michael lumb riki wessels
Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels entered the record books for their 342-run stand against Northamptonshire Getty

County cricket in England got a shot in the arm on Monday in a Royal One Day Cup group game between Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire, which saw 870 runs scored in 98.3 overs of exciting cricket. Openers Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels stormed into the record books after putting on a 342-run stand for Notts, a new record for a List A game in England.

The duo took the Notts attack to all parts of the ground with Lumb scoring 184 off 150 balls while Wessels hit 146 from 97 balls; their stand quashed the previous record set in England by Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly who put on 318 against Sri Lanka in Taunton during the 1999 World Cup. However, the pair finished third on the all-time worldwide list. That record is with West Indians Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels who put on 372 runs against Zimbabwe at the Manuka Oval in the 2015 World Cup.

Nottingamshire went on to make 445 for 8 in their 50 overs — the second highest total in List A matches worldwide but even that total looked like it wasn't enough the way Northamptonshire replied. Rory Kleinveldt, who was nursing a calf injury and batting with a runner, smashed 128 runs from 63 balls, a knock which included 10 fours and nine sixes after Adam Rossington had made 97 at the top of the order. Northamptonshire were eventually bowled out for 425.

"It was an incredible match and hats off to Northants, they came out and pushed us to the wire. What a great game of cricket for everyone who rocked up to Trent Bridge today. It was one of those days when you walk out there and the stars are all aligned and you have a day out. It was a bit like that for me and Riki and we were able to put on a great partnership. That's all we were trying to do, get the team off to a good start, and today we kept on going and going", said Lumb, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.