Vitality County Championship 2024, Round 11, Day 4, 22nd – 25th August - Live Cricket Streaming, Latest Scores, Match Reports – All Matches

Here are all the latest scores, match reports and news for the Vitality County Championship 2024, Round 11, Day 4, Day, Division 1 and 2 - 22nd – 25th August.

Round 11, Sunday 25th August

 

Division One

Durham vs Nottinghamshire, Division One,Seat Unique, Riverside Ground, Chester-Le-Street.

A sensational seven-wicket haul from First Class debutant Daniel Hogg propelled Durham to a dominant Vitality County Championship win against Nottinghamshire. 

Hogg, who already had three second innings wickets before today's play, mopped up the Notts tail to wrap up the victory, with a winning margin of an innings and 17 runs. 

The win coupled with a maximum set of bonus points means that Durham consolidate their position in mid-table, meanwhile Notts will be anxiously looking over their shoulder due to sides below them picking up points in their respective fixtures.

The County Championship fixtures come in thick and fast as both sides are in action again on Thursday, with Durham travelling to Taunton to take on Somerset, while Notts host runaway leaders Surrey. 

Hogg, who was making his First Class debut in this game, stepped up his game in the second innings with Durham one seamer down and he sealed the win with a fantastic spell on day four, one which the young quick could have only dreamt of when he was handed his Durham cap on Thursday.

The performance of the 19-year-old, coupled with a maiden First Class century from Ben McKinney on day one, has given Durham fans a glimpse of the future with the pair the latest prospects from the Durham academy that has produced plenty of international talent. On the other hand Notts were second best throughout the match and they now find themselves in a relegation scrap heading into the last four games of the season.

Resuming on 212 for six and still 90 behind Durham, the objective for Notts was to see out the morning session with rain forecast in the afternoon.

The Notts plan of survival took a dent just 12 minutes into the day’s play as Hogg got his fourth of the innings when half-centurion Haynes edged to Scott Borthwick at first slip for 69. 

Lyndon James, who made 56 in the first innings, hit Ben Raine for back-to-back fours as he looked to put the brakes on the home side’s victory charge.

Hogg picked up his fifth wicket as Calvin Harrison edged to third slip for one to leave the visitors eight down.

Olly Stone joined James at the crease and frustrated the hosts as they needed just two wickets for the win. 

The pair continued to be solid and chipped away at the deficit, but Durham did have a chance when Ollie Robinson dropped James on 22 down the legside off the bowling of Bas de Leede. 

The Notts resistance came to an end as Hogg picked up the wicket of Stone, getting him LBW for 29 and the 19-year-old wrapped up the victory when Brett Hutton was caught behind by Robinson.

 

Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores said:

"(On the toss) It was a strange one as the pitch had a real green tinge to it, felt quite hard but actually it got quicker as the game went on. Credit to them they batted really well, they had two young lads in and one got a hundred and another got seven wickets. We didn't get enough out of the pitch and we certainly didn't get as much out of the pitch with the ball as they did."

"In the first innings we didn't bat well enough, we showed some fight in the second innings but we put ourselves in a really difficult position after our first innings."

"The pitch, as pitched do, actually deteriorated as the game went on, but when we first started to bat we got ourselves in a good position at 96 for one and we managed to loose five quick wickets, which was more down to poor decision making than anything else."

"Credit to the Durham bowlers, they bowled well. They set certain plans and we didn't get through that period on day two and I think if we had done then we would have got a much more significant score on the board in the first innings."

 

Durham's Daniel Hogg, who took 7/66, said:

"I'm buzzing, to be fair, you dream of starts like that and to go out there and actually do it, it's an amazing feeling."

"We were unlucky a few times this morning, but I was probably getting the most out of the pitch with the bounce as it was a flat deck and the skipper just asked me to try and get a few nicks and that happened."

"I'll have a couple of beers to celebrate as there were a few milestones up there with me, (Ben) McKinney and (Ashton) Turner so we'll have a few beers."

"I haven't spoken to mum and dad yet but I'm sure they'll be happy and I know they were watching at home."

Hampshire vs Essex, Division One, Utilita Bowl, Southampton

Toby Albert and Tom Prest’s centuries gave a glimpse of Hampshire’s batting future as their Vitality County Championship clash with Essex petered into a draw.

Both homegrown batters in their early 20s, they each scored exceptional hundreds filling in – with Albert playing in place of the injured Ali Orr, and Prest elevated up the order with James Vince unable to bat in his usual position.

The duo made sure Essex’s low chances of forcing 19 wickets, and a victory, became non-existent, with career-best scores of 124 and 156.

Matt Critchley claimed a late five for 96 as both teams took away 14 points - a haul that is unlikely to worry table-toppers Surrey in the fight for the title. 

Hampshire began the day on 40 for one, and 398 runs in arrears, with the initial plan to avoid the follow-on, and then hunt for batting bonus points.

It turned out the quest was a simple one.

Albert, with Fletcha Middleton and Nick Gubbins, had dead batted their way through the new ball the previous evening, on a pitch which offered zero help for the bowlers.

The morning saw 106 runs, with the loss of Gubbins for 30 after he tamely diverted to a catching midwicket following a 61-run stand with Albert.

Albert has largely made the most of his chances at the top of the batting order, having replaced Orr – the former Sussex batter suffering a back injury and then a broken arm to curtail his season.

The 22-year-old began with a maiden Championship century against Surrey in May, before impressing in the Vitality Blast – his batting styles vastly different between the formats.

Albert, the son of two Olympic equestrians, reached his century in 199 balls, having cranked through the gears as the day progressed.

He found a like-minded partner in Prest – who was initially due to bat at No.7 before Vince suffered a niggle in the field, and due to his time off the pitch, wasn’t allowed to bat any higher.

If Hampshire wanted a Vince doppelganger, they got it – both very watchable batters, who pace their innings seemingly for the enjoyment of the crowd.

Prest had fully announced himself, after a couple of promising T20 campaigns, with a century against Essex at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford towards the end of last season.

The 21-year-old missed the previous three Championship fixtures with a shoulder injury, but reached his third career ton in 141 deliveries – although only after he was dropped on 92 by Simon Harmer.

Albert fell when reverse sweeping Matt Critchley to deep point, which ended a 177-run partnership.

Ben Brown and Prest passed the follow-on target just before tea, before Prest began to eye up 450 – and full batting bonus points.

At one point he had taken 52 runs, with Brown, in four overs – in which time he had taken Harmer for 14 and 19, brought up the century stand and reached a maiden 150.

Prest fell for 156 when he advanced and holed out to long off and Brown was bowled by Shane Snater for a 59-ball 54.

Critchley then picked up Liam Dawson, Kyle Abbott and Vince in the space of four balls to claim a five-wicket haul.

On his departure, Vince decided to declare the innings, reckoning 450 runs was now above them, while preventing Essex from maximum bowling points.

Surrey vs Lancashire, Division One, Kia Oval, London

Title favourites Surrey took less than two sessions on day four to bowl out Lancashire for 177 at the Kia Oval to complete an impressive innings and 63-run victory.

Conor McKerr polished off Lancashire’s tail to finish with four for 27 while Dan Worrall and Jordan Clark picked up three wickets apiece as long-time Division One leaders Surrey, champions in 2022 and 2023, made it seven wins from ten Vitality County Championship matches this season. It is another big step for Surrey towards a third title in a row.

Matty Hurst, Lancashire’s highly-rated 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, tried hard to hold up Surrey by adding a fine 64 to a first innings 46 in what is only his 12^th first-class appearance but there was never any real doubt about the eventual result as wickets fell regularly

Lancashire resumed still 214 runs adrift on 26 for one from 11.1 overs, after a rain-hit third day had seemingly given them a chance of escaping with a draw, but lost their last nine wickets for 151 runs as Surrey’s five-man pace attack proved too hot for them to handle for the second time in the game.

Worrall, the championship’s leading wicket-taker with 40 at an average of only 15.55 runs apiece, made the initial breakthroughs by dismissing Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings for 13 and 16-year-old debutant Rocky Flintoff in successive balls in the fifth full over of the morning.

First, coming from around the wicket to left-hander Jennings, he swung one back into the former England Test opener who offered no shot and saw the ball thud into the top of his off stump.

And another fine piece of bowling by Worrall immediately inflicted a first ball duck on young Flintoff, the son of former England captain Andrew who had batted so promisingly for 32 on day one as Lancashire’s youngest first-class cricketer.

Pushing forward to an outswinger that also bounced perhaps more than he expected, Flintoff edged to keeper Ben Foakes who took an excellent diving catch in front of first slip.

That left Lancashire 33 for three and they soon declined further to 82 for five as Josh Bohannon chopped a short, rising ball from Clark into his stumps to go for 29 and George Balderson edged a returning Worrall to second slip on four.

Hurst, however, was then joined by Venkatesh Iyer in a sixth wicket stand of 36 that at least took Lancashire through to lunch, with Iyer even having the temerity to flip Worrall over the short legside boundary for six.

Yet it took only two balls after the interval for Surrey to break the stand, with Iyer (15) nibbling at Clark outside off stump and thin-edging through to Foakes.

Tom Hartley also offered some lower resistance, battling through a testing spell from Sam Curran in which he was beaten several times before hitting Will Jacks’ off spin over long on for six.

Hurst, though, was disgusted with himself for clipping the first ball of McKerr’s second spell – an innocuous loosener – straight into Ryan Patel’s hands at mid wicket after a defiant 116-ball stay featuring seven fours.

And the end was nigh when McKerr took two more wickets in his eighth over, Tom Aspinwall (6) lofting a full toss straight to mid off and Josh Boyden losing his off stump to depart for a second-ball duck.

Hartley was last man out, for 22, fending McKerr to Patel at short leg just after 3pm. Worrall finished with three for 34 while Clark took his own season’s championship wicket tally to 32 with his three for 43.

Warwickshire vs Somerset, Division One, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Jack Leach gave England’s selectors a reminder of his skills as Somerset’s Vitality Championship match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston ended in a rain-affected draw.

The left-arm spinner has been overlooked by England in favour of Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir since the opening Test against India in Hyderabad in January but chose a dark day in Birmingham to prove that his talents still shine brightly.

On a pitch offering only slight turn, Leach took five wickets for 18 runs in 49 balls, finishing with five for 77, to truncate Warwickshire’s second innings at 270 (Alex Davies 131 from 225 balls).

The 33-year-old’s work set up a potentially exciting final afternoon with Somerset, facing a target of 369 from 68 overs, on 13 without loss at lunch only for the rain, which robbed the match of 51 overs on the third day, to return. The loss of another ten overs turned the chase from improbable to impossible and Somerset ended on 206 for four (James Rew 55 not out, 24 balls).

The draw cost Somerset valuable ground on Division One leaders Surrey who beat Lancashire at The Oval. For relegation-threatened Warwickshire, the frustration was deep after rain prevented them from trying to turn a strong position into their first victory of the season. They remain the only team in Division One without a win, though they have a good chance to change that situation next week when bottom-of-the-table Kent visit Edgbaston.

Warwickshire resumed on the final morning on 179 for five, 277 ahead, and advanced to 218 before Leach unpicked the lower order. He started the slide with three wickets for nine runs in 18 balls. Davies, having compiled a measured century, his 11^th in first class cricket, went back to a full-length ball and was bowled. Dan Mousley (37, 73) charged at one cleverly delivered wide on the off side and was stumped. Michael Rae was bowled second ball, heaving to leg.

Olly Hannon Dalby edged to wicketkeeper Rew before Michael Burgess, one of the better number eights in county cricket history, left with only the tail for company, lifted to extra cover to complete Leach’s 27^th five-wicket haul in first class cricket.

Warwickshire’s collapse gave the visitors a glimmer of opportunity. Six weeks earlier, Somerset had amassed 410 for five - their second-highest ever run chase - to beat the Bears at Taunton, so a target of 369 did not daunt them. They started purposefully but then yet another rain interruption sentenced the match to stalemate.

Openers Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Andy Umeed (38, 50) were caught at deep mid-wicket. Tom Lammonby and Tom Banton perished to faulty pulls at Rae. Rew helped himself to a 23-ball half-century as match meandered to a draw before the light mercifully closed in once and for all and the tiny crowd departed wondering if, entertainment-wise, they would have been better off salmon-fishing in Sasolburg.

Worcestershire vs Kent, Division One, County Ground, New Road, Worcester

Worcestershire secured their second successive win in the Vitality County Championship to bolster their hopes of retaining Division One status as they overcame bottom placed Kent by eight wickets at Visit Worcestershire New Road.

Tom Taylor and Joe Leach picked up the final two Kent wickets this morning to leave Worcestershire, who were promoted last summer, with a modest victory target of 101.

Although Worcestershire openers Gareth Roderick and Jake Libby fell cheaply, Kashif Ali (52 not out) and Rob Jones (23 not out) saw their side over the finishing line with an unbroken stand of 69.

Worcestershire’s 23 point haul followed on from victory in their previous game against Durham at the Seat Unique Riverside, albeit nearly seven weeks ago.

They were in the ascendancy for the bulk of the game once Kent had lost 10 wickets for 98 runs in their first innings after being 73-0 at one stage.

It was two of their players returning from lengthy spells out through injury who made significant contributions.

Joe Leach, who is retiring at the end of the season, rolled back the years with a six wicket haul in Kent’s first innings his first appearance for three months after a recurrence of a knee problem.

Club Captain Brett D’Oliveira has been troubled by a shoulder injury for a year but he returned after having extensive rehab during the past month to score 97 from 90 balls and change the momentum of the game in Worcestershire’s favour.

Gareth Roderick, with a half century and seven catches behind the stumps, Rob Jones and Ethan Brookes also produced key roles with the bat while Tom Taylor bowled well throughout and deserved a more tangible reward than his five wickets in the game.

Kent are now facing an uphill battle to maintain their top flight status after suffering their sixth defeat in 10 games.

The big plus point for them was the stunning form with the bat of Tawanda Muyeye who hit a half century and a career best 211.

Kent resumed on 353-8 – an overall lead of 76 after the last over dismissal of Muyeye yesterday evening.

Akeem Jordan, who had picked up five first innings wickets on his Championship debut, cover drove Tom Taylor for four.

Taylor continued his impressive form with the ball demonstrated throughout the game and went past the outside edge on several occasions.

He claimed his fourth wicket when Jordan’s off stump was sent cartwheeling out of the ground after he attempted a drive.

Leach wrapped up the winnings when George Garrett (6) pushed forward and Gareth Roderick held onto a low chance away to his left.

It was Roderick’s fourth catch of the innings and seventh of a game where he has gone past 100 dismissals for Worcestershire.

Jordan struck an early blow for Kent when Worcestershire set off in pursuit of their modest target in holding onto a return catch from Roderick.

Jake Libby then shouldered arms and was bowled by Garrett at 33-2 and rain caused a 40 minute delay after lunch and the loss of 10 overs.

But Kashif Ali was soon into his stride with a succession of boundaries to banish any fears of a late twist in the outcome of the match.

He twice cut on loan Alfie Ogborne for four and turned the same bowler off his legs to the ropes.

A slash to third man off Ogborne brought Kashif his 50 from 67 balls with 10 fours and clinched the victory.

Division Two

Derbyshire vs Glamorgan, Division Two, Incora County Ground,County Ground, Derby

Derbyshire finally celebrated a red ball victory at their County Ground headquarters when they beat Glamorgan by 10 wickets in the Vitality County Championship Division Two match at Derby.

They bowled the visitors out for 287 on the fourth morning, leaving them to score 27 for a first championship win at Derby in five years.

Luis Reece, who claimed the last two wickets, and Harry Came took less than seven overs to secure Derbyshire’s first championship victory anywhere since they beat Worcestershire away in July 2022.

Glamorgan made them wait with Mason Crane and Dan Douthwaite adding 47 from 136 balls for the eighth wicket before their former captain David Lloyd broke the stand.

With rain in the forecast, Derbyshire went into the final day knowing they needed to take the last three Glamorgan wickets as quickly as possible.

The visitors still trailed by 25 when play began under cloudy skies and Mason Crane took a chunk out of that in the second over of the morning with two fours off Zak Chappell.

Derbyshire took the new ball straight away with left-arm spinner Jack Morley operating in tandem with Chappell who should have had the wicket of Crane with Glamorgan still behind.

Crane had scored 12 when he pulled a short ball to the deep  mid-wicket region where Nick Potts dived and got both hands on the ball but could not hold on 

Morley was getting the odd ball to turn sharply but the pair continued to frustrate Derbyshire and when Luis Reece replaced Chappell, Crane drove him to the cover boundary to put the visitors into credit.

Crane cut Morley for another four but the breakthrough finally came when former Lloyd took over with his off-spin at the Racecourse End.

His first ball kept very low and scuttled into the pads of Crane who was trapped on the crease after facing 66 balls for his 28.

Douthwaite continued to bat defiantly but the hosts wrapped up the innings in the space of five balls.

Reece had Fraser Sheat lbw before Douthwaite  was bowled by another one that kept low to take Derbyshire to the brink of a long awaited victory.

It arrived when Reece swept Sam Northeast for two consecutive fours to seal a first championship win at Derby since they beat Sussex in August 2019.

Derbyshire captain David Lloyd said: "It's been over a thousand days since our last four day win so it's very pleasing for the lads who have been here during that time and the fans who follow us home and away and everyone is very happy to get that first win for a while.

"I think you get in situations in a game where you maybe try too hard to try and force a result and that creeps into your game so for us to get that win is very important going forward for the rest of this season and also looking to next year as well.

"It looked pretty flat and at one point I thought it was going to be a long old day but the way our bowlers have gone about their work has been very impressive. Going back to the first morning where Zak (Chappell) got all those wickets and the rest of the guys chipped in so credit to our lads, they stuck at it and deserved the win."

On him bowling off-spin he said: "I was an off-spinner as a kid growing up and then went to seam. I've got a bad knee at the moment so started bowling off-spin again and it's been coming out ok to be fair so I'll be working on it again in the winter to try and get better because it offers more for the team."

 

Glamorgan head coach Grant Bradburn said: "We were soundly beaten by a very good performance from Derbyshire. Zak Chappell was outstanding and we got ourselves behind the game in the first hour at 32 for 6 and that was just too much to come back from.

"We were battling from behind the line for the entire match. We showed glimpses yesterday of getting back to some sort of parity but then couldn't quite clinch those moments although to give credit to Derbyshire they bowled well yesterday afternoon. 

"There were a lot of things which just didn't go our way in this game including the toss but that's cricket, it just didn't roll our way and we didn't do enough in that first hour to really allow ourselves to get into the game."

Gloucestershire vs Leicestershire, Division Two, County Ground, Bristol, Bristol

Peter Handscomb’s rock-sold half-century against his former club foiled a spirited last day effort by Gloucestershire’s bowlers and earned Leicestershire a comfortable draw from the Vitality County Championship Division Two game at Bristol.

The experienced Australian made 63 not out as the visitors reached 304 for five in their second innings from an overnight 41 without loss, a lead of 162, by the time bad light ended play with a possible 27 overs left. Rishi Patel hit 75 and Ian Holland 56.

In the end the only winner was a typically placid Seat Unique Stadium pitch, which made it hard work for seamers and spinners alike over the course of four bat-dominated days. Gloucestershire took 16 points from the game and Leicestershire 13.

It said much about the pitch that with the new ball only ten overs old at the start of play, Gloucestershire chose off-spinner Ollie Price to open their attack from the Ashley Down Road End. He gained precious little more assistance than the seamers as Patel and Holland set about building on their opening partnership.

There was a sense of inevitability as Patel progressed serenely to a half-century off 79 balls, with 8 fours, making good use of the sweep against Price, who he lofted over long-on for six in the 33rd over.

Two overs later Patel perished attempting a repeat of that shot, this time failing to clear Dom Goodman on the boundary. But the stand of 142 in 34.2 overs with first innings centurion Holland had wiped out Gloucestershire’s sizeable first innings lead.

With 21 added, Marchant de Lange was rewarded for bending his back from the Pavilion End when Lewis Hill, on 11, could only fend a lifting a delivery to Chris Dent at short leg. By lunch, Leicestershire had reached 169 for two, with Holland one short of his fifty.

Gloucestershire hopes were briefly raised when Zaman Akhter took a brilliant catch at backward square, holding onto a pull shot from Ajinkya Rahane off de Lange. Akhter then induced an inside edge onto his stumps from Holland, who had reached a painstaking half-century off 127 balls.

At 180 for four, Leicestershire were just 38 runs in front. But Handscomb and Rehan Ahmed calmed any nerves in the visiting dressing room with a stand of 63 in 13.3 overs, ended when Rehan edged a delivery from Price through to wicketkeeper James Bracey and departed for 23.

Handscomb went to an untroubled half-century off 73 balls, with 7 fours, and was unbeaten at tea, with Louis Kimber 29 not out in a Leicestershire total of 286 for five. The lead was 144 and barring a collapse the Foxes were safe.

The curtailed final session offered more of the same with Handscomb and Kimber having few alarms, despite Price getting some slow turn. At soon after 4.15pm, with the floodlights shining brightly, the umpires decided the light was too poor.

Only six wickets had fallen in two days and the draw, which had long seemed the only likely outcome, was confirmed at 4.30pm with rain falling. Kimber was unbeaten on 38 at stumps.

Leicestershire seamer Josh Hull on his England call-up: “It was around 9.30pm last night that I got the call from Brendon McCullum and it was a pretty special moment. I told my mum and she told the rest of the family, who were all really happy.

“It’s something I thought wouldn’t happen this fast, but I’m delighted and looking forward to joining the squad.

“I was happy with how I played for the Lions recently, but still never expected a call into the full England squad so quickly. Obviously, Olly Stone is ready to come back and be the first replacement, but just being part of the set-up for me will be great.

“To be in that environment and hopefully learn from it will be amazing and I am really excited.”

 

Leicestershire head coach Alfonso Thomas on Hull’s call-up. “Josh phoned me last night with the news and was given the all-clear to stay with us for the completion of the Gloucestershire game before joining up with the England squad.

“He is by no means the finished article as he very well knows. But he has all the attributes and potential to be a top international bowler.

“He just loves bowling. He is a fantastic kid and an absolute dream to work with. Just being in the England environment is sure to improve him.”

 

Gloucestershire captain Graeme van Buuren said: “We came here on day one looking for a result and I thought the boys performed fantastically well, from taking seven wickets on the first day right through to today when the bowlers stuck at their task brilliantly.

“The partnership between Ben Charlesworth and James Bracey in our innings was unbelievably good. We are doing things this year that we haven’t done for a while and there are so many big positives.

“There is so much confidence running through the batting line-up. Cameron Bancroft has made a massive difference and is a solid rock for us at the top.

“We learn from him every day and he keeps the boys calm. For Ben Charlesworth, opening will him is a great learning experience. To have a guy of Cameron’s quality in the dressing room is great and there is a lot to look forward to

Middlesex vs Northamptonshire, Division Two, Merchant Taylors' School Ground, Northwood

Toby Roland-Jones made it 11 wickets in the match as Middlesex  beat Northamptonshire by 8 wickets at Merchant Taylors’ School to go back to second in the table.

The 36-year-old Middlesex skipper added to his 5-49 from the first innings with 6-58, making 37 in all for the campaign as Northamptonshire were dismissed soon after tea on the final day for 167, Luke Proctor top-scoring with 33.

This left Middlesex 111 to win in a minimum of 25 overs and Sam Robson’s second half-century of the match, made off 33 balls with 10 fours ensured they got there with some comfort.

Earlier in the day, Middlesex lost their last three wickets for 14 runs to be bowled out for 264 in their first innings, Leus Du Plooy making 71, Ben Sanderson taking 6-64.

After the loss of day three to rain, Middlesex resumed 43 ahead with a plan to make quick runs which quickly unravelled. Only 13 balls had been bowled and eight runs scored when Du Plooy was adjudged caught behind off Justin Broad. The batter dragged himself off clearly unhappy, replays suggesting he’d missed the ball. Roland-Jones fell lbw to the next ball from Sanderson as the tail were hustled out.

With their lead only 57, Middlesex needed quick wickets and Roland-Jones obliged, removing an out of sorts looking Ricardo Vasconcelos lbw for two.

Emilio Gay didn’t bat with the same assurance he’d shown on the opening day, frequently playing and missing before being pinned in front by Tom Helm with Northamptonshire still 20 in arrears.

Proctor survived a vociferous lbw shout from Roland-Jones to play really well either side of lunch, driving the ball crisply. However, just when it seemed he and George Bartlett had drawn the sting from the Middlesex attack, the latter slapped a wide one from Henry Brookes straight to point. Roland Jones trapped Proctor on the crease soon afterwards and followed that by castling Pritvhi Shaw who, hampered by a finger injury sustained when fielding, was batting at six.

When the skipper finally took his leave of the Lake End, Helm replaced him and struck immediately having Rob Keogh caught at slip by which time Northamptonshire had slipped to 104-6.

Lewis McManus looked key to Northamptonshire’s survival. The diminutive wicketkeeper had provided stoic resistance in the first innings and did so again here with Broad proving an able ally. The pair chewed up 81 balls, adding 38 precious runs in the process.

The resistance forced Roland-Jones to return at the opposite end and he snared McManus with the last ball before tea which spat off the surface, took the shoulder of the bat and flew to gully.

Roland-Jones 10-fer in the match moment came after the resumption when he pinned Dominic Leech in front, and he’d finished with six, grabbing the last wicket, that of Broad, caught behind for 30.

Despite the small target, Sanderson remained a thorn in Middlesex’s side, trapping Mark Stoneman lbw before rearranging Max Holden’s furniture to rejoin Roland-Jones at the head of the Division two wicket-taker’s list with 37 victims.

Runs though flowed freely from the other end, courtesy of Robson, who unfurled a series of expansive drives, proving especially belligerent against Yuzvendra Chahal as he moved swiftly to 50.

Du Plooy was badly dropped in the deep off the Indian spinner when on 14, before Middlesex coasted home, Robson finishing 64 not out.  

 

Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones who took 11-107 in the match, the 6th 10-fer of his career said: "It's very pleasing to win given the amount of time we've had out of the game.

"We always feel the four-day game we have here has got a result in it, but given that time out it's really pleasing to force a result.

Coming into today we believed there was a route to a win and as collective we can be really pleased --with how we've gone about our work bat and ball in hand.

"We said before the game while this is a pitch where wickets can fall in clusters, it's also one where you feel like as long as you do the right things for long enough you can really break partnerships at any point. If you hit the pitch properly and bowl with good intent you should always feel in the game.

"In large part we bowled well in partnerships, maybe not perfect, but it was a huge improvement from our previous game. 

Sam made light work of the chase. He went out and hit the ball great from ball one and if you can play low risk shots with high reward you are in a pretty good place. It needed someone to grab the first 25 minutes of that chase and thankfully he did that really quickly and that knocked the stuffing out of them a little bit. 

"On his 11-107 he added: "As captain bowling the hard way up the hill probably shows a slightly dark side of myself. The wind was into your face up the hill but it was also going across and offered a good deal of movement away from the right-hander.

"It was a case of balancing who that would suit in different ways, but you definitely get more bounce up the hill and you don't want to get too prescriptive as to who bowls from what end. I swung myself around when I was more tired to come down the hill.

"I don't know how long I'm going to carry on.  I'm enjoying cricket at the moment and have had a nice run of wickets . I'm keen to keep pushing myself and for as long as I'm enjoying the game there will be absolutely no reason to stop."

 

 

Northamptonshire bowling coach Rory Kleinveldt said: "I think we came to the ground with a little bit of optimism  but as the day unfolded we found ourselves under a lot of pressure having to try and bat out the day and unfortunately we weren't able to do that.

"Justin Broad has bowled beautifully the last month or so but again dropping catches is not helping us. If we take our catches earlier in the game we could have had them under a little bit more pressure and been a little bit closer to them in the first innings. That has been our Achilles heel all summer. Dropping catches seems to be a bit of a plague in our team at the moment and something we need to address.

"No-one means to get out. We asked our batters this morning to play more positively but we lost a few early wickets and that put us on the back foot."

On Ben Sanderson's 8 wickets in the match: "Sando has been unbelievable again this summer for us. He has been a class act for us and hopefully he can keep doing that for a few more years."

 

 

Yorkshire vs Sussex,  Division Two, North Marine Road Ground, Scarborough

Yorkshire dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on a four-wicket Vitality County Championship victory over Division Two pacesetters Sussex at Scarborough during the fourth morning to boost their hopes of promotion. 

Resuming on 28 for two from 10 overs in pursuit of 103, the home side clinched a 21-point haul in exactly an hour’s play despite losing four wickets to off-spinner Jack Carson.

Opener Adam Lyth top-scored with 40 as Yorkshire claimed their third successive Championship victory dating back to June, consigning the league leaders to only a second defeat in 10 matches this season. Excellent Carson claimed his four consolatory wickets to finish with a career best nine for 120 in the match. 

Yorkshire, in third, started this fixture 27 points behind Sussex but are now only nine adrift with four rounds remaining.   

The White Rose county have won three Championship matches in a row for the first time since the early stages of 2021 when they beat Kent and Sussex away and Northamptonshire at Headingley.

Upon clinching victory, Yorkshire moved to second in the in-play Division Two table and would remain there later today should Middlesex fail to beat Northamptonshire at Merchant Taylors’ School.

Yorkshire and Middlesex face each other at Headingley from Thursday. Sussex, meanwhile, host Derbyshire at Hove next as they look to bounce back from a first defeat since May. 

Lyth set the tone in the day’s third over when he took back-to-back boundaries off Jaydev Unadkat’s left-arm seam - one flicked to fine-leg and the other cut through backward point. 

He then pulled Carson over midwicket and cut Ollie Robinson over backward point for sixes in the following two overs, taking the score to 59 for two. The writing was on the wall for Sussex.

They actually started the day minus three on the over-rate, with counties deducted a point for each over they are behind the rate.

So it was no surprise to see Carson employed early by captain John Simpson in a bid to speed things up. Realistically, improving that was their main target for the day, and they achieved it.

Although Lyth led the way, he was importantly helped out by nightwatchman Dan Moriarty, who contributed 17 to a third-wicket partnership of 51. 

They came together at 18 for two late on day three and extinguished Sussex’s slim hopes of a turnaround.

Moriarty, Yorkshire’s regular number 11, was lbw to Carson - 69 for three -   before the same bowler had Lyth caught behind down leg at the second attempt by Simpson with a further seven runs added to the total. 

Carson also trapped James Wharton lbw to bring Jonny Bairstow to the crease with only eight to win, and he holed out to deep midwicket for a two-ball duck. 

Captain Jonny Tattersall hit the winning runs.

Yorkshire coach Ottis Gibson said 

 

“We’re delighted. We lost a few wickets today, but it was a day four pitch with a bit of spin. I thought their spinner (Carson) bowled really well throughout the whole match.

“To get across the line is an amazing feeling because we’ve invested a lot in the game over the course of four days. 

“I think it was won with endeavour from all the players, especially the bowlers. Their effort across the two innings was fantastic. At no stage in the game did they get away from us. 

“Coady will get all the plaudits for his efforts yesterday, but all the seamers did well - even Dan Moriarty yesterday without getting any wickets, he was fantastic.

“I felt like we should have made more runs in the first innings, but some of our batting - Jonny Bairstow coming back in, young Will Luxton - was really good.

“I’ve been telling you for so long that it’s good as a coach to give young players opportunity. But it’s even better when they take them. Everybody made a contribution.

“We love welcoming our international players back. Certainly with Jonny - with Shan Masood going back to Pakistan (for the Test series) - it adds experience to our batting line-up.

“Jonny Bairstow in any batting line-up is a problem for the opposition. He got some runs this week, and hopefully next week at Headingley (Middlesex), he can make some more.”

 

Sussex coach Paul Farbrace said 

 

On Jonny Bairstow: “A bit frenetic with the innings he played. But it was typical Jonny. He came out, punched his chest out and showed the crowd how much he loves playing at Scarborough. 

“He’s a quality player, and I thought his keeping was excellent. He’s kept wicket really, really well. He kept well in both innings, but first in particular he looked very tidy and moved nicely. Look, he’s an outstanding cricketer isn’t he. 

“I’m not a selector, but Jonny Bairstow is a fantastic player who I don’t think we’ve seen the last of in international cricket by any means.”

 

On Ollie Robinson: “Oliver, who knows (whether he gets back in England team). 

“He hasn’t bowled brilliantly in this game because he hasn’t played for a few weeks. He’s the sort of bloke, a typical big-frame bowler who needs overs to find his rhythm. That’s what he’s been short of. There were a couple of overs at the start of their chase when he looked like he’d found his rhythm. He got that natural carry and bounce. 

“There’s a lot talked about with pace of bowlers, but he’s one who can operate in the high seventies because he’s so metronomic with the lines and lengths he bowls. It’s a bit like Coady. He’s the sort of bowler who never misses his length. That’s something Oliver has done really well. But it’s up to them whether they want him back in the (England) team or not.”

 

 

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