County Championship R2 Team of the Week – Dom Sibley hits two centuries, young Warwickshire duo feature after dramatic win

By Dom Harris

The second round of the 2025 Rothesay County Championship provided another enthralling four days across the two divisions, culminating with a nerve-shredding climax at Durham where Warwickshire held their nerve to chase 339 with one wicket in hand.

Elsewhere in Division One, Sussex beat Somerset and Yorkshire hammered Worcestershire to both secure their first victories since promotion – the Pears on the wrong end of another record for the second week running.

Hampshire put an end to their rot in South London with a battling draw against Surrey, whilst the game at Trent Bridge between Nottinghamshire and Essex petered out into a draw on the final day.

In Division Two, Kent made it two wins from two to lay down their promotion credentials, a much-improved Northamptonshire were forced to settle for a draw at Lancashire, whilst there were also high-scoring draws in the games at Bristol and Leicester.

With a number of impressive individual and team efforts, we highlight just some of the standout contributions from the action in round two.

For exclusive stories and all the detailed cricket news you need, subscribe to The Cricket Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day.

1. Cameron Bancroft (Gloucestershire)

Australian opener Bancroft was among a large influx of overseas players who arrived for their county stints in the past week.

Less than two days after returning to Bristol following a highly productive 2024 campaign, the newly-appointed Gloucestershire red-ball captain wasted no time as he notched 163 from 267 balls to guide his side to an imposing first innings total of 546 against Glamorgan.

2. Dom Sibley (Surrey)

Whilst the defending champions have not had it all their own way so far, Sibley has enjoyed an impressive start to the season as he followed up his rearguard half-century at Essex with a century in both innings against Hampshire.

In typically patiently-constructed fashion, the former England Test opener carried his bat for an unbeaten 100 off 217 balls in the first, before a 223-ball 105 in the second enabled Surrey to set the visitors a challenging target of 377.

3. Dawid Malan (Yorkshire)

The experienced Malan hit two half-centuries as Yorkshire routed Worcestershire by a whopping 504 runs at Headingley – the largest margin of victory by runs in County Championship history.

The former England man fell just short of a ton in the first innings as he top scored with 98, before a rapid 76* off just 64 balls gave the hosts an insurmountable lead in excess of 600 when they declared.

4. Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)

39-year-old Ingram earned Glamorgan a draw in a rain-affected contest against Gloucestershire as he led the resistance in both innings.

The South African veteran, who was the top run-scorer in Division Two last year, registered his first century of the 2025 season in the first innings and then kept the hosts at bay for an unbeaten 77 as the Welsh side were made to follow-on.

5. Kai Smith (Warwickshire)

20-year-old wicketkeeper Smith was involved in a major century stand in both innings to help Warwickshire complete a thrilling one-wicket win at Durham.

With his side 157-6 and still trailing by over 200 runs, Smith added 125 for the seventh wicket with Michael Booth as he top scored with 79 for the visitors in the first innings.

Chasing 339 for victory, he walked out to the middle for the second time in an even more perilous position at 90-5 but went on to make 62 in a 147-run partnership with centurion Ed Barnard on an absorbing final day.

6. John Simpson (Sussex)

For the second week running, Sussex captain Simpson makes it into this team after a stellar start to the campaign.

His century in the second innings was his second of the season and seventh in 16 first-class appearances for the club at an average of 86.50.

A rather modest 47 on day one helped guide Sussex to a respectable 294, before an unbeaten 110 catapulted the hosts into a lead of 594 to set them on their way to a first win in Division One for ten years – he also took five catches behind the stumps in Somerset’s first innings for good measure.

7. Ben Raine (Durham)

Durham came up narrowly short against Warwickshire in a County Championship classic, though the efforts of all-rounder Raine did not deserve to be on the losing side.

His crucial 81 at number eight in the second innings steered Durham away from imminent trouble at 125-6 and into a position to set up an intriguing fourth innings chase.

Despite claiming four wickets on the final day – including both openers and the dangerous Smith – in addition to his two wickets in the first innings, it was not quite enough as Ethan Bamber calmly got the visitors over the line.

8. Jordan Thompson (Yorkshire)

The all-rounder made a significant contribution with both bat and ball in Yorkshire’s record-breaking win.

The left-handed batter raced to 70 off just 58 balls in the first innings to firmly swing the balance of play in the hosts’ favour, before picking up three wickets in an economical spell to leave the visitors staring down the barrel.

A further two wickets in Worcestershire’s second innings, including that of opener Gareth Roderick, rounded off both an impressive individual and team performance.

9. Calvin Harrison (Northamptonshire)

Debuts don’t come much better than this one by Harrison, a leg-spin all-rounder who joined Northamptonshire on loan from Nottinghamshire for two games.

Straight into the XI for the trip to Lancashire, the 26-year-old made a career-best 56 at number nine as Darren Lehmann’s side put last week’s batting struggles behind them to rack up 496 at Old Trafford.

In his primary role with ball in hand, Harrison ended with match figures of 11-153 across a mammoth 76 overs, including a second innings 7-fer, though his efforts were not rewarded with a victory as Lancashire held on in the final day after being forced to follow-on.

10. Michael Booth (Warwickshire)

A superb all-round performance by Booth, who made more than useful lower-order runs in both innings and was also the pick of the Warwickshire bowlers.

His seven wickets in the match included career-best figures of 4-66, removing the likes of David Bedingham, Alex Lees and Colin Ackermann.

With the bat, Booth also registered an unbeaten maiden first-class half century in a game-shifting stand with Smith, before later scoring 40 to help get the visitors within touching distance of the 339 target.

11. Sean Hunt (Sussex)

23-year-old Hunt also claimed career-best figures as the tall left-armer played a starring role with the ball to help secure Sussex’s first win back in Division One.

After adding 33 in a handy tenth-wicket partnership worth 52 with Jayden Seales, Hunt earned his maiden five-wicket haul as he ran through the Somerset lower order in the morning session of day two.

With Somerset requiring a near impossible 595, it was at the top of the order where Hunt did all the damage in the second innings with the first four wickets, which included opening round triple centurion Tom Banton for a duck.

He finished with match figures of 9-76, though was unable to add to his tally on day four due to an arm injury and could only watch on as the home side eventually wore down a spirited Somerset to secure the victory.

Honourable Mentions

Josh Bohannon (Lancashire) – match-saving 155 to thwart Northamptonshire on the final day.

Jack Haynes (Nottinghamshire) – career-best 142 and maiden Notts ton to hold up Essex progress and ensure his side secured a draw.

George Hill (Yorkshire) – 63 in the first innings and five wickets in the match as Yorkshire comprehensively beat Worcestershire.

Ben McKinney (Durham) – career-best 153 to anchor the Durham innings on the first day against Warwickshire.

Tawanda Muyeye (Kent) – fluent 125 unbeaten as Kent made light work of a tricky chase against Middlesex.

Grant Stewart (Kent) – top score of 56 to help rescue Kent’s first innings and five wickets in the match.

Logan van Beek (Leicestershire) – 82 not out in the first innings and five wickets in the match on Leicestershire debut in a draw with Derbyshire.