Reasonably happy with this photo.... @NeilWagner13 collects the wicket of Tim Bresnan. pic.twitter.com/2CamcXNqH1
— Luke Adams (@Luke_Adams16) May 29, 2016

With T20 cricket shifting up the gears, we saw a few absentees in the latest round of County cricket. Jesse Ryder was enjoying the pastries in the kitchen instead of taking the field with Essex and Kieran Noema-Barnett was discussing the finer points of England's castles, leaving Hamish Marshall as the lone kiwi lad for Gloucestershire. Matt Henry also missed out he was last season leaving a pub in his whites and hasn't been seen since. We did however see Matt Quinn get a start for Sussex and as with most of our kiwis on the County Tour, Quinn enjoyed some relative success.

Middlesex vs Hampshire

Following James Franklin with Middlesex so far, hasn't been overly fun for kiwi observers as Franklin has done close to nothing. In five games, Franklin has a top score of 32 and he's taken just a single wicket, which hints at a slump in form but Franklin has also endured little spots of bad luck personally like he did in this game. Batting first, Middlesex declared on 467/3 with Dawid Malan, Adam Voges and John Simpson all scoring centuries as Franklin waited with the pads on. The three batsmen ahead of him hit centuries and Franklin couldn't even get a bat.

Middlesex then dismissed Hampshire for 131, forcing the follow on and they then rolled through Hampshire again, all out for 220. Franklin bowled 8 overs for 9 runs in that first innings without wicket and then managed to take a key Hampshire wicket in the second innings, trapping Jimmy Adams LBW on 78. Franklin finished with 1/42 off 16 overs.

James Franklin: 0/9 off 8, 1/42 off 16.

Yorkshire vs Lancashire

There's a No.3 spot up for grabs in Yorkshire as current No.3 Jack Leaning hit scores of 10 and 4, leaving the door wide open for Kane Williamson to stroll through when he makes his long awaited return to County cricket. Williamson will join a strong team, a winning team who just touched up Neil Wagner's Lancashire thanks to a lethal bowling attack.

Yorkshire twice bowled Lancashire out for less than 200 runs (196 and 173) and thankfully Wagner managed to chime in on the wickets for Lancashire. With Yorkshire batting first, Wagner's 4/75 off 24.1 overs helped dismiss Yorkshire for 308 and as Lancashire couldn't pose much of a resistance with the bat, Wagner was soon taking the new nut, taking 4/71 off 24 overs. Wagner sent former England opener Adam Lyth and Gary Ballance back to the sheds and Wagner's promotion to take the new ball needs to be noted after he came in as the fourth bowler in the first innings.

Wagner's second 4-wicket-haul of the match had Yorkshire all out for 236 but in pursuit of 349 to win, Lancs could only reach 173. Wagner hit 12 and 2 in a generally crappy game with the bat for the whole Lancashire team, they are however building a dangerous bowling attack led by Neil Wagner and Zimbabwean Kyle Jarvis (they both lead all Division One wicket-takers with 28 each).

Neil Wagner: 4/75 off 24.1, 12, 4/71 off 24, 2.

Northamptonshire vs Essex

In Northampton, Matt Quinn made his first Kiwi County Tour appearance with Essex and he quickly showed why he had been brought over by Essex. Quinn took the new ball, taking 2/86 off 27 overs as Northamptonshire were all out for 444, to which Essex replied with a mammoth 640 of their own in which Quinn contributed 2.

This on finished in a draw with Northamptonshire on 75/5 after 25 overs, enough time for Quinn to chip in with a few more wickets. Quinn's first innings saw him take middle/lower order wickets while this time around he sent two of Northamptonshire's top four batsmen back to the sheds, taking 2/26 off 11 overs with the new ball.

I'm eager to see Quinn get more game time with Essex as they have a few experienced campaigners who will help nudge Quinn in the right direction. Ravi Bopara and Ryan ten Doeschate both bat and bowl, and without Alistair Cook they are they are the focal points of this Essex team while Quinn's new ball partner in this game was 18-year-old Aaron Beard, who has taken 9 wickets in only 6 innings'.

Matt Quinn: 2/86 off 27, 2, 2/26 off 11.

Sussex vs Derbyshire

The struggling Derbyshire kiwi lads came up against Ross Taylor's Sussex in Hove and unfortunately for Hamish Rutherford and Neil Broom, their struggles continued as Sussex won by 10 wickets. Derbyshire had a bat first, with Rutherford hitting 13 at No.3 and Broom hitting 22 at No.5 with Derbyshire all out for 150.

All of Sussex's top four batsmen hit half-centuries, which included Taylor who hit a crisp 54 off 57 balls. Sussex took a big lead, declaring on 447/8 and it was business as usual in Derbyshire's second innings with Rutherford out for 3 and Broom out for 7, they were two of three players to only score in single figures here. Derbyshire were all out for 307, leaving Sussex with 11 to chase, which they did without losing a wicket in 3 balls.

This was Taylor's third 50+ score of the season (plus a 93* and 54 in T20 stuff) and while he's often getting out for single figures, those half-centuries show what a threat he can be. We're all waiting for Taylor to register a biggun' and when he does, it'll be a moment to savour for the kiwi OG.

Ross Taylor: 54.

Kent vs Leicestershire

In Canterbury, we didn't get a whole lot of cricket as rain ruled out the last two days. Leicestershire batted first and were all out for 341 and Kent were then sent in, with Tom Latham trapped LBW by Aussie Clint McKay for 9 off 43 balls. Latham's opening partner Daniel Bell-Drummond went on to score 65* as Kent were stranded on 117/2 off 44 overs.

After three consecutive 50+ scores, Latham has scored 2, 24 and 9 in a minor slump.

Tom Latham: 9.

Worcestershire vs Gloucestershire

No Matt Henry here for Worcs, as they faced off against Hamish Marshall's Gloucestershire, minus Kieran Noema-Barnett. Worcs batted first, hitting 439 thanks largely to 106 off 106 balls from No.10 batsmen Jack Shantry (could have been you Matt!) and Gloucs responded with 364. Marshall hit 34 and Gloucestershire then dismissed Worcs for 239, leaving them with 315 to chase for victory.

Which they did, unfortunately not because of Marshall's heroics and it was another dingo who led they way here with Aussie Michael Klinger hitting 102* while Marshall could only manage 10. Gloucs chased 315 down in 57.4 overs, snatching the win.

Hamish Marshall: 34, 10.