McSweeney hits back-to-back tons, Webster stars with 91

Nathan McSweeney has been hailed as "a class act" after completing back-to-back centuries for Northamptonshire in his hugely impressive start to life in county cricket.

The Australia opener was made to work hard for the extra 13 runs he needed at Northampton's Wantage Road ground on Sunday to complete his second successive ton for the Darren Lehmann-coached team. 

But a handsome pull off his hips to the boundary off the menacing Naavya Sharma brought him to three figures again off 177 balls.

It just added to his rich vein of form, following the unbeaten hundred he'd made at Canterbury in Northants' previous match and, before that, the half-century he'd compiled as South Australia captain in their Sheffield Shield final win against Victoria in Melbourne last month.

He didn't last too much longer, eventually being dismissed for 107 off 191 balls, having hit 16 boundaries, but his teammate James Sales, with whom he'd shared a 164-run partnership, went on to amass a career-best 164 in Northants' total of 409, in reply to Middlesex's 341.

"I was awesome to watch Nathan from the other end, learning from him," Sales said. "He's a class act; back-to-back hundreds, hopefully he can continue that."

Sales also shared a 74-run ninth-wicket stand with Australian-raised paceman Liam Guthrie – now a local player in the UK after signing a three-year deal with Northants last year – who made his first career half-century (51 off 49 balls).

When Middlesex batted again, the Sydney-born former England opener Sam Robson was going strong on 49 not out in their 1-109 as they took a 41-run lead into the final day.

Warwickshire's Tasmanian ace Beau Webster was also in fine nick, falling just nine runs short of his second century for the county as his 91, compiled when his side were ailing at 3-14, bailed out the hosts against Essex at Edgbaston.

The towering allrounder struck 16 boundaries in his classy 123-ball knock and did most to help ensure Warwickshire could pose Essex a challenging victory target of 206. They were 0-11 at the close.

Another Australian half-centurion during what's turning into an impressive campaign was Jake Lehmann, who raised the bat for Hampshire for the second time in their match against Somerset at Southampton.

Hampshire had resumed their second innings on 1-146, with left-hander Lehmann, who'd made 76 in the first innings, going on to an even 50 as he helped the home side compile 336 all out – a lead of 286. 

It was Lehmann's fourth half-century in successive knocks for the southern county after scoring 76 and 92 in the previous round.

Still, though, Somerset looked in decent shape for their second win of the season in their bid to stay top of division one as they finished the day on 3-139, with James Rew 58no and needing another 148 to win on Monday.

2026 County Championship 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 Durham Men DUR	2	1	0	1	0	7	6	37
2 Lancashire Men LAN	2	1	0	1	0	6	5	35
3 Worcestershire Men WOR	2	1	0	1	2	2	4	28
4 Northamptonshire Men NOR	2	0	0	2	0	6	6	28
5 Middlesex Men MSX	2	1	1	0	0	3	6	25
6 Derbyshire Men DBY	2	0	1	1	0	8	6	22
7 Kent Men KEN	2	0	0	2	0	0	3	19
8 Gloucestershire Men GLO	2	0	2	0	2	0	2	0

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

D: Drawn

Ded.: Deductions

Bat: Batting Bonus

Bowl: Bowling Bonus

PTS: Total points

Australians in the 2026 County Championship

Derbyshire: Caleb Jewell

Glamorgan: Nathan McAndrew (June)

Gloucestershire: Cameron Bancroft, Gabe Bell (first six matches), Liam Scott (June)

Hampshire: Jake Lehmann

Lancashire: Marcus Harris, Mitch Perry

Leicestershire: Jake Weatherald

Northamptonshire: Nathan McSweeney, Harry Conway (first two months only)

Nottinghamshire: Fergus O'Neill (April-June only)

Surrey: Sean Abbott (first half of season)

Sussex: Daniel Hughes

Warwickshire: Beau Webster (first half of season)

Yorkshire: Jhye Richardson (until mid-May)