Crane lifts Hampshire with double-bouncer

Australia tweaker Nathan Lyon returned his best figures for county side Worcestershire on Sunday but it was another spinner who raised eyebrows on the county circuit with an amusing dismissal of a Test batsman.

Hampshire leggie Mason Crane, who earlier this year became NSW’s first international Sheffield Shield player since Pakistan legend Imran Khan, managed to leave both batsman and himself red-faced as he dismissed South African Dean Elgar with a rare double-bouncing delivery.

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With Somerset 5-118 in their second-innings chasing 258, Crane unleashed a rank long-hop pitched so short, it struck the turf twice before reaching Elgar.

But the delivery seemingly didn’t get up as high as the Proteas left-hander thought it might, inexplicably missing it completely as it clattered into his stumps. The dismissal left Crane with his head in his hands, while Elgar appeared equally devastated.

The 20-year-old wrist-spinner, who’s been touted as a potential England Test player, later showed he wasn’t oblivious to the humour of the delivery.

Crane went on to collect his second first-class five-wicket haul, as fellow Hampshire spinner Liam Dawson took four scalps of his own to help the visitors record a 90-run victory.

It wasn’t the only comical moment of the day’s County Championship action, with former South Africa seamer Marchant de Lange putting down a simple chance off his own bowling in Glamorgan’s match against Durham.

The lucky batsman was Graham Clark, who finished the day not out on 63 with Durham holding a 147-run lead over their hosts.

Lyon meanwhile spurred Worcestershire to an eight-wicket win over Northamptonshire, claiming three second-innings wickets and sending down 29 overs.

The Australian picked up the key scalp of recent England debutant Ben Duckett for 67 before halting a fightback from the hosts by removing Adam Rossington (23) thanks to a superb bit of glovework from wicketkeeper Ben Cox, and Rory Klenveldt (43) to leave Worcestershire needing just 148 to win.

The visitors chased down the total in just 27.4 overs after opener Daryl Mitchell belted an unbeaten run-a-ball 78.

All eyes will be on Chelmsford tomorrow, where Kumar Sangakkara will likely have the chance to score his sixth century in as many innings in Surrey’s second dig against Essex.

Sangakkara, who became the eighth player to score five successive first-class tons with a first-innings double-hundred, could join Sir Donald Bradman, Charles Fry and Mike Procter as players to record six consecutive centuries.

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The Sri Lankan is listed as next in to bat with Surrey 1-55 leading by 41 at stumps on day three.

At Trent Bridge, Western Australian Cameron Bancroft posted his first half-century of the season for Gloucestershire but it wasn’t enough to stop Nottinghamshire from completing an innings-and-50-run win to remain top of the Division Two table.

England seamer Stuart Broad picked up five wickets for the match, including this superb ball to young batsman George Hankins.

And in Derby, Leicestershire’s match with Derbyshire finished as a high-scoring draw after Mark Cosgrove had earlier crashed 188 in the Foxes’ first-innings.