1 4 0 7 11 50 Legend M: Matches played W: Wins L: Losses D: Drawn Ded.: Deductions Bat: Batting Bonus Bowl: Bowling Bonus PTS: Total points

Australians in County Cricket for 2025

Derbyshire: Caleb Jewell

Durham: Brendan Doggett (April-May)

Essex: Maddie Penna (T20 Blast only)

Glamorgan: Marnus Labuschagne

Gloucestershire: Cameron Bancroft, Cameron Green (April-May)

Hampshire: Ellyse Perry (July), Charli Knott (April-July), Jack Edwards (April-May)

Kent: Wes Agar, Tom Rogers (T20 Blast only)

Lancashire: Chris Green (June-July), Marcus Harris, Ashton Turner (June-July), Alana King (June-July), Katie Mack (April-June)

Leicestershire: Peter Handscomb

Northamptonshire: Lloyd Pope (T20 Blast only), Liam Guthrie (local player), Harry Conway (May)

Nottinghamshire: Moises Henriques (T20 Blast only), Fergus O'Neill (until April 28), Daniel Sams (T20 Blast only), Heather Graham (May-July)

Somerset: Riley Meredith, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Surrey: Grace Harris (T20 Blast only), Kurtis Patterson (May)

Sussex: Daniel Hughes, Nathan McAndrew (June-July), Gurinder Sandhu (June-July)

Warwickshire: Beau Webster

Worcestershire: Ben Dwarshuis (T20 Blast only)

Yorkshire: Will Sutherland (T20 Blast + 2 County), Jordan Buckingham (four matches in May)

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