Vitality County Championship 2024, Round 12, Day 1, 29th Aug -1st Sept Live Streaming, Latest Scores, Match Reports – All Matches – Division 1 and 2

Here are all the latest scores, match reports and news for the Vitality County Championship 2024, Division 1 and 2 - 29th Aug - 1st Sept

Round 12 Thursday 29th August

Division One

Essex vs Worcestershire,  The Cloud County Ground.

Jamie Porter blitzed a hole in the Worcestershire upper-order to return his second Vitality County Championship five-wicket haul of the season before Essex let slip their early advantage on day one.

  Essex had Worcestershire 10-4 inside five overs – Porter and Sam Cook sharing the four wickets in a 13-ball spree – then 46-5 in 12 overs, before the tail wagged and the visitors reached a more respectable 266 all out shortly after a late tea.

  Porter, the joint leading wicket-taker in division one, finished with 5-52 from 17 overs of controlled aggression on a flat Chelmsford pitch that later played to the strengths of Simon Harmer. The South Africa off-spinner marked his 100th red-ball appearance for Essex with a trio of lower-order victims for figures of 3-103.

  Captain Brett D’Oliveira sparked the Worcestershire recovery after electing to bat with a patient 136-ball 68, supported in important stands by Ethan Brooks (46) and Tom Taylor (62 not out), the later aided by Amra Virdi in keeping Essex in the field with a last-wicket stand of 64. Essex had knocked off 50 of the deficit for the loss of Dean Elgar in 19 evening overs.

  Porter struck with his ninth ball when he got one to jag in and take Jack Libby’s off-stump. After opening-ball partner Sam Cook removed Gareth Roderick in the next over, lbw to one that thudded into his back foot, Porter claimed two wickets in three deliveries.

  Both wickets fell to catches behind, Rob Jones playing down the wrong line and taken low down by Michael Pepper, and Adam Hose followed to a tentative push against one that swung away.

  Two partnerships involving D’Oliveira went some way to repairing the damage as the Kookaburra ball lost its initial hardness. He enjoyed a seven-over interlude between wickets while adding 36 with Kashif Ali. Ali had watched three colleagues depart, but then hit his stride with five boundaries in a run-a-ball 24 before he dragged on when Porter returned after a brief rest.

  D’Oliveira next found support in a 72-run sixth-wicket stand with Brookes. But the captain was fortunate to survive a sharp chance to Elgar at slip in the over before lunch when Matt Critchley got a second successive ball to jump almost vertically off the pitch.

  Brookes, meanwhile, was no respecter of reputation and went after Harmer, twice reverse-sweeping the off-spinner to the boundary. He accelerated after lunch, adding three more to his collection of nine fours in a 73-ball 46, before dangling his bat and becoming Porter’s 39th scalp of the season.

  Harmer finally joined the party in his 14th over when he induced Logan van Beek to drive lazily straight back to him. He followed up four overs later by ending D’Oliveira’s 59-run eighth-wicket stand with Taylor, trapping him lbw, and then accounting for Joe Leach by the same method shortly afterwards.

  However, from 202-9, the last-wicket pair collected a hitherto unlikely batting point. Virdi played particularly straight, hitting the majority of his 42 runs in the arc between long-on and long-off, including two towering sixes off Harmer. The innings came to an end five overs before the new-ball was due when the Surrey loanee clipped Shane Snater to square leg.

  Essex lost Elgar lbw to Taylor to the last ball before the close after he and Robin Das had been largely untroubled. They will have Jordan Cox available to bat later after he was released by England once the team had been confirmed following the toss at Lord’s, though Noah Thain had been named in the initial Essex XI in case Cox was retained.

 

Jamie Porter spoke after the 19 th five-wickets haul of his career: “I’m very happy with that, it’s obviously not easy for a seamer to get five wickets here these days, so yes, I’m delighted.

  “I think the day has gone pretty well for us apart from that frustrating partnership at the end but to bowl them out for 266 on that wicket, we’ll take that. Hats off to that partnership especially Virds (Amir Virdi) but I think it shows that are a lot of runs to get out there.

  “Now we need to bat long and well and hopefully, that should go a long way towards getting us the win. It’s a pretty typical Essex wicket really: slow. The new ball did a bit early on then the heavy roller ended that. It is a bit of a grind for bowlers but hopefully, it will spin later.

  “I prefer the Kookaburra ball especially here at Chelmsford, the flatter seam makes the ball carry so I think  it’s a better ball for me on this ground. Here, I prefer the Kookaburra to the Dukes here, I’ve had so many nicks off in the three matches here where we have used the Kookaburra than I have with the Dukes games we have played in between.”

 

Ethan Brookes, qho came in with Worcestershire 46-5 and helped the recovery with 46, said:

“When you find yourself 10-4 and end up how we did [266] it showed a fantastic fightback from the boys. It was real credit to everyone.

  “I think you have to put the situation to the back of your head. I batted with Dolly last week [when he scored a maiden fifty] and he really calms me down very well. He just manages me. We spoke about our plans and trying to fight back and be really positive. I thought we did that and got ourselves into a nice position after we kicked on.

  “I was as nervous as anything before I went out, but once you cross the rope … and having Dolly there helped. He’s probably been in that situation countless times. He’s the perfect person to bat with. It makes you really focused on moving well, playing the ball late and putting a high price on your wicket.

  “They’re a class attack and you can find yourself under a lot of pressure against them. It was a case of trying to be proactive. I favoured the reverse-sweeps today just because there could be one with your name on it on that wicket and I wanted to be as positive as possible and as clear as you can.

  “When I made my debut for Worcestershire Simon Harmer got me out for zero so there was a bit of that ringing in my head, but my plan going in to face him was the reverse-sweep. He is relentless where he puts the ball and it’s a shot I am very confident with. You know he is a bowler who’s very accurate and you you get a good picture of where the ball is going to be and you can put your plan according to that.

  “We were nowhere near getting a batting point and slowly the last-wicket pair get us closer and everyone gets engaged. It’s just momentum and you try to take it with you when you go out and field.”

 

Lancashire vs Hampshire,  Emirates Old Trafford.

Hampshire’s Fletcha Middleton made his second century of the season but his team could do no better that share the spoils with relegation-threatened Lancashire on the first day of their Vitality County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.

Middleton made 109 and shared a second-wicket partnership of 151 with Nick Gubbins, only for the home side to take six wickets in the evening session and leave the visitors on 330 for nine at the close.

However, having asked Hampshire to bat first and using a Kookaburra ball on a pitch offering them little obvious help, Lancashire’s bowlers will surely be pleased to have fought back against opponents who had been 158 for one in mid-afternoon.

Tom Aspinwall was the most successful of the quicker bowlers with three for 96 but leg-spinner Luke Wells matched his contribution with three for 69 from 19 overs.  

Opener Toby Albert was caught by George Bell off Aspinwall for six in the fourth over of the day but Hampshire’s second-wicket pair dominated the rest of the first session and came into lunch on 80 for one after 30 overs.

Middleton and Gubbins continued to milk the Lancashire attack in the afternoon session. Gubbins reached his fifty off 122 balls with seven fours and Middleton the same landmark off 96 but with two fewer boundaries.

Indeed, the pair looked  set to threaten the second-wicket records for matches between these counties when Gubbins was caught at the wicket off Wells for 75 to end his stand with Middleton on 151.

Hampshire skipper James Vince cover-drove his first ball for four but came yards down the wicket to Tom Hartley in the next over and skied a catch to Josh Bohannon at short-extra cover. Vince’s dismissal for five left the visitors on 165 for three and it was left to Middleton and Ben Brown to guide their side to 203 without further loss at tea.

Middleton hit two fours in the space of four balls off Aspinwall and then tucked the next delivery from the Lancashire seamer backward of square for a single to reach his century off 173 balls with 13 fours.

A quarter of an hour later, though, he inside-edged an attempted drive off Wells into his stumps and that began a poor half-hour for Hampshire, who lost three wickets for 14 runs in nine overs.

Lancashire took the new ball as soon as it became available and Aspinwall struck twice in successive overs with it. Having made 40, Brown pulled the 20-year-old straight to Wells at square-leg and Tom Prest lasted just nine balls before he was caught by Venkatesh Iyer at backward point for one.

Three overs from the close James Fuller was caught behind off George Balderson for 23 and Kyle Abbott was then leg before wicket for a three-ball duck in the same over. And next over there was even more success for Lancashire when John Turner was leg before to his first ball, thus giving Wells his third wicket of the day. Liam Dawson hit Wells for a six and a four off the last two balls of the day to finish on 46 not out.    

Lancashire left out Phil Salt, who is nursing a slight back injury, and also Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood, both of whom are “managing their workloads” after The Hundred and before next week’s T20 quarter-final against Sussex

Fletcha Middleton, Hampshire batter, said:

“I think we were pretty happy when we got into tea on 203 for three but that last session gave away a lot of the hard work we’d done. It was probably not the greatest day in the end and the game is probably in Lancashire’s favour.

“It wasn’t easy at the start. There were balls that bounced an extra bit and there was extra nip. Once the ball went soft, things were a little more attritional and we just waited for Lancashire to bowl a bad ball.

“I wasn’t feeling too good up to lunch and I changed my bat in the interval and felt better after that. To come out after lunch and bat as I did was very nice. I didn’t know that my dad had got a hundred here, so that’s nice to follow in his footsteps.

The Kookaburra swings a little bit more than the Dukes at the start and then it does go very soft. The first hour is always very important but particularly so with the Kookaburra.

 

Luke Wells, Lancashire leg-spinner, said:

 

“I think that’s a pretty decent day for us. When they got that partnership together it looked like they might get a match-defining score. Potentially it could have got to a point where we couldn’t win the game.

“But we plugged away really well and there were a couple of soft dismissals from their point of view that helped us. Credit to our boys, we did everything we could on a pretty good surface and with a Kookaburra ball that did get soft but we tried at all times to do something to try and take a wicket whether it was trying to get the ball to reverse or spinners trying to attack.

“Things didn’t go our way last week very well and after the first wicket it didn’t look like things weren’t going to go well again. We have a young bowling attack, Bails hasn’t played first-class cricket for a while and I thought we plugged away really well.

“There was not much sideways movement off the pitch but I’m not a big lateral spinner of the ball. I rely more on bounce, changes in pace and try and bowl my googly well.  I’m not often used to bowl at the top order, I’m more used as a bowler to mop up the tail so I had to do the hard yards today!

“I was pretty happy with how I bowled, and happy with the wickets.”

 

 

Nottinghamshire vs Surrey, Trent Bridge.

Rory Burns followed his double-hundred against Lancashire last week with 161 as champions-elect Surrey ended day one of their Vitality County Championship match against Nottinghamshire on 339 for five.

But by the close of proceedings at Trent Bridge, the Surrey skipper found himself pushed out of the spotlight by 16-year-old off-spinner Farhan Ahmed, who not only claimed the wicket of Burns and two more Test players in Ben Foakes and Will Jacks, but finished a sensational first day in Championship cricket with figures of four for 69 from 28 overs.

The younger brother of Leicestershire and England prodigy Rehan Ahmed, at the age of 16 years and 189 days, Farhan is the youngest first-class player in Nottinghamshire’s history.  Earlier this month, he set another record on his first-class debut as the youngest player to be selected for England Lions when they faced Sri Lanka at Worcester.

Nonetheless, with half-centuries from Jacks and Ryan Patel against a depleted and relegation-threatened Nottinghamshire side, the defending champions and runaway Division One leaders are in a good position as they seek to edge closer to a third consecutive title.

The home side - their options reduced by injuries, a Test call-up for Olly Stone and, in the case of Dane Paterson, paternity leave, also gave a first-class debut to 23-year-old pace bowler Rob Lord.

Ahmed, whose selection displaced Cris Tinley as the youngest first-class player in the Nottinghamshire record books 177 years since the latter made his debut at 16 years 288 days in 1847, was trusted to enter the attack as early as the seventh over, by which time it was already clear that it was not a pitch for persevering with seamers, especially with the Kookaburra ball.

Unfazed by being swept for six and four by Burns, Ahmed was unlucky not to claim the Surrey skipper as his maiden Championship wicket before the visitors reached lunch at 88 for one, having the left-hander perilously close to being caught at slip on 36 and at midwicket on 41.

Lord, who has played national counties cricket for Cheshire and signed a short-term contract with Nottinghamshire last month, took the only wicket to fall in the session as Dom Sibley was caught at second slip, the ball glancing off the opener’s bat as he swayed out of the path of a rising delivery.

Burns completed his fifty from 104 balls soon after lunch before surviving a confident appeal for leg before by Ahmed on 78. It was not the most fluent innings he has played, his hundred coming up off a streaky inside edge off seamer Lyndon James that ran away for his eighth four, but his stand of 175 for the second wicket with Ryan Patel put Surrey in a commanding position on 203 for two at tea.

Patel had been caught behind for 77, a well-deserved maiden Championship wicket for Ahmed, who asked questions of the batters consistently and was rewarded when he straightened one enough from round the wicket to find the edge.

Patel was a first victim behind the stumps for Nottinghamshire’s latest overseas recruit, the South African Test wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne.

There was a heavy workload, too, for left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White and, on only his second first-class appearance, a busy day for Freddie McCann, the 19-year-old top-order batter, who also bowls off-spin.

Burns clubbed McCann for his third six shortly before reaching 150, prompting Nottinghamshire to take the new ball after 84 overs, although it was only two overs old when they turned again to Ahmed, who was lofted down the ground by Burns for his fourth maximum but then dismissed Burns and Ben Foakes with consecutive deliveries.

A catch at wide mid-on accounted for Burns as the erstwhile England opener attempted to clear the ropes again before Foakes, capped as recently as March this year, prodded outside off-stump and was caught behind.

Jacks survived the hat-trick ball but after hitting Ahmed for his third six he was caught on the long-off boundary to give the youngster his fourth scalp.

Surrey skipper Rory Burns, who made 161, said:

“I’m hitting the ball pretty well and it is nice to get two big scores back to back. It was a pretty slow surface and that made it tricky at times, particularly against the spinners, but hopefully that means there will be something there for our spinners when they bat.

“We lost a few wickets close to the end but that’s just the ebbs and flows of a game with the Kookaburra ball. It can seem like there is not much going on but sometimes it just takes one wicket and a couple more follow quickly on from it.

“Of course, you always would prefer to have a few more wickets in the shade but we feel we are in a good position to push on tomorrow and make a big score.

“I thought the young lad Farhan bowled really well. He had really good control and against someone of his height, and with the pace he bowls at, it is difficult to score off the back foot against him. He made it difficult at times.”

Nottinghamshire spin bowling coach Ant Botha said:

“It is a tough pitch with not much in it for the seamers but the way we stuck at it the wickets we had later in the day were a just reward. We have a few players missing but it is a wonderful opportunity for the likes of Rob Lord, Freddie McCann and Farhan Ahmed to show what they can do.

“We’ve seen that today from Farhan. For a 16-year-old, to bowl a spell like that against the champions was so impressive. He has a wonderful temperament, high skill levels and has the ability to bowl at a man’s pace at 16, which you don’t often see.

“There are no real mystery balls. He has one or two in his locker but it was mainly subtle changes of pace and a great level of off-spin bowling on a pitch that was not exactly exploding. He had a wonderful energy on the ball for the whole day.  You could have mistaken that spell as coming from a tried-and-tested bowler with a hundred Test caps and he deserved those wickets.

“The reality is that we are in a fight now. We have played some really good cricket at times this year and it is a tough one to take to find ourselves in the position we are in, but it is a league where you can be two wins away from the top three but two defeats away from the bottom three.

“We now have to find a next level of desperation, really, to win games because we are too good a side in my opinion to be in that position.”




Somerset vs Durham, Cooper Associates County Ground

Tom Abell made it back-to-back centuries at Taunton as Somerset ran up 395 for six on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship First Division game with Durham.

Having hit a career-best unbeaten 152 in the previous home game against Warwickshire, Abell scored 124 off 181 balls, with 18 fours, sharing a stand of 185 with Tom Banton (73), which was a record for Somerset’s fourth wicket against Durham.

James Rew was unbeaten on 89 at the close, while there were two wickets each for Daniel Hogg and Callum Parkinson.

Somerset gave a first class debut to all-rounder Archie Vaughan, the 18-year-old son of former England captain Michael Vaughan, following his appearances in this season’s Metro Bank One Day Cup.

Skipper Lewis Gregory returned after injury for the home side and won what looked an important toss, electing to bat first on a pitch expected to take spin. He then saw his team make the worst possible start as Andy Umeed edged the first ball of the match from Ben Raine straight to Ashton Turner at second slip.

It was 25 for two when Tom Lammonby was hurried by a steeply rising ball from Hogg and could only fend a simple catch to Ben McKinney at mid-wicket. But Lewis Goldsworthy, promoted to open with Umeed, soon looked at ease and Abell appeared in excellent touch from the start of his innings.

That was demonstrated by two sweetly-struck back-foot boundaries through the covers off the same Bas de Leede over as the pair took the score to 68 in the 16th over before Goldsworthy was caught behind for 38, edging a delivery from Brydon Carse, back after serving three months of a suspension for historical betting violations.

Spin was introduced at 72 for three when Parkinson began operating from the River End. When George Drissell took over, Banton greeted him with a towering six over long-on and soon he and Abell had added 50 off 86 balls, taking the total to 120 for three at lunch.

The partnership flourished in warm afternoon sunshine at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Abell going to a 92-ball half-century and Banton following to the same landmark off 73 deliveries, surviving one scare when a miscued pull shot off Carse landed between two converging fielders.

Abell looked in total control, timing the ball well on both sides of the wicket. A pulled single off de Leede took him to three figures off 148 deliveries, with 16 fours, before a cut for two off Parkinson took the stand with Banton to 172, beating the previous Somerset record fourth-wicket partnership against Durham, the 170 put together by current club chief executive Jamie Cox and James Hildreth at Taunton in 2004.

Just when it seemed the pair would bat through the afternoon session, Parkinson took a hand, dismissing both with turning deliveries, now bowling from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End. First Abell edged to Scott Borthwick at second slip and the left-arm spinner struck again in his next over, with Banton falling in identical fashion, having faced 129 balls and hit 7 fours and a six.

Somerset were 260 for five at tea. Vaughan scored his first Championship runs off the second ball of the final session with a leg glance off Parkinson and was soon sharing another profitable stand with Rew, who cleared the ropes over long-on off the same bowler.

By the time the second new ball was taken after 80 overs, Rew, the senior partner at the age of 20, was on 42 and Vaughan 28, having added 66 together in rapid time. The teenager fell for 30 with the total on 328, lbw to a full delivery from Hogg, but could reflect on a more than handy debut knock.

Rew tucked Raine off his legs for a boundary to reach a fluent fifty off 71 balls. It was the consistent left-hander’s third half century in his last six Championship innings, which also included two scores of 49.

Soon he was striking Carse majestically through the off side for three boundaries in an over as Somerset finished the day on a high, Kasey Aldridge contributing 12 to an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 67.

 

 

Somerset centurion Tom Abell said: “It was a good day for us. Winning the toss and batting first, there is always pressure to make it count and you have to try and win the first session.

“We got ourselves into a pretty good position and the way James Rew played at the end, with complete freedom, has turned it into a great position.

“It’s a used pitch and if you bowl well there is a little bit of spin. But if you apply yourself with the bat there are runs to be made. It’s also important to have a game plan to combat the spin.

“Batting is a funny thing. You go through waves of feeling good about your game and there are other times when you don’t feel great. I’m very happy with my scores recently, but equally aware that you are never far from a couple of bad ones.

“It’s difficult to compare different innings. Today it was a very good pitch to bat on and the ball didn’t do a great deal, apart from a bit of reverse swing at times. It’s a quick scoring ground and I managed to get into a good rhythm.”

 

Durham spinner Callum Parkinson said: “Ultimately, it was a pretty disappointing day. The lads put in a lot of effort and there are some tired bodies in the dressing room, but Somerset scored freely and we weren’t able to string periods of pressure together.

“We would have batted first had we won the toss. But we made a great start with the ball and had them three down quite quickly. It was disappointing not to cash in on that.

“I didn’t think we bowled well enough for large periods, But Tom Abell and Tom Banton played well and James Rew counter-punched at the end against some tired bodies.

“It was a key time after tea when if we had taken a couple more wickets before the new ball we might have opened up an end. Somerset bat deep and still have Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton in the shed, so we need to be better tomorrow.

“There was some turn. I bowled well in patches and poorly in others, which summed up the day. Now we need to get Rewy out early in the morning because he is the one who can really hurt us.

“The Kookaburra ball just doesn’t stay in a reasonable condition. By the 65th over it’s like you have been giving it to your dog. But that is no excuse because we didn’t put it in the right areas enough.

“It was great to have Brydon Carse back. He showed a bit of rustiness and fatigue towards the end, but also bowled some high class deliveries. It has been a difficult couple of months for him, but he is a massive asset to us and hopefully England going forward.”

Warwickshire vs Kent, Edgbaston.

Kent’s lurch towards Vitality Championship relegation continued as they were bowled out for 156 by Warwickshire on the opening day of their Division One relegation battle at Edgbaston.

Having collected just nine batting points from ten games, Kent were skittled in just 39.5 overs by the seamers before the home side eased past them to reach 207 for three at the close.

Michael Booth (three for 13), Olly Hannon-Dalby (three for 31) and Chris Rushworth (three for 43) dismantled a Kent batting order in which only Ben Compton (70, 103 balls) and Joey Evison (28, 44) reached double figures. If Compton had not been badly dropped on one, Kent’s implosion would have been complete.

Warwickshire completed their excellent day by moving 51 ahead with seven wickets intact, Will Rhodes compiling a measured unbeaten 82 (134 balls) to build a perfect platform for a belated first championship win of the season.

Warwickshire chose to wield the Kookaburra ball first and took just four balls to strike with it. Tawanda Muyeye, fresh from 211 against Worcestershire at Canterbury last week, sliced the first ball from Hannon-Dalby to the third man boundary and edged the fourth, a perfectly-pitched outswinger, to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.

Muyeye copped an unplayable delivery, but Daniel Bell-Drummond was culpable five overs later when he edged a footwork-free waft at Rushworth to third slip. When Jack Leaning edged Hannon-Dalby to first slip, Kent were in distress at 44 for three. They would have been in total disarray if Compton had not been reprieved by Rhodes at fourth slip off Rushworth.

Compton and Evison added 57 in 13 overs before the vestige of resistance was torpedoed by a collapse just before lunch. Evison (29, 49) edged Ed Barnard to Burgess and Booth took three wickets in 11 balls to gallop to career-best figures. Harry Finch and Charlie Stobo edged to Burgess and Grant Stewart miscued to point.

Compton reached a defiant half-century from 74 balls but lost an eighth partner when Matt Parkinson edged Rushworth behind and a ninth when Alfie Ogborne sliced Hannon-Dalby low to second slip. Compton was within sight of carrying his bat when he pulled Hannon-Dalby to square leg to supply the bowler with his 500^th wicket in all formats for Warwickshire.

If Kent looked devoid of confidence with the bat, they did so equally with the ball as Warwickshire openers Rob Yates (40, 53) and Alex Davies (37, 35) added 62 in 11 overs.  Somerset loanee Ogborne trapped Davies lbw and Yates edged former Bears team-mate George Garrett behind but Rhodes and Hain, with tons of time and the weather forecast excellent for the duration of this match, added a sedate 94 in 30 overs. Hain played on to the impressively persevering Ogborne but Rhodes is within 18 runs of his 11th first class century.

For Kent, this miserable season can’t end soon enough. Warwickshire are charging towards a win that will pretty much ensure they don’t join the south-eastern county through the trapdoor to Division Two next month.

Warwickshire bowler Olly Hannon-Dalby said:

"We are really happy to have bowled Kent out for 150-ish. A lot has been made about the Kookaburra ball but there is actually quite a lot of swing early on with the Kookaburra and we saw that this morning. The swing tends to dissipate quite quickly with the Kookaburra, a bit like with the white ball, so it was nice that it swung early on and we managed to nick a few out.

"Then Michael Booth took three quick wickets. He is a very promising young bowler who bowls with great pace and has a good work ethic so for him to get a career-best and sort of turn the game was great.

"Then our batters did a really good job. Yatesy and Davo gave us a great start and then Rhodesy batted brilliantly and really patiently. Hopefully we can pile on the runs tomorrow and get a nice big lead.". .

 

Kent batter Ben Compton said:

"The scoreboard reflects the day quite accurately. We found ourselves in trouble early and lost wickets regularly. 

"Credit to them, they put the ball in the right place. Kookaburra ball or not, if you do that you can get an edge or take wickets.

"It's always nice to contribute to the team and I really enjoyed getting stuck in and trying to get us to some sort of a total when our backs were against the wall. 

"Unfortunately it was pretty much one-way traffic. We need to have a big day tomorrow to try and claw ourselves back. All we can do is give it our best."

Division Two

Glamorgan vs Leicestershire, Sophia Gardens.

Timm van der Gugten was the pick of the Glamorgan bowling, grabbing the first four Leicestershire wickets to fall, while Dan Douthwaite also chipped in with four wickets to justify the decision to bowl first.

Leicestershire fast bowler Chris Wright made his first class return from a drugs ban to help his side to a batting bonus point, his side recovering to 251 all out on the hybrid, partially synthetic, pitch in Cardiff.

Wright, who was banned for nine months but found not be at fault after a banned substance was contained in a fruit supplement, combined with debutant Sam Wood and Tom Scriven as the last two wickets added 75 runs.

Glamorgan lost both openers early in reply, but moved onto 114-2 at the close with Colin Ingram, 63 not out, and Kiran Carlson, 42 not out, putting on an unbroken partnership of 87 to put their side in the driving seat.

After winning the toss and inserting Leicestershire in overcast and drizzly conditions, Glamorgan would have been hoping for an early breakthrough, which was delivered from a familiar source.

Timm van der Gugten has been the spearhead of the Glamorgan attack this season and he delivered once again, taking all three wickets to fall before the lunch break with arrow-like accuracy.

He bowled opener Rishi Patel for 7 with a delivery which clipped the top of off stump, then fellow opener Ian Holland played on with one which jagged back slightly when on 13.

The Dutchman returned to have a spell just before lunch and added a third, this time LBW as captain Lewis Hill did not get far enough forward to depart for 25.

Ned Leonard, on loan from Somerset, should have had a wicket when Indian star Ajinkya Rahane top edged a pull shot, but deep midwicket Dan Douthwaite was slow coming forward and ended up spilling the low chance.

It was the ever-reliable van der Gugten who brought the downfall of Rahane, finding the outside edge after lunch and helped by a sharp catch at second slip by captain Sam Northeast.

After looking good, England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed gave things away when he lifted a short ball from Douthwaite straight to Billy Root on the deep square leg boundary.

Then out of the blue Australian Peter Handscomb went for 46, trying to dab Douthwaite down to third man but instead just feathering a catch to wicketkeeper Chris Cooke.

Then New Zealander Fraser Sheat got into the act with his first wicket in county cricket, a rather tame dismissal of Liam Trevaskis who chipped the ball to mid-on.

The tame-ness was copied by Louis Kimber who also chipped the ball in the air, aiming a leg side half volley at catcher Asa Tribe off the bowling of Douthwaite.

That brought Sam Wood to make his debut in confident style as he and Tom Scriven put on a half century partnership, Wright and Wood doing the rest to reach the first batting bonus point.

Glamorgan’s innings could not have got off to a worse start, captain Sam Northeast promoting himself to open and then departing first ball of the innings, caught behind by Handscomb from the bowling of Holland.

The same bowler accounted for debutant Asa Tribe, who played on for 4. Colin Ingram, 63 not out, and Kiran Carlson, 42 not out, saw out the rest of the day’s play to put Glamorgan in a strong position.

 

Glamorgan all rounder Dan Douthwaite took four wickets. "We are in a good position. I think Colin (Ingram) and Kiran (Carlson) batted really well in the last hour to put us in a strong position and special mention to Timmy (ven der Gugten) and the way he bowled this morning, having them four down and he took all four, showing us how to bowl with a Kookaburra  ball on that pitch - so he was really special."

Leicestershire debutant Sam Wood said: "It was nice to put on a partnership with Tom (Scriven), it was good to get us in a position when we almost had the momentum with us a little bit as we just wresteled the game back. It is a good pitch more of a new ball pitch, and with these Kookaburra balls it is always going to be the case. Hopefully the seamers and spinners can take some early wickets tomorrow."

Gloucestershire vs Northamptonshire, Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol

The Vitality County Championship Second Division match between Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire was abandoned owing to concerns from the umpires over player safety on a hybrid pitch.

Umpires Chris Watts and Sue Redfern called a halt early on in the final session after Northants batsmen Ricardo Vasconcelos and Rob Keogh had been struck blows on the hand by Gloucestershire paceman Ajeet Singh Dale and retired hurt. 

Northants were 116-2 in reply to Gloucestershire's 125 when the contest was abandoned at 5pm, the umpires consulting with both captains before leading the players from the pitch and then holding a consultation with groundstaff to explain their decision.

Watts and Redfern then talked with match referee Jason Swift before contacting ECB pitch inspectors at Lord's to seek advice. The decision was then taken to abandon the match.

Gloucestershire scored in excess of 500 runs on a neighbouring pitch against Leicestershire earlier in the week, but were unceremoniously shot out in just 36.1 overs on this occasion. The county deployed a hybrid pitch for their home Championship match against Middlesex in May without any issues arising. But this was an altogether different set of circumstances, with Vasconcelos being taken to hospital with a suspected broken finger.

When Keogh was struck during the final session, the umpires, concerned for the safety of the batsmen, made their intervention. Northants will collect 11 points for a draw, including three bowling bonus points, but Gloucestershire will receive none. It remains to be seen whether or not the county will face any further sanction.

The umpires issued a brief statement, which read: "The match has been abandoned because there was a foreseeable risk to the batters. In the opinion of the umpires, it would be unreasonable to continue."

Justin Broad had reason to feel aggrieved, having produced a career-best bowling performance to put the skids under Gloucestershire. In the absence of pace spearheads Ben Sanderson and Jack White, both rested ahead of next week's Vitality Blast quarter-final against Somerset, batting all-rounder Broad was handed the new ball and returned startling figures of 7-33 in 15.1 overs with seven maidens.

Of the Gloucestershire batsmen, only Ollie Price managed to cope with exaggerated nip and seam off the pitch, top-scoring with 52 and staging a stand of 60 for the fifth wicket with Graeme van Buuren, whose dismissal for 40 sparked a collapse which saw the home side lose their last six wickets for 22 runs in 11.1 overs.

Despite having to field a weakened attack, Procter did not hesitate to bowl first on a green-tinged surface and it proved an exceedingly good toss to win, Gloucestershire losing openers Cameron Bancroft and Ben Charlesworth inside six overs as Broad and his captain made the new ball talk. 

Although Broad boasted just 11 wickets at 43 apiece in 13 previous first-class matches, he looked the part when persuading a length ball to straighten up and clip the top of Bancroft's off stump. Having scored a maiden double hundred in his last innings, Charlesworth was brought down to earth with a bump when pushing tentatively at an angled delivery from Procter and offering a straightforward catch to second slip.

Procter struck again in his next over, Miles Hammond swishing at a ball outside off stump and nicking to second slip as Gloucestershire slipped to 16-3. Unlike Hammond, the in-form James Bracey could not be held accountable for his dismissal, the Championship's leading run scorer being unfortunately run out when Dom Leach diverted an Ollie Price drive onto the stumps with the batsman at the non-striker's end backing up.

Price and van Buuren enjoyed better fortune against the change bowlers, the latter taking on Gus Miller with a top-edged hook that went for six and then twice pulling Leach to the mid-wicket boundary to afford the innings momentum.

But van Buuren flirted with danger and was twice dropped on 25 and 30 before pursuing a wide delivery and feathering a catch to second slip to gift Broad his second wicket. The South African's dismissal for a run-a-ball 40 with the score on 93 sparked a calamitous collapse, Tom Price falling lbw to Broad in the final over before lunch, which was taken with the hosts on 113-6. Gloucestershire's slide continued unchecked after the interval, Zafar Gohar shouldering arms to a straight one from Broad, who then pinned Ollie Price lbw for an 85-ball 52 to register his maiden five-wicket haul.

Broad then accounted for tailenders Dom Goodman and Zaman Akhter in quick succession on his way to achieving the best figures of any Northants bowler in matches at Bristol since George Thompson took 8-14 in 1910.

Batting continued to be a hazardous affair when Northants replied. Prithvi Shaw and Vasconcelos staged an opening partnership of 50 in 11.1 overs, only for the latter to then edge a catch behind off Singh Dale. Vasconcelos advanced his score to 21 before retiring hurt, after which Procter and Keogh added an unbeaten 49 for the third wicket.

 

 

Sussex vs Derbyshire, 1st Central County Ground.

Australian Daniel Hughes made 144 as second division leaders Sussex established a strong position after day one against Derbyshire at Hove.

Derbyshire elected to bowl first then saw Hughes and Tom Haines put on 196 in just 36 overs. Haines made 72 and after Hughes departed Tom Alsop hit an unbeaten 69 as Sussex closed on 391 for 4.

It was just the response they would have wanted after losing only their second game of the season to promotion rivals Yorkshire last week.

They began the game six points clear of second-placed Middlesex and nine ahead of Yorkshire, who are playing each other at Headingley, but three of their remaining four matches are at the 1st Central County Ground where they won three out of four this season and know the conditions well.

Once again there was a good covering of grass on the pitch which would have influenced Derbyshire skipper David Lloyd's decision to insert Sussex but his seamers, armed with the Kookaburra ball which is being used for the next two rounds of Vitality County Championship fixtures, struggled for consistency, particularly before lunch, and Hughes and Haines cashed in.

It wasn’t until deep into the second session, when spinners David Lloyd and Jack Morley operated in tandem, that the run rate dipped below five an over but by then Sussex had taken control.  

Hughes offered one chance on 35 when he drove at Zak Chappell, but Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen couldn’t hold on to the edge diving to his right at second slip, and by lunch the two left-handers had plundered 161 from 28 overs, targeting the short boundary on the scoreboard side.

Hughes duly eased to the ninth first-class hundred of his career just after lunch and it was a surprise when he fell for 144 off 142 balls. South African Daryn Dupavillon had bowled a wide earlier in the over when he speared another delivery outside off stump which Hughes could have ignored, but instead under-edged to keeper Brooke Guest. Hughes hit 18 fours and three sixes, but it was a somewhat tame end to an excellent innings by the 35-year-old from Sydney, who has already confirmed that he will return to Sussex next season. It was also the 1500th century scored against Derbyshire in all formats.

Haines had already departed for a fluent 72 when Chappell tempted him into a loose drive and this time Madsen held on at slip while Tom Clark, one of the five left-handers in Sussex’s top six, squandered a promising start when left-armer spinner Morley found extra bounce and the edge looped to slip high off the bat.

But by then Tom Alsop was easing to his seventh half-century of the season as he added 66 for the fourth wicket with James Coles, who looked untroubled until he played across the line to off-spinner Lloyd. Alsop has yet to convert any of those fifties into a hundred but he won’t have a better opportunity when he resumes tomorrow, having so far put on 39 for the fifth wicket with captain John Simpson, who was dropped by Madsen off Dupavillon on 21 late in the day.

Sussex opener Daniel Hughes, who made 144, said: "There was a little bit of swing at the start but the ball was coming on nicely, we got away with a few early boundaries and the best way for both of us to play is positively and by showing intent and when we walked off at lunch it was very pleasing to have put the team in such a good position. We wanted to start this game well because as a team in the last game [at Yorkshire] it took us a couple of days to get going and if you do that the game is pretty much gone. We haven't won the game yet but we have put ourselves in a good position tomorrow to go and get another couple of batting points and push on from there. 

"I did think for an over or two that I might be able to score a hundred before lunch because you don't get opportunities like that very often, but they bowled pretty tightly towards the end of that session. I felt good. It's a nice wicket to bat on so when we go and bowl we can come up with some plans." 

 

Derbyshire skipper David Lloyd said: "The first two sessions were disappointing. There was a bit of grass on but we thought it was one of those wickets where we'd get the most out of it in the first hour or so but we didn't really execute our plans, although in the last session we pulled it back very well. It was nice to finish with a bit of fight. It was one of those days when it wouldn't have been a bad toss to lose but fair play to Hughes and Haines, they took it away from us in the first session. Once we got those two out we slowed down the rate which was pleasing."

Yorkshire vs Middlesex, Headingley.

England’s Jonny Bairstow scored his first first-class century in a little over two years as Yorkshire had much the better of the opening day of their Vitality County Championship promotion battle with Middlesex at Headingley. 

Bairstow, 34, has struggled for form of late and, within the last two months, has been dropped from all England sides. But he refuses to be written off, as this excellent 107 not out off 130 balls suggests.

He underpinned Yorkshire’s 372 for five from 96 overs and was supported by half-centuries for Adam Lyth and George Hill. Impressive Luke Hollman returned three for 99 from 27 overs of leg-spin. 

Yorkshire started this game, the 11th of 14, in third-place in Division Two - three points behind Middlesex in second. Both won their respective fixtures last week.

Having won the reverse fixture at Lord’s in April, Middlesex knew that completing the double would give them a stranglehold on the race for a return to the top flight. But they have significant work to do.

Most cricket lovers will know that when Bairstow has a point to prove, he’s at his most dangerous.

And, having been discarded by England, he had some reminding to do.

This was his also first first-class century for Yorkshire since May 2016. 

Yorkshire started nicely, with first-class debutant Noah Cornwell, Middlesex’s England Under 19s left-arm seamer, and Toby Roland-Jones put under early pressure.

Lyth and Fin Bean shared 68 inside 16 overs and found the boundary regularly. Bean hit two, for example, off Roland-Jones in the first over after the hosts had elected to bat on a hybrid pitch with two frontline spinners in their side.

By the time Lyth reached his fifty off 56 balls, Bean had been removed for 27 - bowled by Henry Brookes having dragged on attempting to pull.

And when Lyth was lbw for 61 playing back to Luke Hollman’s leg-spin, Yorkshire were 105 for two after 26 overs. 

By now, it was clear this pitch was a good one despite being used during the Hundred. 

After lunch, Luxton swept Hollman and James Wharton pulled the same bowler for sixes over midwicket. 

But Middlesex, now bowling with the older Kookaburra ball, were tighter than they had been early on.

And that brought reward, as Hollman - bowling from the Howard Stand End - prised out James Wharton and Will Luxton as the pair failed to make the most of starts.

Wharton fell caught at slip for 40 trying to cut a ball too close to him before Luxton pulled to short midwicket as two wickets fell inside six overs, leaving Yorkshire 185 for four in the 52nd over. They had shared 67 for the third wicket.

Yorkshire’s third half-century partnership came via Bairstow and captain Jonny Tattersall through to tea, where the score was 240 for four.

Bairstow was proactive rather than destructive - less than half of his runs came in boundaries - though he nailed a pull shot off Brookes for six over to the Western Terrace side of this ground.

But the stand - on 57 - was broken in the opening over of the evening when Tattersall top-edged a sweep against Leus du Plooy’s left-arm and was caught for 26 by slip running around behind the wicketkeeper - 242 for five in the 65th.

Bairstow went on to reach his fifty off 63 balls and shared in Yorkshire’s fourth half-century partnership of the innings, this time with sixth-wicket partner Hill.

Hill got in on the six-hitting act by lofting du Plooy down the ground, but Bairstow was starting to show signs of his belligerent best.

He fiercely cut Hollman for four in front of square and drilled him over mid-off’s head for another boundary in the same over, the 74th, as the score moved to 283 for five.

Like Bairstow, who pulled Roland-Jones for his second six, Hill - 58 not out - has had his recent troubles with the bat. But he looked in excellent order as they shared an unbroken 130. 

He reached his fifty off 77 balls late in the day before Bairstow reached three figures off 122 and bowed to the home dressing room in celebration.

Yorkshire’s opener Adam Lyth said

 

“It was a very good day, I would say. We won the toss, it’s a used wicket and we’re playing two spinners. In an ideal world, we’d have lost one or two fewer wickets, but to have 380 on the board is good.

“I must say, it’s the flattest wicket I’ve batted on at Headingley ever, probably. 

“I don’t know if it’s the pitch or the Kookaburra ball, but it didn’t do a lot. It took some turn, and we’re playing two spinners. It’s going to be an exciting three days.

“Your big players turn up in big moments, and Jonny’s a big player for us. He showed his class. That partnership with Hilly is over 100 now, and hopefully Hilly can go on tomorrow and get a hundred and Jonny can get a really big one to put us in a fantastic position so that our spinners can set attacking fields.

“To do that, we have to bat well for another 40 or 50 overs. 

“I just see a very hungry Jonny Bairstow. I don’t think he’ll be giving his wicket away too easy tomorrow. He’s been great to have around. Last week, Scarborough’s a big place for him, and he’s carried that form on here.

“Hopefully, for the rest of the season, we’re going to get the very best Jonny Bairstow.

“You don’t poke the bear with Jonny! He’s playing beautifully, and it’s great to see. It’s great to see him with a smile on his face. That was a special knock today.”

 

Middlesex leg-spinner Luke Hollman said

 

“It was an attritional day to say the least. Headingley’s a fast-scoring ground, so four-an-over is about right. To go under that, I think’s a decent effort.

“Bairstow batted brilliantly. He was pretty much faultless.
“It would have been nice to go into tonight with six or seven wickets, but we’ll come back tomorrow morning, try and jag a couple and see where we finish up.

“To bowl to someone of Bairstow’s quality is always going to be a battle, but it was an interesting day.

“It’s nice to play on a wicket which is offering something for a spinner early on, at least, and it was nice to get a prolonged spell today and some rewards.

“I got a handful of overs in the twos earlier in the week to see off a bit of rust, and I thought I bowled well enough today to get those rewards and control the scoreboard as much as I could."

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