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Rothesay County Championship 2025 Round 3 Day 3 – All Matches - Live Cricket Streaming, Match Reports, Updates
Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones celebrates a wicket in their Rothesay County Championship match against Glamorgan at Lord’s.
©Ray Lawrence/Ray Lawrence PhotographyThe Rothesay County Championship 2025 continues with Round 3 Day 3 action from April 18–21.
Stay connected with live cricket streaming, ball-by-ball scores, key match updates, and detailed match reports from Division One and Division Two across the county venues.
Rothesay County Championship 2025 Round 3 Previews – Division 1 and 2 - All Fixtures – April 18-21
Rothesay County Championship 2025 Division one
Sussex vs Surrey, Rothesay County Championship 2025, Division One,County Ground, Hove, Brighton
By Bruce Talbot, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope both made attacking hundreds before bad light halted Surrey’s rapid progress on day three against Sussex at Hove.
When the players came off ten minutes after tea Surrey were 390 for three, only 45 runs behind with Lawrence unbeaten on 117 after Pope had made his first Championship century for two years.
The loss of 36 overs could be crucial to Surrey’s hopes of making it an awkward final day for Sussex by going past their first innings’ 435.
After Pope scored 102 Lawrence made the most of a reprieve on 35, when he was badly dropped by sub fielder George Thomas. He hit six sixes in his first hundred of the season, off 92 balls, including two in an over when Ollie Robinson opted to bowl short to a packed leg side field.
Sussex should still be able to save the game on a surface which has offered little assistance for seam or spin, but after drawing and winning their first two games since promotion this was a reminder that Division One cricket represents a big step up.
Curiously, it was Pope’s first County Championship century away from The Oval since his maiden effort at Southampton eight years ago. The 27-year-0ld had a lean time in the competition between England matches last season when his top score in ten innings was 63. But he made 65 against Hampshire last week and carried on here in ideal batting conditions.
He ruthlessly punished any indiscretions in length and scored on both sides of the wicket. There were 11 boundaries and he also lofted James Coles’ left-arm spin over mid-wicket – although Jayden Seales running around the boundary nearly took what would have been a stunning catch. Pope’s 22nd first-class century was his first in the Championship for more than two years, but frustratingly he was dismissed two balls after getting there when he gloved a short ball from the persevering Seales, who was the pick of Sussex’s attack.
During the morning session Pope and Dom Sibley took their second-wicket stand to 179 in 42 overs. Sibley was cruising towards his third successive hundred when he chipped up a tame return catch to slow left-armer James Coles, having earlier hit him over long-off for six and ten boundaries. Both batters will have departed feeling they had left runs out there.
Lawrence was soon into his stride, although Thomas will have nightmares about the straightforward catch he dropped at backward square leg off a disconsolate Robinson. The 27-year-old certainly made the most of his reprieve. Five of his sixes were hit into the leg side but the other, a sumptuous straight drive off Coles, was probably the best of them.
At the other end Ben Foakes was happy to play a supporting role, although he did swing Coles over the boundary on one knee.
Lawrence reached his 18th first-class hundred with a somewhat streaky thick edge over the slips off Robinson for his eighth boundary as Surrey scored 162 between lunch and tea in 29 overs. But just two more were possible in the evening session and with Danny Lamb out of the attack after injuring his shoulder on Saturday, Sussex were probably glad of the opportunity to regroup and come back tomorrow with a new ball only six overs old.
Ollie Pope said: "It's been a really good day. It's frustrating to lose some play to bad light but we'll see what tomorrow has in store. It's a good pitch and quick outfield and the way Sibbers [Dom Sibley] played earlier and the way Dan [Lawrence] has played has put Sussex under some serious pressure and ourselves in a good position. I felt good in the second innings against Hampshire last week so to get to three figures is a good feeling. It feels like I have reaped the rewards for the work I've put in and hopefully it's set me up for a good summer. The tempo of Dan's innings was really good, he played the situation perfectly and played some amazing shots. It was high class."
Sussex coach Paul Farbrace said: "Losing those overs this evening has been a bonus for us. Surrey are a top quality batting side but we have to be honest and say we didn't do particularly well today. After lunch we looked a bit lost in the field, searching for wickets rather than sticking to decent plans and conceded boundaries on both sides which is quite frustrating. We also dropped catches. We know Division One is tough and for ten days of the campaign we have been really good but today was a bit of a lesson for us."
Day 3: Durham 427 v Yorkshire 307 and 132-4, Banks Homes Riverside
By Graham Hardcastle, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Durham will hope the threat of fourth afternoon weather does not ruin their chances of claiming a Rothesay County Championship victory over Yorkshire at the Banks Home Riverside.
Yorkshire can lay claim to having the better of day three thanks to taking the last nine first-innings wickets for 126 through until early afternoon, limiting the hosts to 427 all out in reply to 307. Alex Lees was removed for a standout 172 and Emilio Gay for an excellent 152.
New-ball seamer Jack White led the way with three wickets, but all five of the county’s quicks struck, including New Zealand overseas debutant Ben Sears.
However, Durham chipped away at the second-innings wickets on a slow pitch, restricting Yorkshire to 132 for four from 59 overs at close. Their lead is only 12.
Former England Test opener Adam Lyth reached 15,000 first-class career runs amidst a patient 53 in the North East sunshine, while Ben Raine and Matthew Potts struck twice apiece.
Lees and Gay, who faced 240 and 239 balls respectively, completed a record second-wicket partnership of 279 - their county’s highest ever for that particular wicket in first-class cricket.
That beat the 274 Scott Borthwick and Mark Stoneman shared against Middlesex here in 2014.
Yorkshire hit back strongly during a morning which saw Durham advance from 264 for one overnight to 386 for six at lunch, with Lees and Gay both falling.
While Yorkshire started the day with the spin of Dom Bess, all five wickets fell to seam.
Matthew Revis is playing his first game since suffering a back stress fracture last August and struck twice in as many overs when he had Lees caught at long-leg following a top-edged pull and Colin Ackermann caught behind for a duck.
Ollie Robinson was trapped lbw by White, now bowling with the new ball, before Will Rhodes fell the same way to Sears, who earlier took a smart diving catch running in from long-leg to help Revis remove Lees.
Sandwiched in between the departures of Robinson and Rhodes, George Hill squared Gay up and rocked back his off-stump shortly after the left-hander had reached his 150 off 235 balls.
And inside 10 overs of the afternoon, Durham had been bowled out, with White and Jordan Thompson striking twice apiece.
White bowled Raine and had Brendan Doggett caught behind, while Thompson struck twice in the 104th over to get Graham Clark caught at first slip for 33 and Paul Coughlin caught behind.
Coughlin batted lower down than usual at number 10 because of an abdominal injury suffered whilst bowling on day one, leaving Durham a bowling option light second time around.
While the morning’s play perhaps suggests otherwise, there isn’t as much life in this Riverside pitch for the bowlers as there was on day one.
Yorkshire lost Fin Bean lbw early on to Raine’s seam - 25 for one - before Lyth reached the 15,000-run mark with a trademark cover drive against Potts to move to 15 before tea.
Potts had James Wharton caught at deep square-leg following a miscued pull early in the evening as Yorkshire fell to 39 for two.
From there, Lyth and Dawid Malan dug in on a slow pitch to chip away at the deficit, sharing 75 for the third wicket. But both fell in the final hour to boost Durham’s chances.
Lyth reached his fifty off 128 balls - his second of the season added to a century - but fell lbw to Raine with the deficit still six.
Potts then bowled Malan for 37, leaving Yorkshire at 117 for four.
Yorkshire captain Jonny Bairstow ended the day unbeaten on two.
Durham assistant coach Will Gidman said
“Our plan this morning was to bat well, but things didn’t quite go as we’d have liked. But, at the same time, the game’s moved forwards.
“We’re in a really strong position overnight and are looking forward to an exciting day tomorrow.
“I’m really pleased (for centurions Lees and Gay).
“We all know what Leesy can do. He’s the ultimate pro. I felt like he was in a good place leading into the week. He practiced well and was really switched on leading into the game.
“I’m chuffed to bits for Emilio. He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever worked with. He’s really detailed in how he goes about his business. After a tricky start to his Durham career, none of us had any doubt that it was just a matter of time.
“Ben Raine, what an effort today in tricky circumstances - on a pitch that’s not offering a huge amount. It was a really special performance from him. He got the big wicket of Lyth late on, which Pottsy followed up by getting Malan. Who knows, it may just have opened a little door for us.”
Yorkshire seamer Jack White said
“I thought we started well, and everyone chipped in this morning. From where we were yesterday, we were really pleased to bowl them out by early afternoon.
“We’re still under a bit of pressure, but we still have plenty of batters left and are confident we can get something from the game.
“Yesterday, we felt everything was against us a bit, but it felt much better today. I think we were pretty consistent today, and once you get a few wickets you can build on it. Everyone bowled well, and it was a good team performance.
“The pitch is still doing a little bit, but not too much.
“I’ve really enjoyed it at the start of this season. I feel in good rhythm, I love bowling with the guys and am happy to contribute where I can. Hopefully that continues.”
Essex vs Worcestershire, Rothesay County Championship 2025, Division One County Ground, Chelmsford
ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay By Martin Smith at Chelmsford
Worcestershire (202 & 185-6) trail Essex (179 & 317) by 110 runs
Jamie Porter struck three significant blows to carry Essex to the precipice of their first Rothesay County Championship win of the season against Worcestershire.
The pace bowler took his tally to 11 wickets in three games so far to leave Essex on the cusp of a victory that had looked a distant prospect when they were dismissed for 179 in their first innings on day one after being put in.
However, Porter sent back Gareth Roderick with his second ball of Worcestershire’s run chase and then added the scalps of Rob Jones and Brett D’Oliveira, who was settling into ominous form. Worcestershire were set 295 in five sessions, or a nominal 165 overs, and were still 110 runs short with four wickets standing when bad light ended play with five overs remaining on the third day.
Essex’s second-innings 317 was bolstered by some belligerent tail-end batting from Shane Snater, who hooked Jacob Duffy for six in addition to five fours in a 53-ball 48. At that point it looked to have turned a comparatively small hill into a mountain.
That mountain looked even higher when Porter trapped Roderick playing down the wrong line to the second ball of the innings in the only over possible before lunch.
The morning sunshine gave way to overcast gloom as Worcestershire slipped to 32-3 inside 14 overs. Jake Libby included three fours in a brief cameo before whipping Shane Snater uppishly to midwicket and Rob Jones followed with a thick edge to second slip off Porter.
Kashif Ali and Adam Hose settled in for a dozen overs while adding 46 runs with a succession of well-placed boundaries, not least two balls before Hose was adjudged lbw to Noah Thain when he carved the bowler firmly through midwicket for four. But despite his pronounced forward movement Hose was nowhere near the delivery that ended his 42-ball stay for 21.
Some of Kashif’s strokes, particularly those that whistled through extra cover, were exquisite gems, though he did survive having his off-stump flattened on 36 when Thain over-stepped.
Kashif had just passed fifty when spin was finally introduced on a bland hybrid pitch that showed no signs of natural deterioration and on which the first 34 wickets fell to seam. Simon Harmer had only contributed two unproductive overs in Worcestershire’s first innings, but struck with his 11th delivery in the second, Kashif diverting a catch at shoulder height to slip. Wicket taken, 12 balls bowled, no runs conceded, Harmer retired back to second slip, job done.
However, that brought in Matthew Waite to partner O’Oliveira and the sixth-wicket pair dug in while collecting runs off any wayward balls. One such had D’Oliveira swaying on to his backfoot and cutting Kasun Rajitha for four. Another time he rocked on to one leg to pull Porter to the boundary.
However, when the stand was worth 44, D’Oliveira tried to give himself room to cut Porter past point and only succeeded in uppercutting the ball into first slip’s hands.
In the morning, Essex added 84 valuable runs to their overnight score for the loss of their final four wickets. Thain needed just two balls before he turned Ben Allision off his hip to click over from his overnight 49 to his maiden first-class fifty. When he was out, nine balls later, unable to withdraw his bat in time against Eathan Brookes, his 143-ball vigil was the second longest crease occupancy of the match after centurion Paul Walter.
Harmer and Snater put on 41 in 10 overs either side of the new-ball until the introduction of Tom Taylor induced a nick off Harmer’s bat for a seventh caught behind in the game for Roderick. Taylor then accounted for Kasun Rajitha lbw before Snater’s late flourish was ended after one yahoo too many.
Worcestershire captain Brett D’Oliveira said: “It’s always going to be tough in Division One, we know that, but I thought we stuck to our guns pretty well. They’ve put on some nice partnerships at the end of their innings and that obviously made it hard for us. But we’re still in with an opportunity to do something special and that’s the attitude we’ve got to take.
“There are still balls [in the wicket]. It’s got a little bit slower from the first innings, but having said that it was a bit softer in the first innings and it feels like it’s dented a little bit. When the ball hits those divots you’ve probably noticed it. But that’s 20 per cent of the time and the other 80 per cent has been pretty good. As a batter you’re trying to focus on that 80 per cent and not worry about the 20 per cent.
“The key to batting is taking it one ball at a time. It’s 110 to get now and once it gets below three figures it starts to feel like it’s coming down a bit quicker. If we can keep putting pressure on the Essex camp and you never know what might happen.
“What’s the point in going out there if you think you can’t do it. It’s almost stupid. We’ll go out tomorrow definitely believing we can win. We’ve still got batters to come.”
Essex all-rounder Noah Thain said: “It didn’t bother me too much [being 49 not out overnight]. I know I had worked really well that evening and what would happen would happen in the morning. It was nice to get a fifty and it’s just a shame I didn’t really push on. But I thought Harmy and Snates batted really well and got us to a really good total for them to chase.
“As a bowler I’m brought on to create as many wicket-taking balls as I can. We’ve obviously got Ports and Snates snapping away at that line and length consistently. My job was to try and take wickets. I’ve got into a position this year, more than last year, where I am having more chances the more I bowl. It’s definitely coming on, though it’s still a massive learning curve. It’s a new world. I haven’t really done a lot as a fourth seamer.
“It’s been a lot of work [over the winter] with doing a lot in Australia with Cricket Victoria and with Chris Silverwood in Abu Dhabi. I got a bit fitter and stronger and gained confidence. It’s all starting to come together.
“We’re very confident. The pitch is definitely working for us. They have batted well, built good partnerships, but they have also played and missed a lot. We are confident we can go bang, bang in the morning and the game’s over. We know we are going to come back in the morning and win this game.
[On bowling Kashif Ali with a no-ball} “It’s one of those things, what can you do? I’ve been working on it with Chris Silverwood because I have bowled a few non-balls recently, but it is trying to put that to the back of your mind and wipe it from your memory and pretend it didn’t happen. It’s gutting at the moment, but we did get him in the end.”
Hampshire vs Somerset, Rothesay County Championship 2025, Division One,The Rose Bowl, Southampton
By Alex Smith, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Day 3 - Hampshire vs Somerset at Utilita Bowl
Somerset 184 & 103/1 trail Hampshire 336 by 49 runs
Migael Pretorius’ bowling and Sean Dickson’s batting swung the advantage away from Hampshire in their Rothesay County Championship fixture with Somerset.
South African Pretorius picked up five for 64 as Somerset only allowed the hosts a first innings lead of 152, despite Nick Gubbins’ 82 and Liam Dawson’s 72.
That edge was whittled down to 49 for the loss of just Archie Vaughan as Dickson ended his start-of-the-season drought with a calm unbeaten half-century before the dingy light descended on Utilita Bowl.
Hampshire began the day with a 10-run lead and the hopes of a large extension of that, which would mean they could win the match without batting again.
But Tom Lammonby’s work with the old ball and then Pretorius’ with the new stymied them – despite managing to pick up two batting bonus points.
Gubbins and Dawson had ground out a 76-run partnership the previous evening, but opened up a little in the morning – with the former taking a particular liking to Alfie Ogborne.
The stand grew to 125 in a demoralising first half an hour of the day for Somerset – which also saw Dawson dropped by Tom Abell at midwicket – before the visitors began to fight back.
Left-armer Lammonby had only bowled five wicketless overs in the opening two matches of the season, but his two maiden overs on the second evening had been the best on show for his side.
He found good movement with the old ball and struck three times before the 80th over.
Gubbins got stuck on the crease and was plumb lbw, Dawson couldn’t keep a cut shot down and was well held by Vaughan, and Brett Hampton lasted three balls before he was leg-before to a ball that swung back.
Ben Brown was the constant as three of the last four batters reached double-figures in quick time but couldn’t stick around.
James Fuller went first and hit 15 in 21 balls, including two stunning cover drives, but departed in the fifth over of the new cherry, as Pretorius nibbled one in to take the edge to second slip.
Toby Albert – who dropped down the order because a back spasm – was lbw while falling over an angled in ball from Pretorius.
And after Kyle Abbott had whacked an 11-ball 20, Pretorius completed his second five-wicket haul for Somerset with a legside catch behind to James Rew.
Ogborne ended the innings when Brad Wheal – after 19 off 16 - had his stumps rearranged, leaving Brown on 30 and still yet to be dismissed on his home ground as club captain.
A lead of 152 would have been below Hampshire’s hopes, but still large enough to mount a victory effort.
But an increasingly flat pitch and a stout top-order batting performance quelled their hopes of a quick victory, and made the draw the favourite result, especially with rain forecast on the final day.
Vaughan and Dickson’s opening partnerships list had read a dismal: 21, 14, 4 and 14 but they roused to 50 with little fuss.
Vaughan departed after looping a catch up for deep square leg for the second match in a row, but Dickson battened down the hatches and refused to give away his wicket.
The former Kent batter had a top score of 11 in five innings this season but never looked in danger – except for a wild unprovoked swing which barely missed his leg stump – to reach his fourth fifty for Somerset in 108 balls.
Bad light brought tea forward by 10 minutes, and when they belatedly returned, only four overs of spin were possible before things turned terminally dark.
Hampshire head coach Adi Birrell:
“We knew about the weather today and tomorrow so we attacked quite a lot. I think we went at 4.7 runs an over today, we wouldn’t usually go that aggressively.
“We looked to score as quickly as we could in a short period of time to allow us enough time to bowl them out in a reduced match. We thought we would have about 150 overs in the match left his morning and that is going to be about right, so we needed to hurry it a bit.
“They lost six wickets for 27 runs in 10 overs in the first innings so we are hoping for another burst like that and put them under pressure to bowl them out. It hasn’t happened yet but it could happen tomorrow.
“They’ve batted very well, I don’t think we have bowled badly. There were a couple of close calls but they have laid a foundation. We’ll have our fast bowlers fresh tomorrow and hopefully they will put them under pressure.”
Somerset batter Sean Dickson:
“We want to play a good brand of cricket and look to win, but at the moment we need points and to think about that.
“No one wants to sit here before the fourth day and be saying that we are going to be going out there to save the game and draw, because we want to win games of cricket but in the grand scheme of things this might be one of those pinnacle games to get us over the line.
“Hopefully that is the case and we are in this position tomorrow and have a draw, or in the best case a win. We just need to stay positive and play our good brand of cricket.
“I started the season with a hundred in the first warm-up game and I’m trying to keep my mindset on that and the foundation I built with that.
“As an opener in this country you can go through patches like I have been through, especially in April. You have to stay humble and level and keep your processes as simple as possible. Then you know your next big knock is around the corner.”
Day 3. Warwickshire, 93 all out and 163 for six, trail Nottinghamshire, 367 all out, by 111 runs.
Nottinghamshire need to find four wickets – and, crucially, for the rain to stay away – on the final day to turn their total domination of Warwickshire into a Rothesay County Championship victory at Edgbaston.
Trailing by 274 on first innings, Warwickshire closed the third day on 163 for six, in deep trouble but still alive and with a potential lifeline in the form of heavy rain predicted for the final day.
Nottinghamshire’s decision to bat quite deep into day three despite the dodgy forecast could cost them. They extended their first innings to 367, Haseeb Hameed carrying his bat for 138 in 399 minutes, supported by Fergus O’Neill (50, 53 balls) and Lyndon James (42, 117). Medium-pacer Michael Booth took five for 90, his maiden first-class five-for.
But after the visitors' dynamic cricket on the second day, their batting on the third morning was bizarrely ponderous, achieving little more than robbing their bowlers of time to get stuck into Warwickshire’s second innings. When those bowlers were finally unleashed they winkled out six on a pitch which is improving for batting but Nottinghamshire will need help from the great uncontrollable – the weather – tomorrow.
Nottinghamshire resumed on the third morning on 204 for five, already 111 ahead, but showed no urgency. Hameed and James added a pedestrian 51 in 21 overs before the latter edged Ed Barnard to slip.
Hameed reached his 16th first class century, from 196 balls, while O’Neill added some impetus by adding a half-century to his five-for the previous day. The Australian’s ninth four, driven through the covers off Booth, took him to 50 but he perished next ball when he skied a slog.
Booth advanced to his five-for with wickets in successive balls when he bowled Brett Hutton through a cross-bat swipe and had Josh Tongue caught behind. When Farhan Ahmed nicked Barnard to the keeper, Hameed had carried his bat for the second time in his Nottinghamshire career and become the third player, following Mick Newell and Alex Hales, to do so for the county against Warwickshire.
Warwickshire’s rearguard action started badly when Alex Davies edged Hutton to third slip in the fifth over. Rob Yates and Hamza Shaikh grafted to add 34 in 13 overs before Tongue struck just before and after tea. Wicketkeeper Kyle Berreynne took the catches as Yates leg-glanced too fine and Sam Hain fenced outside off stump.
Shaikh defied for nearly two hours for 27 but fell lbw when hit on the back leg by O’Neill. Dan Mousley dug in similarly for 32 then became the first victim of spin in the match when trapped lbw by Farhan Ahmed.
With nine balls left in the day, Kai Smith was bowled by a beauty from O'Neill. Warwickshire will enter the final day needing either a monumental lower-order batting display…or lots of rain.
Warwickshire all-rounder Michael Booth said:
"It was nice to take my maiden five-for. I felt good out there. It felt like some of my better spells went wicketless but then I came back late on and got those three at the end. I have felt in good rhythm all game and it is coming out nicely.
"The more you play the more you understand how to go about it and that sometimes you only get your rewards in your third and fourth spells. That's something I've learned, not to go to searching for wickets too much but to keep putting the ball in the right area and eventually to get your rewards.
"Notts have outplayed us so it's a big day for us tomorrow to hopefully hang in there as long as we can and hopefully get past them and keep going. We have just got to keep scrapping, keep batting and keep believing. The weather forecast doesn't look good but you can never really trust a forecast. We have just got to come here tomorrow and bat long
Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed said:
"I was pleased the way that I batted on a relatively challenging wicket. There were definitely balls out there that could get anyone out so I was pleased to get through that period with a bit of luck;
"We knew we were in a good position but just needed a couple of good partnerships in that morning session and Lyndon and Fergy batted really well. Warwickshire started really well with the ball and the way Lyndon played was beautiful and then Fergy came in and batted beautifully too.
"Then when we bowled again, all the seamers bowled really well. It's great to be out there in the field with four seamers of that quality and then Farhan also chipped in. He had to wait two and a half days to get an opportunity to bowl and then he came on and almost immediately took a big wicket for us. Everyone is doing their bit and hopefully we can finish the job tomorrow."
Rothesay County Championship 2025 Division Two
Gloucestershire 472 and 112 for two. Kent 393.
Gloucestershire have reached 112 for two in the second innings of their Rothesay County Championship game with Kent on Sunday, a lead of 191.
Ben Charlesworth was their top scorer with 58, but bad light halted play with 36 overs remaining and the forecast for tomorrow suggests a draw is probable.
Earlier Ben Compton hit his highest Kent score of 178 as the hosts made 393, a first innings deficit of 79.
Kent were 318 for seven when play began in Baltic conditions, with the lights on and in front a meagre crowd.
Compton was on 144 overnight and had only moved to 148 when he flashed at Marchand de Lange and was dropped by Cameron Green at first slip. He swatted the next ball to the midwicket boundary to pass 150, but Jas Singh produced just one elegant cover drive for four before being caught behind off Matt Taylor for five.
Taylor was denied a second wicket when Kashif Ali hit him straight into Miles Hammond’s chest at short leg and Kashif somehow survived for 89 balls to make 34 not out, including a six he swept off Ollie Price that sailed over cow corner.
He put on a stand of 60 with Compton, who finally went when he charged down the wicket to Graeme van Buuren and was stumped by James Bracey. Nathan Gilchrist lasted just eight balls before he was lbw to the same bowler for one, leaving Kent seven short of an additional batting point.
Ben Charlesworth was on 17 when he edged Jas Singh, but Chris Benjamin, keeping in place of Harry Finch who has a broken finger, put the chance down.
Cameron Bancroft went lbw to Joey Evison for 22 and Jack Leaning had Charlesworthcaught by Zak Crawley at cover. Light rain then began to fall but the players stayed out until 3.50 pm when the light deteriorated to the point that the umpires called an early tea.
Rainfall prevented a resumption and play was abandoned for the day at 5.18 pm.
Kent’s Ben Compton: “Obviously I’m very chuffed on a personal level and I thought the morning was really important with Kashif Ali. We put an invaluable partnership together I think, both to try and get closer to the deficit and to try and take some time out of the game. It’s hopefully going to mean that it’s harder for us to lose if it comes to that but also sets up the game potentially tomorrow depending on what they want to do."
(On back to back centuries).
“There’s no secret mate, we’ve played on some better wickets this year in terms of pace on the pitch so yes it’s been more seamer friendly at times, particularly on day one and day two, but as we saw with the Middlesex game in particular, it kept its pace throughout and then became really enjoyable for batting and Tawanda and I really enjoyed that.
“This one’s very similar, probably a little on the slower side, but it still allows you to score freely, once the new ball dies down. That’s the tricky time and if you can get through that then it’s good to score.
“It was a rather strange last hour of play given the way they started their second innings, I thought by the looks of it they were flying and they were going to try and make a total and leave us to see what we could chase and set up a game. The last hour was a bit strange in that respect so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Obviously we’ll try and do our best to get them out tomorrow if we can and we’re still looking to win the game but we’ll just have to play it by ear.”
Gloucestershire’s Ben Charlesworth said: “I think at the end of every day so far we’ve been in a commanding position, and it was the same today. We’ve just discussed in the dressing room that we probably didn’t stride away from them as we’d have liked, to try and get us to the point where we can try and win the game tomorrow, but we’re definitely still in front of the game and if all the time and overs were available I think it would have been helpful to us. Hopefully we’ll try to push for a win tomorrow but it’s looking like that might be tricky.
“I think for me personally I try and play the scenario as best as I can, I struggle when I sort of drift away from trying to do what the team wants, so yeah, in my head I was thinking we can get a quick lead here and it gives us more time to bowl them out tomorrow. So that was in the forefront of my mind and might have helped me get a few away early."
(Were they thinking about a number for a declaration?)
“I think to be honest we expected to play more today, so if we’d played another 10 or 15 overs we might have started talking about putting our foot on the gas but obviously we didn’t get back out there after tea so there wasn’t really any time for that discussion to be had.
“Based on what happened last week, with Kent chasing down that score on the last day, that always plays in your head. It was doing plenty on day one but as the days have gone by it has got better and it’s a quick scoring ground here as well, so chasing is going to be the preferred method to win a game, which obviously is not ideal with us losing the toss, so I think that was a bit of a hammer blow. I think to win the game from there after losing the toss you have to play perfect cricket. We’ve tried our best so far and like I said we’re on top of the game, but it’s got to be perfection at this point.”
Rehan Ahmed and Peter Handscomb both made centuries as Leicestershire tightened their grip on the third day of their Rothesay County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
Replying to the Lancashire’s 263, the visitors made 491 for eight declared, giving them a lead of 228, with Handscomb unbeaten on 142. Left with eight overs to survive, Lancashire ended the day on 16-3, Keaton Jennings having been bowled between bat and pad for a second-ball duck by Ian Holland, who also had nightwatchman Anderson Phillip lbw for two.
The home side’s utter misery was completed when Michael Jones was bowled for four by a ball from Logan van Beek that kept low
So or the second time in two games on this ground, Lancashire must bat out the final day for a draw having been outplayed by their opponents. Their supporters might be hoping Monday’s weather forecast is correct.
In the first 16 overs of the morning, Ahmed and Holland, Leicestershire’s overnight pair, scored 68 runs and displayed almost complete command of the Lancashire attack. The climax of this period of play came when Ahmed reached his hundred, the second of his first-class career, off 147 balls with 14 fours.
However, two balls later, the centurion was caught at silly mid-off by Josh Bohannon off Tom Hartley for exactly 100 and this ushered in the second half of the session in which the visitors managed only 54 runs in 18 overs for the loss of Holland, who was caught at mid-on by Saqib Mahmood for 35 when he miscued a pull off John Turner.
That wicket fell just three overs after that of Ahmed and the new batsmen, Lewis Hill and Handscomb to rebuild the innings with some cautious strokes. Nevertheless, the fourth-wicket pair displayed greater aggression towards the end of the session, most notably when Hill took ten runs off three balls from George Balderson, and that trend was maintained deep into the afternoon.
The hundred partnership came up and Hill reached his fifty in 91 balls and 115 minutes. Lancashire took the new ball and Handscomb got to his half-century in three balls more having taken nine minutes longer.
The pair had extended their partnership to 130 before two wickets fell in three overs. Hill skied a pull to Michael Jones at midwicket off Balderson and departed for 64 and then Louis Kimber was bowled for eight when trying to hit all round a ball from Turner. That left Leicestershire on 331 for five but Handscomb and Ben Cox increased the run rate after tea and took their side to the verge of a fourth bonus point with a sixth-wicket stand of 66.
Handscomb reached the 27th century of his career off 170 balls, having hit ten fours, before Cox holed out on the deep square leg boundary for 31, Luke Wells taking the catch to give Mahmood his second wicket of the innings.
That success brought Lancashire their third bonus point of the match but Leicestershire collected their seventh with 11 balls to spare, van Beek nudging the single that took his side past 400. The visitors’ acceleration continued deep into the evening session as wickets were traded for runs.
Van Beek made 29 before he was bowled by Wells and Ben Green five before he was castled by Hartley, who finished with two for 151 off 44 overs, the most he has bowled in any game. Turner took two for 44 and Mahmood two for 99.
Leicestershire’s total is their highest at Old Trafford and only two short of the most they have ever scored against Lancashire
Peter Handscomb, Leicestershire captain, said:
That was a pretty good day. We have batting really nicely as a group but we wanted someone in the top six to stand up. Rehan did that and I followed on.
Rehan and Sol are both naturally attacking batters and they played their natural game and they got us off to a good start. Lewis Hill is in a really good place and we tried to set up the game.
Ian Holland wnated to have a bowl, so I took his advice and declared. We wanted to get one but to get three is brilliant.
Dale Benkenstein, Lancashire head coach, said:
“Firstly, I think the good thing is the worry about the wicket not being able to produce results (is over). I think we showed on day one it was a good toss for them to win. We would have bowled as well and the ball went around quite a bit.
“I think they're also a confident side, they're playing good cricket. We knew we were going to be up against it these four days and that's going to be a good challenge really. I thought we actually battled really well.
“I think there was a stage there where it looked like they could have bowled us out for under 200. I think what was disappointing is then I felt we got into a position where we could have batted out the day yesterday and actually put on over 300. There were a couple of dismissals that were not really good balls with batters that were in.
“I think we didn't capitalize on fighting really hard, getting in a position where we could have maybe ended up with 300 and not had as many overs to bowl overnight.
“Obviously, it was a beautiful day today to bat. There were some positives, Tommy Hartley bowling so many overs and bowling well, I think is a real plus for us. Seeing Saqib back actually getting through 20 odd overs, there's some positives there.
“I don't want to take too much credit away from Leicester. I think they're playing very well. To come out, knowing you've got eight overs to bowl. They’d been sitting in the changing room all day and were up for it. They're the frontrunners in the game. But from a championship point of view, I still think this is a very good side we put out.
“I don't think we've played as well as we could. But we've also had the back end of the wicket, really. You hold on for a good draw. The championship is a marathon. It's not a sprint. We've still got a lot to play for tomorrow and get through the game with as many points as we can.”
Middlesex vs Glamorgan, Rothesay County Championship 2025, Division Two,Lord's, London
Day 3: Middlesex 470-9 dec v Glamorgan 199 & 186-5, Middlesex lead by 85 runs.
By Ben Kosky, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Toby Roland-Jones struck twice in as many deliveries to boost Middlesex’s push for a first Rothesay County Championship victory of the season against Glamorgan at Lord’s.
Trailing by 271, the visitors responded with an opening stand of 93 between Zain ul Hassan and Eddie Byrom, but were pegged back to 148 for five when Roland-Jones bowled Colin Ingram and Ben Kellaway with successive balls.
However, Kiran Carlson’s defiant unbeaten 54 maintained Glamorgan’s hopes of staving off defeat, guiding his side to 186 for five – a deficit of 85 – at stumps.
Middlesex had earlier declared on 470 for nine, although both Leus du Plooy and Ben Geddes missed out on centuries, falling to Kellaway for 89 and 83 respectively as the Glamorgan off-spinner finished with four for 61.
Du Plooy, who resumed 15 short of a first ton of the campaign, added just another four to his overnight tally before being undone by a ball from Kellaway that pitched and turned to clip his off stump.
Geddes was the more fluent of the pair towards the end of their fifth-wicket stand of 131, slashing Timm van der Gugten twice to the third man fence as he advanced to within sight of his maiden century in Middlesex colours.
But Geddes became stuck in a rut, surrendering his wicket to Kellaway with a loose drive that sailed straight to short midwicket before Jack Davies, slog-sweeping the spinner, picked out Byrom diving to his left.
Roland-Jones restored some momentum to the innings with a pugnacious 31 from 27 balls, launching Kellaway for a straight six and clubbing Ned Leonard for a trio of boundaries in his first over of the morning.
Leonard had the final say by collecting Roland-Jones’ wicket, with Chris Cooke soaring to his right for an outstanding one-handed catch off the outside edge, then adding a stumping to dismiss Zafar Gohar in Kellaway’s next over.
However, there was to be no five-wicket haul for Kellaway, bowling unchanged from the Nursery End, as Middlesex declared following a few lively blows by Dane Paterson in order to put their opponents in again before lunch.
While the seamers beat the bat several times on either side of the interval, they could not find a way through – although there was a let-off for Byrom with five to his name, steering Roland-Jones to second slip only for the chance to go begging.
Byrom capitalised, dispatching successive Ryan Higgins deliveries to the leg-side rope and pummelling a Henry Brookes half-volley through the covers for four more while his partner also found ways to keep the scoreboard moving along.
With half-centuries firmly in their sights, though, the opening pair departed in successive overs as Byrom top-edged a sweep off Gohar to backward square and Higgins, who had just switched ends, had Ul Hassan caught behind.
That double success galvanised the home side, who struck again shortly after tea when Paterson nipped a ball away to pin Sam Northeast leg before – although height could well have saved the Glamorgan captain on another day.
Paterson’s swing continued to cause problems for the batters, with Ingram very much in survival mode and Carlson edging a ball that dropped fractionally short of slip’s outstretched hands.
But the Glamorgan pair added 40 before Roland-Jones brought himself back on to break the partnership, knocking back Ingram’s off stump and then dismissing Kellaway, who played on first ball.
Carlson continued the battle, bringing up his half-century from 84 deliveries, while Cooke remained alongside him on 16 when deteriorating light prompted the umpires to halt play five overs before the scheduled close.
Middlesex batter BEN GEDDES, who scored 83, said:
“Personally I would have liked to get 120 not out today but, as far as the team goes, a 270 lead is what we were after so I’m pretty happy that my scores have helped put the team in the best position.
“I felt like I was seeing them well and was able to put a bit of pressure back on the bowlers, so we ended up going a bit quicker than we originally planned but that worked out well with an early declaration, it gave us a bit of extra time with the ball.
“He (Leus du Plooy) takes a lot of pressure off me and he’s a joy to watch from the other end – he’s very fluent and whenever there’s a tough period in play, he’s very calm and relaxing.
“We know that as long as we stay in there, executing our skills for a long period of time, the rewards will come and a special couple of balls there from Toby (Roland-Jones) got the guys going again. The weather tomorrow’s obviously out of our control so we’ll focus on what we can control and hopefully take five chances as quickly as possible.”
Glamorgan batter KIRAN CARLSON, who was 54 not out at stumps, said:
“Middlesex are playing some really good cricket and putting us under pressure the whole time with bat and ball. They bowled really nicely and didn’t give me anything so I was glad to get a few fours down to third man, a few nicks and get through to 50.
“It’s going to be a tough scrap tomorrow but we’re going to make them work hard for it and hopefully we can salvage a draw.
“It was nice to get through it with Chris (Cooke) and hopefully me and him can try and govern the play a bit tomorrow morning and bat as long as we can, essentially. It never seems to rain in London, from what I’ve been told, so we’ll be looking to bat the whole day!
“As a senior player in the dressing-room now, there’s a big job for me to do with the bat, especially at number four where you have to build partnerships with people and put a big score on the board.”
Day 3 Derbyshire 307 and 202 for 3. Northamptonshire 500 for 8 dec.
Nigel Gardner, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay.
A career-best century for Luke Procter backed up by a blistering hundred from Saif Zaib gave Northamptonshire the upper hand on day three of the Rothesay County Championship Division Two match against Derbyshire at Derby.
Procter’s 150 from 272 balls provided the launching pad for Zaib who hit three sixes to race to a second century in consecutive matches off only 86 balls.
With Justin Broad hammering 46 from 27 balls, the visitors declared on 500 for 8 with a lead of 193 but their bowlers also struggled on a pitch which has flattened out.
Australian opener Caleb Jewell eased to a fifth 50 in six innings and with Wayne Madsen completing his second half century of the game, Derbyshire moved to 202 for 3 at stumps, a lead of nine.
Procter faced 17 balls to get the three runs needed to complete his 9th first-class hundred but from then on, the visitors moved swiftly through the gears.
When the second new ball was taken, Rob Keogh drove Luis Reece for four to bring up the 300 and the 100 stand which had come from 164 balls.
Keogh reached his 50 by pulling Reece for another boundary but in the same over he went for a big drive and was bowled .
Zaib survived a hard chance to second slip on one and he took full advantage as he tore the bowling apart either side of lunch.
Procter passed his previous highest score , an unbeaten 144 against Warwickshire at Northampton in 2022, and then pulled Zak Chappell for his 20th four to reach 150 before cutting Blair Tickner into the hands of gully.
But Derbyshire were struggling to stem the flow of runs with Zaib taking 14 off a Martin Andersson over as 139 runs came in the first session.
The lead at the interval was 68 and although Lewis McManus was caught behind sweeping at Jack Morley, the game quickly ran away from Derbyshire who had to bowl spin at both ends to improve a slow over rate.
Zaib and Broad tucked into the post lunch smorgasbord to plunder 85 from 54 balls before the latter was caught at deep midwicket to give Madsen his first championship wicket since April 2022.
When Zaib skied Morley to long off, the declaration came giving their bowlers 54 overs to try and put Derbyshire under pressure but the batters continued to dominate.
David Lloyd needed a big innings after a run of low scores and started positively, pulling Liam Guthrie for six, but then fell to a stunning catch by Broad who leapt at cover to hold on at the second attempt.
But Jewell again looked untroubled and with Harry Came, reduced the arrears to under a hundred before Dom Leech trapped Came on the crease in the 27th over.
Jewell responded by pulling Leech for his seventh four to reach 50 and with Madsen, set about deflating Northants’ hopes of victory.
The pair added 66 from 84 balls and although Jewell cut Broad into the hands of first slip, Madsen passed 50 for the fourth time this season to put his team in credit by the close.
Derbyshire opener Caleb Jewell said: "I'm hoping there is something more around the corner but I'm happy with how I'm playing, I just need to sustain it for a bit more.
"In those situations you can probably just try and bat for time and hope you can stick in there long enough to dwindle it down but I think it's important to keep scoring the runs as well so now we're in front we can make a few more plays in the game if we need to.
"It doesn't really change the way I go about my batting, if we're leading or behind, I know what's best for me and that was how it was today."
Noirthamptonshire's Saif Zaib said: "It was a nice position to come into, I thought the openers really laid our foundation. Procy (Luke Procter) batted unbelievably well, Rob (Keogh) as well.
"We had an eye on tomorrow's weather and we're trying to get a result as best we can. We've put ourselves in a nice position so hopefully the weather stays good for us.
"Broady (Justing Broad) is probably the best player of spin at the club and the way he found the gaps and boundaries it just made my job a lot easier.As a batting unit I feel we are performing really well."
© Cricket World 2025
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