Key events
Notts are going to have to bat again, which is a victory of sorts I suppose. Four wickets for Duffy, two for Lord and Farhan Ahmed. Evision hanging on in there, 42 not out, Kent 230-9.
This was Umeed’s rush of blood:
A drop! The boy Keaton at slip. Vaughan on 16. Jennings fumbles, turns a somersault, stands up and dips his cap in apology.
“Tanya my dear old thing.” Kim Thonger.
“I was at Clarence Park in 1976 and witnessed the eighth wicket partnership of “David Lloyd and Barry Wood in Western Super Mare” firsthand. However, I was born and grew up in that seaside town and feel I must pedantically point out it’s Weston not Western. I do love the Sergio Leone feel of the typo though and wish he’d made a spaghetti western sequel with action mostly based on the Grand Pier there, entitled A Fistful of Doughnut.”
There’s nowhere to hide on this blog…hand slapped, I shall correct. Thank you!
I am the nominated person to do a coffee run, and in the process miss Andy Umeed coming down the wicket to his first ball and clouting it for four, doing the same to his second and losing his off stump.
An email!
“Hello Tanya.” Hello Mark.
Thank for keeping us updated with what’s going on with the County Championship.
Your remark about a new Lancashire record 8th wicket innings v Somerset the previous posted in 1976 with Barry Wood and David Lloyd took me to looking the scorecard up, after all how do you end up with Wood and Lloyd batting so down the order. It was all very interesting indeed how it came about. Ahh days of proper cricket, and being able to see stars at out grounds in the summer too.”
On the Old Trafford outfield, a puppishly eager Lancashire are going through their paces. Wells, Williams, Balderson and Phillips bowling , Flintoff and Williams with the slip catching.
Lunchtime scores
Division One
Rose Bowl Hampshire 462 (NRT Gubbins 201 no; LA Dawson 109) and 99-5; Worcestershire 273 (EA Brookes 132).
Canterbury Nottinghamshire 433 (BT Slater 160); Kent 225 and 196-7.
Old Trafford Lancashire 140 and 398 v Somerset 146. Somerset need 393 to win
The Oval Durham 262 and 98-6; Surrey 415 (RS Patel 134).
Edgbaston Warwickshire 78 and 114; Essex 232.
Essex (19pts) beat Warwickshire (3pts) by an innings and 40 runs.
Division Two
Derby Middlesex 358 BEAT Derbyshire 173 and 119 by an innings and 66 runs
Cardiff Yorkshire 361 and 224-6 v Glamorgan 239.
Bristol: Sussex 311 BEAT Gloucestershire 109 and 195 BY AN INNINGS AND SEVEN RUNS
Northampton Leicestershire 203 and 172-7 v Northamptonshire 383 (JJG Sales 135)
Somerset need 393 to win!
Balderson bowled, after adding another 42 since “le incident”. Lunch at OT, lunch round the grounds, scores to follow.
Middlesex BEAT Derbyshire by an innings and 66 runs
87 minutes of capitulation mean that Middlesex go into the final round with a mathematical chance…
Derby Middlesex 358 BEAT Derbyshire 173 and 119 by an innings and 66 runs
Leach strikes again, Bailey walks forlornly back for one. The lead 382.
Apologies for the lack of updates, Daniel Gidney has been up in the box talking about player contracts and the PCA. Very interesting it was too.
Sussex are promoted! Beating Gloucestershire by an innings and seven runs
Well played! For the first time in ten years, Sussex will be in Division One.
Bristol: Sussex 311 BEAT Gloucestershire 109 and 195 BY AN INNINGS AND SEVEN RUNS
Wells falls for 130
Leach makes the breakthrough… but too late? The lead 380.
This Somerset heart-breaking partnership of 129 is now Lancashire’s record for the eighth wicket against Somerset – beating David Lloyd and Barry Wood in Western Super Mare in 1976.
At 64-5, Durham seem roasted, but let’s look on the bright side: a huge opportunity for Gay and Robinson.
Kent, 144-6, being dissected by Salford’s Rob Lord and Lumsden’s Jacob Duffy.
And at The Oval
Bedingham is out.
A hundred for Luke Wells
What. A. Knock. An appreciative standing ovation from the crowd, a foot-stamping one from the balcony, and an admiring hand clap from the Somerset players. 196 balls, 12 fours, one six. Paul Edwards tells me it is Wells’ first since a blissful afternoon in Canterbury during which he put on 312 for Lancashire’s second wicket with Josh Bohannon. “It was late June.” Lancashire’s lead 328.
Derbyshire ending their season as, as…they’ve played it most of the summer. Currently 102-7, two in two for TRJ.
Luke Wells moves to 97 after tonking a short ball from Lewis Gregory for six.
The brief promise of yesterday evening is gone at Canterbury, where Muyeye, Compton and Leaning are all back in the pavilion. Two wickets for Duffy, Kent 124-3, and still 80 behind Notts.
Yorkshire suffering a temporary wobble this morning, now 144-4, YJB and Tattersall the men at the crease. The lead is already 266 so no real dramas but Glamorgan do have strange batting powers when they put their mind to it.
Gavin Hamilton appointed as Yorkshire’s general manager
Hamilton joins Yorks in a new role of general manager, responsible for “delivering cricket success across all formats of the game” – a sort of hybrid job, with the expectation that they will bring in a head coach to replace Ottis Gibson – who leaves at the end of this season.
Hamilton played international cricket for both England (once) and Scotland, was with Yorks as a player for 11 years, and part of the winning Championship team in 2001. He also played for Durham for two years.
He will officially start on November 1.
Ball change at Old Trafford
The Dukes refuses to go through the gauge – dew soaked? – and the umpires rummage through the cardboard box of replacements. Lancs 302-7, a lead of 296.
Oh Durham, Durham, Durham. Two wickets down in the first over. Dan Worrall, of course.
Oh and Kent – Muyeye gone, and Gloucestershire, and Yorkshire, and Hampshire.
And out walk the umpires at Old Trafford, with no-one holding Craig Overton back., in fact he’s doing up his trousers while Somerset engage in a little bit of circle time on the boundary edge. It’s a truly perfect morning – both warm and crisp – my dog was crazily happy as she bounced along the riverside this morning.
Perhaps because of this
Yesterday’s pivotal (?) moment
Wednesday Roundup: Lancashire frustrate Somerset on gripping day
The heavy roller, the sun, five penalty runs and a hue and cry over a contentious not out decision in the final overs all added up to a gripping day at Old Trafford in the crucial promotion-relegation headlock.
After 21 wickets fell on the first day, only seven fell on the second, as Lancashire played with earthy grit to grind a lead of 292 over Somerset, who are chasing Surrey for a tilt at the title. Josh Bohannon’s 60 and an unbeaten 78 from Luke Wells, plus plucky innings from Rocky Flintoff and Harry Singh, frustrated Somerset, and nostrils later flared when George Balderson was adjudged not out after Craig Overton appeared to throw down his stumps from slip.
At the Oval, perennial understudy Ryan Patel hit a merry 134 to give Surrey a vital 153-run first innings lead over Durham. Durham then lost the nightwatcher Callum Parkinson to the first ball of their second innings as the sun dropped and Conor McKerr held a snorter at third slip.
Essex completed an innings victory over Warwickshire, who will want to forget a truly dismal five sessions at Edgbaston. Bundled out for 78 in their first innings, they made only 36 more in their second, once more bamboozled by Jamie Porter (six for 36) and Sam Cook (three for 36). Only Danny Briggs offered any ballast, with 51. In a bizarre morning session, Essex had added 43 more for the last wicket, as Warwickshire set nine fielders on the rope.
It had seemed easy pickings for Hampshire after they first pocketed maximum batting points, thanks to a Nick Gubbins double century, and then had Worcestershire 61 for five after Mohammad Abbas hit a magic patch. But a maiden first-class century from a bold Ethan Brookes and 94 from Gareth Roderick provided some fight – and crucially secured the much-loved Worcestershire’s place in Division One next season. Liam Dawson had time to add a fifth five-wicket haul of the season to his tally, before Hampshire declined to enforce the follow‑on.
It was another tricky day for Kent down in the bowels of the First Division, forced to follow on after Nottinghamshire first made 433, then dismissed them for 225, with four wickets for Farhan Ahmed. Tawanda Muyeye’s unbeaten 55 as the light faded was a lone bright spark.
In Division Two, Sussex shimmied a little closer towards promotion as a seventh-wicket stand of 112 between Jack Carson and John Simpson eased the game away from Gloucestershire, despite six wickets for Zafar Gohar. Chris Dent’s unbeaten 61 proved the early glue in Gloucestershire’s second innings.
A sprightly opening partnership of 115 between Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean sprinkled the sugar on Yorkshire’s day away to Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens, while a century from Mark Stoneman put Yorkshire’s promotion rivals Middlesex in a strong position against Derbyshire. After play, Stoneman revealed he would be leaving Lord’s at the end of the season as he hadn’t been offered another contract.
A career-best 135 from James Sales, the second century of his career, and a twinkle-toed 71 from Saif Zaib helped Northants lay down a chunky first-innings lead of 180 against Leicestershire – who then slipped to 69 for four.
Scores on the doors
Division One
Rose Bowl Hampshire 462 (NRT Gubbins 201 no; LA Dawson 109) and 3-0; Worcestershire 273 (EA Brookes 132).
Canterbury Nottinghamshire 433 (BT Slater 160); Kent 225 and 85-0.
Old Trafford Lancashire 140 and 298-7; Somerset 146.
The Oval Durham 262 and 1-1; Surrey 415 (RS Patel 134).
Edgbaston Warwickshire 78 and 114; Essex 232.
Essex (19pts) beat Warwickshire (3pts) by an innings and 40 runs.
Division Two
Derby Derbyshire 173 and 74-3; Middlesex 358 (MD Stoneman 115).
Cardiff Yorkshire 361 and 116-1; Glamorgan 239.
Bristol Gloucestershire 109 and 140-3; Sussex 311.
Northampton Leicestershire 203 and 69-4; Northamptonshire 383 (JJG Sales 135).
Preamble
It’s slipping away, the light, the year, the Championship. But we still have six days left and nothing is yet decided – other than the happy news of Worcestershire’s Division One status.
Play starts at 10.30 am – see you (t)here.
