Vitality County Championship 2024, Round 12, Day 2, 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, Round 12, Day 2, Division 1 and 2 - 29th Aug - 1st Sept

Round 12 Friday 30th August

Division One

Essex vs Worcestershire,  The Cloud County Ground.

Michael Pepper added a maiden first-class century to two hundreds in this season’s T20 Blast to put Essex in command of their Vitality County Championship match against Worcestershire.

  The 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman had only passed fifty once before this summer, and his previous highest red-ball score of 92 came three years ago at Durham, but his unbeaten 125-ball 112 turned the tide in Essex’s favour as they seek to end a run of three games without a win.

  Pepper was joined at 227-7 by Shane Snater (53) and the pair put on 136 in 26 runs to not only overhaul Worcestershire’s 266 but lay the foundations for a 138-run first-innings lead.

  Tom Westley had set the ball rolling with 68 from 126 balls before he became the first of Amar Virdi’s three wickets for 126 in a marathon 37.4-over spell. Ethan Brookes also picked up three wickets before Worcestershire reduced the deficit by two runs without loss in five overs in the evening.

   Before the game was effectively taken away from them, Brookes had been an unlikely terminator of Essex’s serene second-wicket partnership that had put on 65 in 13 overs after the loss of Dean Elgar to the last ball of day one. Brookes had never taken a first-class wicket before he broke Robin Das’s middle-stump with a bit of extra pace followed by a jubilant running leap into the air.

  The 23-year-old seamer did not have long to wait for his second as Jordan Cox, released by England the day before to play for Essex, showed the first real attacking intent in his uncharacteristically obdurate 21-ball innings when he drove uppishly to short midwicket.

  Brett D’Oliveira brought himself on for an over before lunch and with his third ball had Matt Critchley lunging forward before being rapped fatally on his front pad.

  Westley settled into an innings that mixed abandon with caution before reaching his fifty from 95 balls. Early on he hit three fours in an over from Tom Taylor, two off his legs through midwicket and the third driven crisply through extra cover. Yet he managed only two more boundaries in reaching his fourth half-century of the season.

  The Essex captain had put on 55 with Paul Walter when he received a delivery from Virdi that jumped up and caught the edge of his bat before ending in Gareth Roderick’s gloves. Six balls later, Walter’s forceful knock was over when he slashed Logan van Beek to slip the ball after chipping him over extra cover for his fifth four.

  Brookes returned for a cameo in which he strangled Simon Harmer down legside to claim a third wicket in only his seventh over of the innings. The majority of the heavy lifting was done by the loaned-in pair Virdi and van Beek, who bowled nearly 60 of the 107.4 overs Essex faced.

  Essex overtook Worcestershire’s first-innings 266 soon after the new-ball had been taken and shortly before Pepper and Shane Snater chalked up their first fifty partnership in 12 overs – 22 runs coming in the first three overs of the new Kookaburra – their second fifty spanning a further 11 overs. At one point they needed just six overs to move from 300 to 350 as the tempo increased.

  Pepper is renown for his 360-degree game and outrageous shots in the short form, but his most audacious effort was when he chopped Joe Leach over slip’s head to the third-man boundary. The majority of his runs were orthodox shots, mainly between extra cover and cover points.

  Snater went past fifty from 73 balls with successive fours off van Beek but fell next ball when beaten for pace. Sam Cook batted freely before Virdi got one past his defences.

  Pepper scampered a two off Brookes to reach three-figures from 116 balls and celebrated with a further 10 runs from the next three balls, including a six high over midwicket. Jamie Porter hung around long enough to see the centurion over the line before he was Virdi’s third victim.

 

Lancashire vs Hampshire,  Emirates Old Trafford.

An superb display by all-rounder Liam Dawson has left Hampshire in a dominant position after two days of their Vitality County Championship match against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

After making an unbeaten 104, his second century of the season, and putting on 71 for the last wicket with Muhammad Abbas, Dawson bowled 28 overs unchanged from the James Anderson End, taking four for 46 as the home side replied to Hampshire’s 389 with 193 for eight 

The opening 75 minutes of the day  were filled with frustration for Lancashire’s cricketers as they watched Dawson and Abbas add a further 59 runs in 18 overs, thereby extending their last-wicket stand and changing the balance of the contest.

Dawson reached his fifty in the second over of the morning and went on to reach his century off 125 balls, having hit eight fours and five sixes, four of the maximums being struck during a session in which he had farmed the bowling shrewdly and tormented Lancashire in the process.

Having made one run off 32 balls in 89 minutes, Abbas was eventually caught at backward point by George Balderson off Luke Wells, leaving Dawson undefeated on an outstanding 104.

Lancashire then lost Wells, bowled off the inside edge by Kyle Abbott for six, in the half hour’s play that was possible prior to lunch but Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon survived until the break and prospered in the afternoon session, putting on 90 for the second wicket before Jennings was leg before wicket to Dawson for 56.

Four overs later, the slow left-armer struck again when Rocky Flintoff tried to mow the spinner across the line but only skied a catch to substitute fielder Felix Organ at midwicket and departed for a ten-ball nought.

Lancashire came into tea on 108 for three and their decline accelerated on the resumption. In the second over of the evening session, Matt Hurst became Dawson’s third wicket when he was caught off inside edge and pad by Fletcha Middleton for four.

In the next over, Bohannon, having made 43 in 167 minutes chipped John Turner straight to Tom Prest, who had been precisely placed at short midwicket.  And Turner had more success in his next over when George Balderson groped at a swinging delivery and nicked a catch to second slip where Toby Albert completed a fine diving catch.

Bell and Iyer prevented complete collapse with a stand of 48 but James Fuller’s diving catch to his right at cover off Abbott’s bowling removed Iyer for 27. Tom Hartley then became Dawson’s fourth victim when he holed out to James Vince at mid-off for two but George Bell ended the day unbeaten on 33 after two hours in which his judgement and shot-selection had perhaps been an example to some of his colleagues. 

Liam Dawson, Hampshire all-rounder, said

“We came back brilliantly today. We weren’t at our best yesterday, a few soft dismissals, but we managed to get a score today and all great to Mo for hanging around and allowing us to do so.

“It’s a pretty good wicket and Mo was very clear what he wanted to do. You need a little bit of luck in those situations and I could have been run out a couple of times but I played nicely and to get a hundred was very very pleasing.

“I think they were a little frustrated but any team would do in that situation.

“Neither side has batted as well as they should have done on that wicket but we’re in a very good position to push for a win.

“When the ball’s hard, it spins a little more but with two more full days of cricket on it, perhaps it can spin a little more.”

Keaton Jennings, Lancashire captain and batter, said:

“It was very frustrating. You walk off on day one where we’re really happy with that sort of score. This morning we were fairly poor (with the ball) and then you get to 100 for one when you bat and then are 80 for seven in the last couple of hours.

“It’s hard to put your thumb on exactly what is wrong, whether it’s decision making – it’s one of those things. Guys need to look at themselves, nobody’s making excuses, but fundamentally you have to compete.

“First-class cricket is a tough place. There’s nothing given to you for free. You’ve got some fiercely competitive guys playing against us. Some international caps, an international bowling line-up and those are the challenges Division One cricket gives you.

“As a whole we try to make sure we blood young guys into the squad. We’ve had an older squad for a period of time and we’ve now got quite a lot of the young guys coming through at the same time.  

“In one respect it is exciting for guys to be playing first team cricket but at the same they are finding out pretty quickly what the standards are required in order to compete against international cricketers.

“It’s a tough baptism of fire now, but it’s for those guys to learn quickly and develop even quicker.”  

Nottinghamshire vs Surrey, Trent Bridge.

Spin bowling prodigy Farhan Ahmed continued his extraordinary entrance into Vitality County Championship cricket with figures of seven for 140 but may find his efforts to have been in vain as Surrey’s first-innings 525 left Nottinghamshire fighting an uphil battle on day two at Trent Bridge.

Having become the youngest player to appear in a first-class match for Nottinghamshire at 16 years 189 days on Thursday, Ahmed gained another record as the youngest to take five wickets or more in an innings in first-class cricket in England.

However, after captain Rory Burns had struck 161 on day one, Indian international Sai Sudharsan (105) took the opportunity to make an impact with an impressive first hundred in Surrey colours, putting his side in a commanding position as they push towards a third consecutive Championship title.

Nottinghamshire, who lost by an innings against Durham last week, finished 144 for three in reply as they seek to avoid a similar fate, with skipper Haseeb Hameed (68) and nightwatchman Brett Hutton out just before the close after Hameed and 19-year-old Freddie McCann (69 not out), had shared a 136-run second-wicket partnership, with another 232 runs needed if they are not to be asked to follow on.

Ahmed missed out on the best figures on debut by a Nottinghamshire player - that record remains seamer Fred Barratt’s eight for 91 against MCC at Lord’s in 1914 - but it is hard to imagine any newcomer having bowled as many overs on Championship debut as his marathon 50.4.

Surrey’s only disappointment on the day was that they missed by two runs on claiming a fourth batting bonus point, although with a 35-point lead going into this round of matches it may be of little significance in the broad scheme of their ambitions.

They progressed from 339 for five to 452 for seven by lunch but  Sudharsan and Jordan Clark, not out overnight, seemed to wait a little too long to apply the accelerator.

It took them almost half the 14 eligible overs remaining to score the 11 runs needed to claim the third point and though Clark subsequently cleared the rope against off-spinners Ahmed and McCann as the next seven and a half overs accrued a further 47 runs, the target of 400 from 110 overs still proved just beyond them.

Nonetheless, they had added a valuable 101 from 28.4 overs when Liam Patterson-White, the left-arm spinner, dived to grab a good return catch as Clark miscued an attempted on-drive to fall on 53.

Cameron Steel, looking for a second run from his square drive off Ahmed, was run out for seven as a consequence of Ben Slater’s fine fielding before Tom Lawes became victim number five for the 16-year-old shortly after lunch, caught behind off a thin inside edge trying to work him to leg.

That wicket displaced Derbyshire’s Hamidullah Qadri, who took five for 60 against Glamorgan in 2017 aged 16 years 203 days, as the youngest to claim a five-for in first-class cricket in England.

Having picked up his sixth scalp, removing Conor McKerr with a catch off his own bowling to end a 52-run partnership for the ninth wicket, the youngster was four deliveries into his 51st over when adding the 22-year-old Sudharsan as his seventh, the left-hander’s attempt to add a second six in the over to his 10 fours seeing him caught at long off.

The timing of Sudharsen’s departure as the last wicket to fall exposed Nottinghamshire’s batters to eight overs of the new ball before tea and Surrey’s tails were up when Clark uprooted Slater’s middle stump with a perfect yorker to leave them four for one after just eight balls.

But with the Kookaburra ball again offering little help to the seamers, Hameed and McCann negotiated 35 overs with no great alarms until the last 11 balls of the day as Hameed was bowled offering no stroke and Hutton leg before on the back foot as off-spinner Will Jacks turned two deliveries sharply out of the rough, which will have sounded alarm bells in the home dressing room ahead of day three.

Surrey centurion Sai Sudharsan said:

“It was a similar pitch to what I’m used to playing on in India, a bit on the slow side and spinning a lot, so I felt quite at home on it. It is great to be able to contribute to the club, it is a great pleasure to be here in England.

“Farhan Ahmed bowled really well and he is only 16 years of age, so he will get better still as he matures. He can be a great spinner in the future for England, I think.

“But we are in a good position in the game and getting those two wickets near the close the ball turning, especially Hameed, was very important for us going into tomorrow.”

Nottinghamshire’s Farhan Ahmed, who took seven for 140, said:

“I’m very happy, with my performance and the way the lads played near the end of the day. It was very special for me and I felt overwhelmed a little bit with excitement. Obviously I was up against some good players but the captain said just to enjoy the moment, don’t make things too complicated and I just stuck to my basic plan, tried to control what I can control.

“I hoped I might get looked at for a game in the Championship side before the end of the season but we have some quality spinners in the squad and I didn’t know it would be this match until the day before.

“Things have happened pretty quickly for me this summer with getting a Lions call-up and now this but I’m just keen to take every opportunity that comes my way.

“In this match, the captain just said to enjoy the moment, don’t complicate things. I’ve never bowled that number of overs in a match before but I just love bowling, everyone knows I just want to bowl as much as I can, so I wasn’t surprised, after coming on so early, that I was asked to bowl a lot of overs.

“But I still feel fresh and I’ll be ready to bowl again in the second innings if required.”



Somerset vs Durham, Cooper Associates County Ground

Jack Leach claimed three wickets as Somerset built a strong position on the second day of the Vitality County Championship First Division game with Durham at Taunton.

The home side began by extending their first innings score from an overnight 395 for six to 492 all out, James Rew dismissed for 103, having set out on 89, and Kasey Aldridge making 44. Callum Parkinson finished with four for 136.

By the close, Durham had replied with 272 for six, left-arm spinner Leach taking three for 103. Alex Lees hit a solid 59, but it was an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 102 between Brydon Carse (59 not out) and Ben Raine (51 not out), which kept the visitors in the game after they had slumped to 170 for six.

At the age of 20, Rew already his eight first class centuries to his name, the latest completed with a streaky edged boundary between wicketkeeper and slip off Carse early in the morning session. He had faced 112 balls and hit 12 fours and a six.

The impressive innings ended off the very next ball when another drive at Carse saw Rew edge to Ashton Turner at slip. Somerset were 417 for seven and Lewis Gregory soon signalled that intentions by smacking a delivery from Raine over mid-wicket for six.

The skipper brought up 450 and a fifth batting bonus point with a three through the off side off Carse and Aldridge, unbeaten on 12 at the start of play, celebrated the landmark by clearing the ropes off Parkinson.

The score after 110 overs was 465 for seven so Durham had to settle for two bowling points. Gregory and Aldridge completed a half-century stand before Aldridge was caught behind attempting to reverse sweep Parkinson.

Overton hit his first ball for four and then launched big sixes off successive deliveries from George Drissell before falling to the off-spinner attempting another maximum. Gregory had moved to 31 before being last man out in similar fashion, giving Parkinson his fourth wicket.

Durham were left with eight overs to bat before lunch and found themselves facing Leach and young off-spinner Archie Vaughan before the interval. It was the 18-year-old son of former England captain Michael Vaughan who struck the first blow on debut with the sixth ball of his first class career, turning a delivery pitched on leg stump and pinning Ben McKinney lbw for 15.

At lunch, Durham were 29 for one. There seemed little prospect of the collapse to come when Lees and Scott Borthwick began the afternoon session with a half-century stand off 67 balls.

But Leach was starting to threaten and Borthwick, having moved to 35, edged a back-foot shot to slip where Overton took a sharp low catch to make it 86 for two. Still Lees looked untroubled, largely content to milk singles in moving fifty off 101 balls.

Ollie Robinson made 26 in helping Lees add 42 for the third wicket before falling to an even better Overton catch, diving to his left to clutch the ball one-handed. Boosted by a second wicket, Leach struck again with the total 136 as Turner was bowled by a delivery that turned and clipped off stump.

By tea Durham were 150 for four and their plight worsened considerably in the first over after the interval. It was bowled by left-arm spinner Lewis Goldsworthy from the River End and saw Overton pouch a third slip catch as Lees pushed forward outside off stump.

The last thing Durham needed was a run out, but it happened with the total on 170 as Carse called for a quick single to cover and Bas de Leede failed to beat Tom Abell’s throw to wicketkeeper Rew.

With six wickets down, Carse and Ben Raine went on the counter-attack, Raine hitting two sixes in the same Goldsworthy over as the pair put together a half-century partnership off 71 balls.

Raine hit Leach over mid-wicket for another six and Carse cleared the ropes at long-on off Vaughan in moving to an 86-ball half century to mark his return to the Durham team after suspension. Raine followed to the same milestone of 94 deliveries just after the century stand had been completed, much to Somerset's frustration.

Durham opener Alex Lees said: “On the whole, we are happy with where we are. The partnership between Ben Rain and Brydon Carse at the end of the day was a really big fightback for us.
“Both have first class hundreds and quality with the bat. It will be a very important session tomorrow morning within the context of the game, but hopefully they can go on.

“We were not as good as we have been on the first day, so we were chasing our tails a bit today. But the bowlers got the job done in finishing the Somerset innings and we are not in a terrible position by any means.

“It’s a pretty good wicket. We knew it was a used one so we expected to face plenty of spin bowling, but that has been a good challenge, which we don’t often face playing in England.

“I am an experienced player now so I was quite clear in how I wanted to go about my innings. I’m just disappointed to have got out because I felt I should have gone on to a hundred.”

 

Somerset spinner Jack Leach said: “We had to work hard for our wickets, but if we can get another couple in the morning we will still be well ahead in the game.

“We were happy with our total, with another hundred for James Rew and a lot of good contributions all down the order, which was pleasing.

“There is a little bit in the pitch for the spinners. It’s a case of having to be patient and varying your lines and angles waiting for something to happen.

“I prefer the Dukes ball to the Kookaburra because it tends to stay harder for longer, although having said that some of the Dukes have been pretty soft as well this season. The Kookaburra is used all over the world and I certainly don’t mind bowling with it.

“We have a new one to bowl with in the morning, which should help, and we need to make the most of it.”

Warwickshire vs Kent, Edgbaston.

Will Rhodes marked his penultimate home game as a Warwickshire player with a double century to put his side in total command of Kent in the Vitality Championship at Edgbaston.

Rhodes struck a chanceless 201 (295 balls, 32 fours) to lift Warwickshire to 420 and a first innings lead of 264. Such a high-class innings from the former captain suggests that Durham, for whom he has signed a three-year contract, will welcome a player heading into his peak as a player.

Rhodes’ six-and-a-half hour marathon laid a foundation for his side to press hard for their first championship win of the season. Needing 264 to avoid an innings defeat, Kent closed the second day on 157 for three as Olly Hannon-Dalby (three for 26) took his championship wicket tally this season to 43.

Kent’s multitude of problems continues to mount. Their bowling attack, nobly led by George Garrett (three for 76) and Matt Parkinson (three for 94), was deprived of Grant Stewart by a shoulder injury while Tawanda Muyeye could not open the batting as he was unable to field due to a knee injury.

When Warwickshire resumed on the second morning on 207 for three, their progress was immediately brisk. Rhodes struck the first ball of the day to the boundary and five fours from his first 17 balls faced in the session took him to a 151-ball century.

Jacob Bethwell edged Charlie Stobo to wicketkeeper Harry Finch but Rhodes and Barnard rattled up a century stand in 150 balls. Kent are having the sort of season where every time you think nothing else can go wrong something does, and so it proved when Stewart pulled up in his delivery stride, flexing his shoulder, first ball after lunch and left the field.

The fifth-wicket stand reached 145 in 34 overs before Barnard lifted Parkinson to mid off. The last six wickets then fell for 46 as Warwickshire, miles ahead already, threw the bat. Michael Burgess pulled Joey Evison to deep mid-wicket, Michael Booth lifted Parkinson to extra cover and Michael Rae larruped the spinner for six but was then stumped off him. Garrett finished the innings by having Rhodes caught at deep square and knocking out Hannon-Dalby’s off stump.

Kent started their second innings after tea with 43 overs to bat in the day and lost Ben Compton in the fifth of them when he edged a loose drive at a wide ball from Hannon-Dalby to wicketkeeper Burgess. Harry Finch, opening in Muyeye’s absence, and Bell-Drummond added 116 in 29 overs without many alarms but Lady Luck then truly turned her back on Kent in the closing overs.

Bell-Drummond was adjudged lbw to a ball which appeared to be passing well down the leg-side. Finch (38, 96) departed in equal disbelief at being given out caught at slip off his shoulder. Lady Luck, it appears, has a real downer on Kent right now.

Warwickshire batter Will Rhodes said:

"It's always nice to get runs here at Edgbaston and after what has happened to me personally in the last month, with the news that I am leaving, to get a big one in front of the home crowd before I go is very pleasant.

"You never know, it could be my last innings here as a Warwickshire player if it rains when we play Essex, so it was lovely to score some runs. It will be emotional when we play Essex because if has been a great seven years here and a period of my career I will remember very fondly.

"It was nice to score some runs to get us a long way ahead in the game. It has turned into a good batting pitch but it's great to have three wickets in the bank. Olly showed his class there to get three really important wickets in the last session. If we could have just got one more it would have been the perfect day but it was still a great day and we know we have got the armoury to get the wickets we need tomorrow."

 

Daniel Bell-Drummond, Kent captain, said: 

 

"Obviously we're behind in the game, but we had a good fightback in that middle session.

The guys bowled well, Matt Parkinson stayed patient and got his rewards. George Garrett against his old club bowled well at the end.

"It was a good partnership between myself and Harry Finch, it's a shame it got broken in those circumstances. Hopefully we can start well tomorrow and try to take the game deep. 

"It's been a tough year, a tough game too no doubt but we've got to keep going."

Division Two

Glamorgan vs Leicestershire, Sophia Gardens.

Glamorgan lead Leicestershire by 180 runs with three 1st Innings wickets in hand

Colin Ingram became the first batter this summer to reach 1,000 first class runs as he plundered his fifth century of the season, and his highest score, to put Glamorgan into a commanding position at the end of the second day against Leicestershire as they led by 180 runs.

It was the first time the South African had reached 1,000 first class runs in a season and after more than six hours of batting he passed his highest score of 190. It had taken him a mere 13 innings to crack the 1,000 runs mark – the quickest by a Glamorgan batter since Majid Khan in 1972.

Shorlty after he celebrated reaching his double hundred with a leap in the air as he took a single off the spin bowling of Louis Kimber in the 118th over. He had received 312 balls and hit 23 fours and one six.

He eventually carried his bat throughout the day to remain 205 and ensured the Welsh county picked up three batting points. On one of the nicer days of the summer at Sophia Gardens he made hay to add to his previous Championship scores of three-figures this year against Middlesex (132 no), Yorkshire (113), Sussex (170) and Middlesex again (105).

Leicestershire seamer Ian Holland was the most successful bowler on both the day and in the innings as he ended with 4-88 from his 25 overs. Reham Ahnmed picked up two wickets

The South African resumed on 63 and helped Kiran Carlson take the overnight score of 114-2 up to 201-3 in a stand of 174 for the third wicket. Carlson reached his half-century in the sixth over of the morning and then punched England all-rounder Ahmed to the boundary to bring up the 150 partnership in the 47th over.

Not to be outdone, Ingram hit Ahmed back over his head for six two balls later. Ingram’s century arrived three overs later (150 balls, 15 4s, 1 6) and it was another Ingram boundary that took Glamorgan past 200 runs a few overs later.

Carlson departed in the 55th over thanks to a classy piece of glove work by Peter Hanscomb as he stumped him off the bowling of Ahmed. It meant the home side reached lunch at 201-3.

Holland had been Leicestershire’s best bowler on Day 1 and he returned to the attack after lunch to pick up two more wickets as he removed Chris Cooke (47) and Dan Douthwaite (7) either side of the tea-interval. His dismissal of Douthwaite at least brought up a second bowling point, but it was a real slog all day on a hybrid pitch that offered little or nothing to the bowlers.

Earlier on, Ahmed trapped Billy Root (6) lbw. None of this deterred Ingram, who kept grinding out the runs. His 150 came up in the 82nd over with a tickle to leg and by tea he had steered his side to 318-5 at tea.

He put on 86 for the fifth wicket with Cooke and then 39 with Timm van der Gugten for the seventh. Van der Gugten became Tom Scriven’s first victim in his 20th over when he was trapped lbw.

That made it 370-7 and he partnered with Mason Crane to safely steer Glamorgan past the 400 mark in the 114th over of a slow paced innings that saw the home side score 87 in the morning session, 117 in the afternoon and then 113 after tea.

Colin Ingram, who became the first batter to reach 1,000 first class runs as he reached a lifetime best score of 206 not out said: “I thoroughly enjoyed it. His season has seen a number of first for me and I just tried to keep it really simple and work in partnerships and push the game forward. We have talked about trying to get in front of the game and after yesterday’s great bowling performance we needed to knuckle down and push ourselves forward.

“I’m not someone who pays a massive amount of attention to records and I was totally unaware that I became the quickest Glamorgan player to 1,000 runs.

“I’ve touched an average of 40, which has taken me 19 years, to tick off a 200, which is something I’ve always wanted to do, makes me very happy.

“With field out and the ball getting soft I just wanted to take the runs that were on offer. We’re happy with the state of the game, but there are still two big days ahead.”

Leicestershire’s England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed, who took 2-95 in his 30 overs said: “We stuck at the task all day, but Colin Ingram batted very, very well and they had some great partnerships. We had to keep as simple as possible and to bow, to straight fields. With the sun out on a hybrid pitch we bowled pretty well and I think there is still a bit in the pitch if you bowl consistently. I’ve worked very hard on my bowling in the last month or so and so it was nice to get 30 overs under my belt and get a bit of reward.”

Gloucestershire vs Northamptonshire, Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol

Sussex vs Derbyshire, 1st Central County Ground.

Sussex took control against Derbyshire at Hove as they pushed for a victory that would strengthen their promotion push in the Vitality County Championship.

The second division leaders reduced the visitors to 73 for 5 after Sussex had piled up 607 for 8, their highest total against Derbyshire. 

Wayne Madsen held them up and was unbeaten on 79 at stumps on day 2 as he put conditions in perspective but Derbyshire are still 429 runs behind on 178 for 6.

They were soon in trouble as Indian left-armer Jaydev Unadkat, who is back at Sussex for the run-in, took 3 for 19 in a skillful five-over opening spell.

Opener Harry Came edged Unadkat’s third ball to first slip where Tom Alsop took a good, low catch while Brooke Guest drove lavishly at another outswinger but straight to backward point.

It was 19 for 3 in the seventh over when Fynn Hudson-Prentice struck with his fifth ball, which straightened enough to pin left-hander Luis Reece, and Derbyshire lost their fourth wicket on 24 when Tom Haines took a fine diving catch low to his left to remove skipper David Lloyd, after Unadkat pushed one across his defences.

Madsen and Aneurin Donald added 49 for the fifth wicket but they were parted when off-spinner Carson, who earlier made a career-best 97, nipped one through Donald’s defensive push with his fifth ball.

Madsen found another ally in Anuj Dal and they put on 84 for the sixth wicket in 24 overs but Carson made another important breakthrough just before stumps when Dal (45) was caught by Alsop at short leg playing a forcing shot off he back foot.

Sussex skipper Simpson had earlier led the successful charge to secure the maximum five batting bonus points – for getting to 450 inside 110 first innings overs – with an early assault on Derbyshire pacemen Daryn Dupavillon and Zak Chappell.

Simpson had already taken three lovely offside fours off Dupavillon’s opening over of the day when Alsop chipped Chappell’s loosener, at the start of the second over, straight to short mid-wicket after he had added just a single to his overnight 69, his third successive fifty and seventh of the season.

Alsop swished his bat in annoyance at his mistake but Simpson, who had resumed on 25, was in no mood to waste an opportunity to score quick runs.

Two extra cover fours off Chappell were followed by a straight driven four off Dupavillon that took him to a 68-ball fifty and another booming straight four, this time off Chappell, to reach 60.

Hudson-Prentice (8) edged Anuj Dal’s medium pace to keeper Guest but Carson brought up Sussex’s 450 in the 108^th over by slamming left-arm spinner Jack Morley high past mid off for four.

Carson swung Morley over the short legside boundary for the first of his three sixes, the final one a massive blow over mid-wicket off Dupavillon as he went past his previous highest score of 87.

Simpson eventually holed out to long off on 121, his fourth Championship hundred of a prolific season, after facing 167 balls and hitting a six and 13 fours. He also reached 10,000 first-class career runs in the process.

And Carson’s bid for a maiden first-class hundred ended when he was bowled swinging at a full ball from Dupavillon. His excellent effort came from 125 balls, with six fours besides his trio of sixes, and Sussex’s declaration immediately followed. Sussex’s total was their biggest at Hove for seven years.

Sussex off spinner Jack Carson, who scored 97 and then took two of Derbyshire’s six wickets to fall, said: “It would have been nice to have got another three runs, but hopefully there will be enough cricket in the future for me to get a hundred at some stage.

“Missing out on £500 from my dad [for getting a maiden first-class hundred] is probably the main thing for me at the moment! But, seriously, it’s only three runs and we’re in a great position in the match. Getting 600 on the board was a brilliant effort on that pitch and hopefully there is more again in it for the seamers and us spinners as the game goes on.

“Hopefully we will only have to bat once. There is some turn out there too, especially from the bowlers’ footmarks, and that last wicket today [of Anuj Dal] really spun and bounced and it was a great catch by Tom Alsop. He’s superb in at short leg.”

Derbyshire batsman Aneurin Donald said: “I think it’s pretty obvious that we are far behind in the game and for us it is a matter now of pride and trying to scrap for everything we can get over the last two days.

“We are gutted to be in the position we find ourselves in but we only have ourselves to blame. When we batted today a few of our top order nicked off against an international-class attack early on but Sussex are top of the table for a reason and Wayne [Madsen] has shown that you can get runs out there. So that’s what we have to focus on as a team and just try to get as many runs on the board as we can over the weekend and see where that takes us.”

Yorkshire vs Middlesex, Headingley.

Jonny Bairstow completed an excellent 160, and was usurped by George Hill’s career best 169 not out, on day two at Headingley as Yorkshire topped 600 in their first innings before Middlesex responded encouragingly. 

Yorkshire have the advantage at the halfway stage of this Vitality County Championship promotion battle having posted 601 for six declared during the second half of the afternoon. But, given a benign pitch, Middlesex should be confident of claiming a draw having closed on 141 for one from 50 overs. 

Bairstow, with a point to prove after being dropped from all England squads this summer, advanced from 107 overnight. The 34-year-old wicketkeeper-batter shared a record-breaking 238 for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Hill, who posted a first hundred of the season. 

Leg-spinner Luke Hollman was Middlesex’s standout bowler with four for 194 from 47 overs before Sam Robson, on the ground where he scored his only Test century for England - against Sri Lanka in 2014, led the way in their reply with a measured 65 not out. 

The Bairstow-Hill partnership, which started during the early stages of the first evening, marks Yorkshire’s highest sixth-wicket stand in first-class matches against Middlesex, and their innings total was joint ninth highest ever on this ground in first-class cricket. 

It would be no great surprise to see second-placed Middlesex go close to matching that in a battle with a Yorkshire team who started this 11th fixture of 14 three points adrift in third place in Division Two.  

This was not the rampaging Bairstow Yorkshire and England fans have come to expect in recent years. While he was still positive, he was extremely responsible.

That was in part due to the fact that when he united with Hill, Yorkshire were 242 for five and by no means certain of an imposing total. This is also not a pitch with oodles of pace. Timing the ball doesn’t look to be entirely straightforwards. 

And, of course, he has a point to prove to the England selectors.

Hill, who survived a missed-stumping on 64 before lunch off Hollman, has struggled with the bat this season. The ex-England Under 19 last scored a century in June of last year, for example, and this one came off 169 balls before lunch. 

He was also calm and controlled, though did loft Hollman over long-on for six before lunch, where Yorkshire reached at 485 for six having started the day on 372 for five.

The hosts secured four batting bonus points, narrowly missing out on the maximum of five. But they did gain the second prize of limiting Middlesex to only one bowling point for taking five wickets inside the 110-over cut off. 

With the gap between the two counties only three points coming into this game, that indicates that every point could be crucial in the promotion race.

Bairstow, who is not keeping wicket in this game, was bowled off an under-edge as he attempted to pull Hollman - the only Yorkshire wicket to fall on day two.

Hill and Dom Bess then shared an unbroken 121 for the seventh wicket, the latter contributing an unbeaten 60 in the sunshine.

Yorkshire’s innings lasted 144 overs, and it was clear their first priority was not to lose the game, knowing a defeat would hand Middlesex a potentially defining result in the promotion race.

While Middlesex picked Hollman as their only frontline spinner, Yorkshire picked two in off-spinner Bess and left-armer Dan Moriarty. 

After a short burst from new ball seamers Ben Coad and Jordan Thompson, they got to work and wheeled away thro

Bess claimed the only wicket to fall when Mark Stoneman edged to slip for 27, leaving Middlesex 61 for one in the 19th over.

But Stoneman’s opening partner Robson calmly saw his side through to close without further alarm, reaching his fifty off 105 balls.

He shared an unbroken second-wicket stand of 80 with Max Holden, who has 39 not out.

Yorkshire all-rounder George Hill said

 

“I’m pretty relieved. I’ve had quite a lean patch of things, but credit to Ottis (Gibson) for keep picking me.

“I’ve worked really hard with Gibbo, Ali Maiden and James Lowe (coaches) for the last couple of months. It’s not been a technique thing, it’s been more the mental side of it. I’ve also been to see Martin Speight (former head of cricket at Sedbergh School) a few times as well.

“A big thanks to those guys for supporting me and helping me get those runs today.

“I’ve been a bit obsessed with thinking about technique - hands, foot movement, all those kind of things. Yesterday, I went out without thinking about technique. I tried to watch the ball as hard as I could and have a positive mindset.

“Batting with Jonny helps a lot. He’s played 100-odd games for England, so having that experience at the other end helped me through. 

“With the spin, it’s about being patient because it is going to start spinning more, I hope, and breaking up. When Bessy got Stoneman out and was a bit slower through the air, it did spin. 

“There’s not much on offer for the seamers off the pitch. But if we can get that ball tailing and reverse swinging, as Jordan (Thompson) did at the end, we’ll definitely be in with a good shout.”

 

Middlesex bowling coach Tim Murtagh said 

 

“It was important we got through to the close of play only one wicket down, and it leads us into a good position going into tomorrow.

“It’s always tough, no matter how good the pitch is, when you’re that many runs behind. We’ll refresh, come back tomorrow and bat long.

“The batters can look forward to batting as long as they would like to, hopefully, over the next day or so. 

“Any time you play on a pitch like that with a ball like this, it’s really hard work (for the bowlers).

“It (Kookaburra ball) presents some challenges, that is for sure - more so how soft it goes and the lack of bounce anyone has really extracted at any point through the game, even the spinners. It’s been a real challenge for the bowlers.

“You speak to any of the Yorkshire guys, and they know how good a place it’s been to bat here. That’s against the Dukes ball, let alone the Kookaburra.

“Credit to Luke Hollman, he did a good job. He bowled a lot of overs. It was a shame he couldn’t quite get his five-for, which I think would have been deserved.”

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