Vitality County Championship 2024, Round 14, Day 1, 17th - 20th 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 - Round 14, Day 1, 17th - 20th Sept.

Division One

Hampshire vs Worcestershire, 61st Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Nick Gubbins and Liam Dawson collected their third Vitality County Championship century of the season as Hampshire piled on the runs during the opening day of their clash with Worcestershire.

Left-handed batter Gubbins demonstrated immense control in his 153 to pass his highest score for Hampshire – after arriving from Middlesex in 2021.

He put on 129 with half-century maker James Vince and Liam Dawson – who also passed 10,000 first-class runs.

Hampshire are mathematically still in the title race – starting the round 27 points adrift of Surrey – and ended the day on 373 for four.

Vince chose to bat first on a pitch previously used earlier in May for the victory over Surrey, with Felix Organ’s inclusion suggesting hope of spin being prevalent throughout the four days.

But the hopes of a solid platform to build from was not helped by both openers departing before the end of the sixth over, as Tom Taylor enjoyed the new ball.

Fletcha Middleton was his first victim with a beautiful delivery that shaped to swing in but nipped away to clean bowl the batter.

Toby Albert followed when he pushed to first slip, the ball after he had been forced to change his bat after Taylor had chipped the shoulder with some extra bounce.

Worcestershire’s early cheer was dulled as Vince and Gubbins bedded in with their huge experience.

Gubbins was the unlikely aggressor of the pair with cuts off Logan van Beek his favoured method of scoring quick runs.

But neither he nor Vince were able to freely score against a regimentally disciplined attack, with hard graft keeping the scoreboard ticking.

The 129-run stand with Vince ended in strange and controversial style.

Vince attempted a big sweep against Amar Virdi but missed the ball. As everyone’s eyes followed the ball skid off towards the fine leg boundary, Worcestershire had started celebrating. A bail had been dislodged.  

The umpires conferred as Vince remained unmoved – thinking it had been broken by the wicketkeeper’s glove or arm – but ultimately he was given out bowled.

There was no question about Virdi’s second scalp as Ben Brown tried to give himself room but only thinly edged to opposing wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick.

As with earlier in the day, two wickets in quick succession only began a long batting partnership – this time Gubbins found Dawson to stay with him.

Dawson was dismissive with a quartet of early boundaries and took himself past 10,000 red ball runs on his 202nd appearance.

Worcestershire remained tight in their bowling but couldn’t find another breakthrough, although they dropped Dawson when he was on 62.

Gubbins reached his century in 198 deliveries before Dawson skipped through the 90s with a pulled six and cover-driven four to reach three figures for the 17th time in his career.

Hampshire batter Nick Gubbins:

“We knew coming into the game that first innings runs were going to be crucial, so it is nice to get a big score on the board and we will go again tomorrow.

“I thought the boys were good throughout the day. Vincey was unlucky – I’m not really sure what happened there – and then Daws came in. What a cricketer, he batted really nicely.

“We got a partnership going which makes it a lot easier. Especially with the right and left hand, there is nothing worse as a fielder than having to keep swapping over. We managed to wear them down and play more positively in the evening session.

“We know bonus points are a key point for us if we are going to chase down Surrey and do something special.

“I made a habit out of getting out after getting hundreds which isn’t something we pride ourselves as a side. It is all about getting 150s and really setting it up for the team. I’m happy I was able to do that today.”

Worcestershire head coach Alan Richardson:

“It was a long one and one which Hampshire will be pleased with – they batted very well and put some strong partnerships together.

“From us it wasn’t the skillsets that were required, I thought we were a bit sloppy which has made it a long day at the office.

“The wicket looks pretty good but there was certainly enough in it for the bowlers – we didn’t put it in the right areas for long enough.

“Dawson’s in some good form and never looked in much trouble at all. That partnership with Gubbins – who I thought batted very well – has put us under quite a bit of pressure.

“I spoke about Liam before the game. He is a busy cricketer who knows his game really well and today he showed off his strengths.

“It is up to the bowlers and the fielders in the morning to take and create as many opportunities as we can. One thing we do know about this group of players is they are resilient and they won’t be too downbeat.”

Kent vs Nottinghamshire, 62nd Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Nottinghamshire took a hefty stride towards safety in Division One of the Vitality County Championship by reaching 393 for six at stumps after a dominant first day against Kent at Canterbury.

Openers Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed demoralised the division’s basement side with a stand of 196 for the first wicket: Slater made 160 from 217 balls, with 22 fours, while Hameed made a more pedestrian 56 from 142.

Jack Haynes then inflicted further punishment with 62 and Nottinghamshire, who began the day in eighth, were aided by a total of 37 extras, 30 of which came from no balls.

Games at the Spitfire Ground have followed a pattern for Kent fans so far this season: a slow erosion of hope during the first innings before despair sets in during the second; there’s admirable but futile resistance in the third and then defeat in the fourth, if it goes that far.

Last week’s trend-bucking draw with Hampshire at least allowed members a micro-measure of optimism going into this "48-pointer", but even that had gone within the first half hour.

In a pivotal game for both sides’ chances of staying in the division, Kent chose to bowl, only for Notts to race to 50 in just 53 balls.

Kent handed a home debut to Akeem Jordan, but his first three overs went for 36 and he was replaced at the Pavilion End by Nathan Gilchrist.

Slater was on 41 when he slashed at George Garrett, only for Jack Leaning to drop him at second slip and his 50 came after a misfield from Jordan. It was 134 for zero at lunch, and the afternoon was only slightly less lopsided. Slater cracked Gilchrist through point for four to reach three figures and Hameed steered Jordan through third man to bring up his 50, before their stand was finally ended when Joey Evison bowled the latter.

Freddie McCann then walked after he edged Gilchrist to Leaning for eight, although replays suggested it may not have carried and Joe Clarke went for 18 when he pulled George Garrett to Gilchrist at deep fine leg, leaving Notts on 271 for three at tea.

Jack Leaning had Slater caught at first slip by Tawanda Muyeye but Haynes and Lyndon James responded with a partnership of 60 before Haynes was caught off a bottom edge by Muyeye off Gilchrist.

James then fell to Jordan for 34 in the penultimate over, given out caught by Muyeye after a lengthy consultation by the umpires, leaving Luke Fletcher and Dane Schadendorf to bat through to stumps on 10 and eight respectively.

Notts’ Ben Slater said: “I thought I played well and I got a life when I was on 40-odd but sometimes you need them, especially when the ball’s doing a bit, as it was out there. I tried to take advantage of every ball that was sent down and it’s always nice when you get a hundred because it doesn’t happen every day, so yeah I’m pleased with that one, with how I played and how I struck the ball.

“It’s never planned, there’s never anything talked about like that. I think they were bowling a little bit better at him (Hameed) and they bowled a bit wide at me so I tried to take advantage of that where I looked to score anyway and it sort of played into my hands a bit with how they bowled.

“They bowled well at Has and there were some good balls flying around all day there really, so yeah, we’ll be pleased to get close to 400 and try to take advantage of that pitch tomorrow.

“We’ve opened the batting for a number of years now together, so we know each other’s game pretty well. It’s always nice and relaxed with Has, he’s in his own little bubble and we just go and try and score runs really. There’s no magic formula, we’ve had a couple of big partnerships over the years but it’s always enjoyable, especially when you’re in a partnership of that magnitude.

(On Haynes)

“We get on well, so it’s never really too serious out there, it’s a bit light-hearted at times and there are a few jokes just to keep everything relaxed. He obviously played well there and got 60 crucial runs to get us up to 400. Hopefully we can kick on in the morning.”

 

Kent’s Mark Dekker said: “It’s something we spoke about in the changing room at lunchtime, it’s like Groundhog Day and the bowlers were the first to take it on board. None of them were happy with the way they went about their business and they clamped us pretty hard in the first two hours. We had to fight and claw our way back in the last two sessions but I think the moment you concede that many runs in the first session, I think the rest of the day is a bit of a claw back day. Which, to their credit, we managed to get those six wickets. Had we got one more, seven wickets in the day, anyone would take that but the run rate’s a little bit high, especially in that first session so it knocked us hard and no one in the changing room is sitting there making excuses. We’re pretty sombre about it at the moment, we could and should have been better in those first two hours.

“George Garrett bowled beautifully for those first five, six overs, with a low run rate and he offered threat, but when you’re hurting from the other end, that inability to maintain pressure and break that partnership becomes a really difficult task when the bowling unit isn’t functioning together.

“So you can have those moments of excellence individually but they don’t put the pressure on the opposition batters you need that collective effort and will. I’ve always maintained that a bowling unit is only as effective as its weakest link and if one of the links is not firing you go for runs and it hurts your game.

“We’ve got to play to win the game so it’s about putting the first two hours where they belong. It’s in the past, we acknowledge that it wasn’t good enough but don’t let it upset what the remaining three days has for us. Get the wickets early tomorrow, go about our business of batting with purpose and play with a purpose to win. The last thing we can be think and sitting and saying is dwelling o two hours of poor cricket in the first session. We’ve got three days of cricket left, we play to the best of our ability, we play with the purpose to win and play with the mindset to win. That’s what’s demanded of us no matter where we are in the table. We need to win this game and the next game, that’s the mindset of the guys. We’re not going to play for the draw, so how do we go about winning?”

Lancashire vs Somerset, 63rd Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Twenty-one wickets fell on the first day of the Vitality County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford where title-chasing Somerset earned just a six-run first-innings lead over Lancashire, who probably need to win this game to avoid relegation.

Replying to Lancashire’s 140 on a seam bowler’s pitch, Somerset made only 146 but then took the vital wicket of Keaton Jennings for four as the home side ended a bizarre day on 16 for one, giving them a lead of ten runs.

In the first three hours of of play, Lancashire were dismissed for 140 in 40 overs with Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory picking up four wickets apiece and the only substantial resistance being offered by the home side’s skipper, Jennings, who made 56.

However, Lancashire’s seamers operated just as effectively, George Balderson taking four for 50 and Tom Bailey four for 37 as Somerset took a seemingly paltry lead.    

Having opted to field, Somerset’s quicker bowlers made good use of an olive-coloured pitch on the edge of the square to take four wickets in the first session. The first batsman dismissed was Harry Singh, whose maiden Championship innings ended on seven when he edged Overton to Tom Lammonby at third slip.

Four overs later, Josh Bohannon followed for just four when he was beaten by a fine ball from Overton and nicked a catch to wicketkeeper James Rew. Rocky Flintoff was bowled for seven when he inside-edged an attempted off-drive to a ball from Kacey Aldridge into his middle stump and the same bowler took his second wicket in similar fashion when Jennings’s front-foot slash only diverted the ball into his stumps.

Three balls previously, Jennings had reached his fifty and three runs off the next delivery from Brett Randell saw him reach a thousand Championship runs for the season. However, his dismissal for 56 left Lancashire on 85 for four and Somerset might have been reflecting that things would have been even better for them had not Aldridge dropped Jennings at slip off Overton’s first ball of the game.

Things declined rapidly for the home side early in the afternoon session as they lost their next four wickets for one run in 24 balls and their last six for 33 runs in less than an hour’s cricket. Gregory dismissed four of the batsmen to finish with four for 50 and Overton picked up two more to return figures of four for 32 from 15 overs.

Despite losing Andy Umeed, caught by Jennings off Tom Bailey, to the first ball of their innings, Somerset added 58 runs in relatively untroubled fashion until they lost three wickets in 13 balls just before tea.

Archie Vaughan, who made 21, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore were both caught behind off Balderson and those dismissals sandwiched the departure of Lammonby, who pushed forward to Will Williams when he had made 36 and nicked a catch to George Bell at slip. 

Things got no better for Somerset immediately after tea when James Rew became the third batsman to be caught behind by Matty Hurst off Balderson and Rew’s dismissal for four was quickly followed by that of Aldridge, who lost his off stump to Balderson when he had made a single, to leave Somerset on 83 for six.

Gregory and Tom Abell inched their side towards Lancashire’s total with a 34-run partnership for the seventh wicket but Bailey had Abell caught behind for 22 and then dismissed Overton and Randell, both leg before wicket, in the space of three deliveries, Overton falling to an outrageous slower ball.

Jack Leach then helped Gregory put on a priceless 25 for the last wicket before he was caught behind off Anderson Philip for 13, Hurst taking his fifth catch of the innings.

Five overs before the close, Jennings edged Gregory to Andy Umeed at slip and the day ended with Singh and nightwatchman Williams defending stoutly against the Somerset attack 

 

Lancashire all-rounder, George Balderson said:

“It was an interesting day that I don’t think any of us really expected. There was a bit more grass on the pitch, we wanted that. We know we want to get a result this week.

“It’s pretty slow but it’s not an impossible challenge to score runs. So when you lose the toss you have to front up as a batting unit and try and get a score and we didn’t quite do that.

“I thought they bowled very nicely and made it hard work for us. We didn’t think we’d necessarily bowl them out for parity, but we knew we had the ability and if we held to our areas and bowled well we could keep them to maybe 160-170 it would give us a chance in the third innings.

“The ball started doing a bit (when they were 58-1). The roller had a bit of an impact. It deadened it for the first 15 overs and as it started to wear off it felt like the ball started nipping around again.

“And I think we bowled better as well. We’re in a position where we can still win the game and that’s the important thing. We need to come out tomorrow and bat well.

Somerset head coach, Jason Kerr, said:

“I’m certainly not happy at this stage. Twenty-one wickets in the day suggests there’s something happening with the surface but to be 58 for one gave us an opportunity to take the game forward and we’ve missed that opportunity.

“I thought Lancashire bowled well on that surface but you need to find a way to absorb pressure and then put it back on the opposition and we didn’t do that. You could argue there were a couple of soft dismissals in there as well and when have an opportunity, you need to be far more ruthless.

“We weren’t sure how the surface was going to play. It looked better than it played but I thought Lewis was exceptional. He led from the front and bowled the lengths you need to on that surface. We had an opportunity to bat past them and we haven’t taken it.

“Taking Keaton Jennings’ wicket in the second innings was huge. He normally scores heavily against Somerset and I think the surface will get better tomorrow as it dries out.  

 

 

Surrey vs Durham, 64th Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Durham battled hard to reach 262 all out at the Kia Oval but it was still Surrey who had the better of day one as they seek a third successive Vitality County Championship title.

Colin Ackermann’s unbeaten 78 was a particularly creditable effort but the 33-year-old was left stranded as Dan Worrall snatched two quick wickets with the second new ball and finish with figures of four for 39.

In 12 overs’ batting before the close, Surrey then raced to 52 without loss in late afternoon sunshine with Rory Burns completing 1,000 championship runs for the season as he tucked into some loose new ball bowling to pull a six and also hit seven fours in a 46-ball 40 not out.

Surrey, county champions in 2022 and 2023, began the penultimate round of Division One matches eight points clear of second-placed Somerset, who beat them at Taunton last week, and still in control of their own destiny.

And, when they had reduced Durham to 134 for five by mid-afternoon, after opting to bowl first, it looked as if Surrey were on course to bowl their visitors out for a modest first innings total.

Ackermann and Bas de Leede, however, then added 70 in a punchy fifth wicket stand to blunt a six-pronged Surrey pace attack, in which only Conor McKerr – not introduced until the 49^th over and whose four overs cost 33 – proved ineffective.

De Leede struck six fours in his 36 from 54 balls before splicing a pull at a short ball from Tom Curran and offering a simple catch to wide mid on.

Sam Curran’s removal of Callum Parkinson for one just after tea, caught behind by Ben Foakes, left Durham uneasy again on 216 for seven.

But Ackermann, straight driving the younger Curran brother for one glorious four, continued to flourish while 19-year-old paceman Daniel Hogg, making his fourth first-class appearance, helped him to add a further 30 for the eighth wicket.

Hogg’s six ended with a pull at Tom Lawes that went straight into Tom Curran’s hands at deep square leg and 16-year-old left-arm fast bowler James Minto managed two fours off Clark on his first-class debut before Worrall swung one back between bat and pad to bowl him for eight.

Two balls later Chemar Holder was leg-before to a Worrall near-yorker, while Ackermann struck ten fours in his 125-ball knock.

Alex Lees and Ben McKinney had earlier given Durham’s innings a solid start although, when he was on 23 and the total 44, Lees was bowled shouldering arms to a Sam Curran no ball.

Both openers fell in Worrall’s second spell, the leader of Surrey’s attack having switched to the Pavilion End to better utilize a gentle cross breeze.

On 60, McKinney fell for 23 when he pushed away from his body and edged to Foakes and fellow left-hander Lees, captaining Durham in the injury absence of Scott Borthwick, was bowled for 36 by an absolute beauty from Worrall that ducked back into him late.

In between those wickets Tom Curran had Emilio Gay leg-before for a duck, ending an uncomfortable 12-ball stay on his Durham debut for a player who has joined on-loan ahead of a permanent move from Northamptonshire this winter.

David Bedingham, dropped by a diving Dom Sibley on 14 when he mis-hooked Lawes towards point – Sibley having run from second slip to try to get to the dropping ball – put on 51 with Ollie Robinson either side of lunch, but Surrey’s seamers would not let them get away despite Bedingham hitting consecutive fours off Lawes, through extra cover and wide of mid on.

Jordan Clark pinned Robinson leg-before for 17 and Lawes had his revenge on Bedingham by producing a perfect away-swinger to have him caught behind by a tumbling Foakes, before Ackermann marshalled the lower order to good effect.

 

Surrey’s Tom Curran said: “It was a good day for us and we are just concentrating on what we are doing here and not watching what is going on elsewhere in the country.

“Dan Worrall is a genius of a bowler and it’s a pleasure to watch him go to work week in and week out. He has amazing skills.

“I don’t think there is as much in this pitch for the seamers as there has been in previous matches here this season. In the first hour, in particular, it also didn’t seem to swing that much but we hung in there and I thought the pitch quickened up a bit later in the day.

“Overall, I think we did really well to bowl them out for their total and then to get 50-odd runs on the board for no loss at the end of the day was brilliant for us.”

Durham top-scorer Colin Ackermann said: “I think we did pretty well up front, as the wicket offered a bit for the seamers but Surrey are obviously a very good team and their quicker bowlers keep coming at you.

“My view is that 260 or 270 is a par score on that pitch and it’s a good cricket wicket that will reward good batting and good bowling. If you bash a good length there is enough reward there for the seamers.

“James Minto is an exciting prospect at only 16 years of age and even in the few overs he had tonight I think you could see what a promising fast bowler he is.”

 

 

Warwickshire vs Essex, 65th Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Essex’s seamers bowled Warwickshire out for just 78 to take immediate control of their Vitality County Championship match at Edgbaston.

Put in on a bowler-friendly track, the home side was skittled in 27.4 overs by Shane Snater (five for 13), Jamie Porter (three for 15) and Sam Cook (two for 31). Sustained resistance came only from Will Rhodes (29, 60) on his last home appearance before joining Durham.

Essex then dipped to 50 for five but recovered to close the opening day on 189 for nine thanks to astute contributions from Michael Pepper (37, 62 balls), Snater (33 not out, 37) Matt Critchley (32, 82) and Simon Harmer (31, 64). Ed Barnard took three for 36 and Craig Miles three for 53 but a lead of 111 already looks decisive.

Essex have laid the platform for a second successive emphatic win while Warwickshire’s supporters digest one last moderate instalment of a deeply uninspiring home championship campaign.

Porter and Olly Hannon-Dalby started the day as the country’s joint leading wicket-takers on 46 and the former took just 16 balls to move to 48 by removing Warwickshire’s openers; Rob Yates lbw and Alex Davies caught at third slip. When Sam Hain, trapped in the crease, was lbw to Cook, Warwickshire were 18 for three.  

Eighteen-year-old Hamza Shaikh got stuck in for 37 balls for eight runs before Snater struck twice in seven balls. Shaikh’s off-stump was sent flying and Barnard’s would have been if his pads hadn’t been in the way.

Rhodes, warmly applauded to the crease by supporters aware of the void he will leave in Warwickshire’s top order, eked 29 from 98 minutes toil before edging a peach of an away-cutter from Snater to wicketkeeper Pepper. Any Bears hope of recovery vanished with the last ball of the morning when Cook knocked out Michael Burgess’s middle stump.

From 73 for seven at lunch, the innings imploded in another 16 balls, Snater wrapping it up with an lbw decision against Hannon-Dalby to secure his eighth first-class five-for.

Batting remained troublesome at first when Essex replied and they lost Robin Das, lbw to Hannon-Dalby, to the 13^th ball. Westley decided that positivity was the solution and struck seven fours in a 22-ball 30 but was then also trapped in front by the big Yorkshireman.

When Barnard broke through twice in three balls – Dean Elgar caught at first slip and Paul Walter played on – and Noah Thain edged Chris Rushworth airily to second slip, Essex were 50 for five, but the lower order batted wisely and patiently as the pitch eased in the late afternoon sunshine.

Critchley reined in his attacking instincts, taking 23 balls to get off the mark, and with Pepper added 55 in 18 overs against an attack which lost Rushworth injured. Critchley edged Barnard to second slip and Pepper leading-edged a return catch to Miles but Harmer and Snater added a valuable 39.

Miles removed Harmer and Cook in three balls but Snater’s cameo, including three successive fours off Miles, lifted the lead over 100.

Warwickshire all-rounder Ed Barnard said:

"I think the pitch has taken both sides by surprise. I think both teams were pretty 50/50 on the toss but the half-ten start probably swayed both teams to want to bowl first. It's definitely done a bit more than we expected but fair play to Essex, they came out and bowled brilliantly. They have got a really good attack and they just put it in the right areas and put us in a lot of trouble.

"But we came out fighting when they batted and got some wickets and hopefully we can clean it up quickly tomorrow and then bat big. In the last couple of hours it felt like the pace had gone out of the pitch a bit and it definitely didn't do so much. Hopefully we can bat past them and try to set up a game."

 

Essex all-rounder Noah Thain said:

"It was a really good day. We didn't really expect to get almost ten wickets in the first session but we bowled really well and kept them under pressure. Then with the bat we got through a tricky patch and put a few good partnerships together and now we are well in front.

"It is easy to crumble at 50 for five, especially on a pitch like that and Critch and Michael dug in really well and we had a few good partnerships. Shane and Harmy batted very nicely at the end so we are in quite a strong position.

"For me it is just great to be learning from the other guys in the bowling attack. I feel a bit more confident out there now than I did at the start of the year and am trying to cut down on the poor deliveries that I bowled earlier in the year. It's going well and it's great to be part of the team and learning from what is maybe the best bowling attack in the country."

Division Two

Derbyshire vs Middlesex, 49th Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

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Middlesex, trying to close a 15-point gap behind second-placed Yorkshire in the promotion race, utterly dominated an afternoon in Derby where the home side, attempting to overcome their own 19-point deficit to elude a first wooden spoon since 2016, lost six wickets for three runs in 43 balls.

With Toby Roland-Jones returning five for 40 in all, Derbyshire ignominiously sank from 130 for two to an eventual 173. The decline set in when Harry Came fell for 66 as the Middlesex captain extended his recent superb sequence to 36 wickets at 16.92 in six matches.

Led by Mark Stoneman’s rampant, unbeaten 79, Middlesex then romped through the evening, too, reaching 125 for one in reply on the first day of a vital Vitality County Championship meeting for them. No home seamer could match the accuracy and late movement on an occasionally two-paced pitch that meant “TRJ” claimed all his five scalps bowled or LBW.

Belatedly exploiting conditions after Ryan Higgins’s outswing had undone Luis Reecs for 20, he first removed Brooke Guest, missed by Noah Cornwell off his own bowling when three but   out for seven 50 minutes from lunch, which arrived at 99 for two.

Startling carnage then swept in from nowhere from the afternoon’s seventh over. Came lost off stump and, after Wayne Madsen top-edged a cut at Ethan Bamber to first slip to go for 20, Roland-Jones knocked over two more for ducks and a then a third without score once David Lloyd had returned a catch to Bamber for two.

Derisive applause greeted the single that finally took Derbyshire off 133, the score at which the last hapless trio had fallen, and the former England man’s spell ended with 8-5-6-4. It took the 17-year old bowler Harry Moore, in only his third first-class innings, and spinner Jack Morley, on loan from Lancashire, to add 35 for the ninth wicket.

Having resisted 38 balls for one run, Morley unaccountably then leapt out to Luke Hollman’s leg spin and was bowled by his 39^th before Moore miscued a lofted drive to deep mid-on for 32, which brought tea two overs early.

In five of their last eight completed innings, Derbyshire had failed to better their 173 here. But Middlesex were aware at the interval that Yorkshire were doing well in Cardiff and that Sussex, the other side above them, already seemed well set for success in Bristol.

If the obvious task was to make their own advantage now count,  it didn’t help that the second ball of the reply, a half-volley from Zak Chappell, was clipped by Sam Robson low to mid-on. But their response to being one down without a run scored was full-on aggression: a dozen fours had come by the twelfth over.

Chappell, who’d received his county cap in a presentatiom at the start, could celebrate no further as the two left-handers, Stoneman and Max Holden plundered 71 in the hour that took the former to his first fifty for eleven innings, off only 41 balls.

If the tempo eased against the spinners and the last 15 overs brought a famine of runs on a surface already taking turn, Holden, the foil to Stoneman’s belligerence, moved quietly on to 44 and the pair will resume their 125-run partnership on Wedneday with Middlesex only 48 in arrears.

Glamorgan vs Yorkshire, 50th Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Promotion chasing Yorkshire worked their way into a strong position after the first day against Glamorgan, George Hill the mainstay with 90 as they finished on 361 all out.

Second placed Yorkshire were chasing batting points and had to settle for three after being put in to bat first.

Hill went on to get the big score, getting out with only a handful of overs left at the end of the day, while no fewer than four other batsmen got more than 40 without going on to make the most of their starts.

Glamorgan’s top bowler was Andy Gorvin with 4-67 as he was able to extract some seam movement, Timm van der Gugten getting reward for his efforts with two wickets late in the day to keep the Yorkshire innings within reach. Glamorgan survived two overs before the close, 12 without loss

Yorkshire made steady progress after being put in to bat by Glamorgan with a bright day ahead and no terrors in the Sophia Gardens pitch after early cloud cover lifted.

The story of the early part of the day was batsmen who got in and then got out when seemingly set for a bigger score, a trend started by opening partnership Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean.

Lyth passed 1,000 runs in the season for the fifth time of his career, as the pair put on 67 for the opening wicket before both departing in similar style.

The unlikely Glamorgan spearhead was the medium fast bowling of Andy Gorvin, twice getting the ball to straighten to trap the left handers in front of the wicket to depart LBW.

James Wharton looked assured on his way to 63, so much so that it came as quite a surprise when he hooked James Harris straight to long leg to be caught by Timm van der Gugten.

Jonny Bairstow was on Yorkshire duty having been left out of the England one day squad, back at his home ground in The Hundred where he plays for Welsh Fire.

He did not hang around and provided Gorvin with his third wicket, waving the ball to backward point from a loose drive, caught by Ben Kellaway.

Glamorgan’s fifth wicket came with a substantial slice of luck. Leg spinner Mason Crane sent a long hop down the leg side, which somehow went from the edge of Jonathan Tattersall’s bat to be clutched in his belly by home wicketkeeper Chris Cooke.

The skipper was more than a little disappointed to have missed out on a bigger score, departing for 41.

Crane was particularly expensive as George Hill and Dom Bess eased any Yorkshire nerves with a century stand, before Bess was LBW trying to sweep Crane to depart just after reaching his half century.

Hill made the most of recent good form coming into the game despite falling narrowly short of a deserved century, van der Gugten getting his second wicket with the second new ball.

Glamorgan openers Sam Northeast and Asa Tribe survived the last two overs of the day.

Glamorgan bowler Andy Gorvin: “I think it was a good toss to win this morning and if we are being honest with ourselves probably the bowling group are a bit disappointed, but we have got them all out so positives to take from today. Maybe we were not quite on it for the whole day.”

Yorkshire batsman James Wharton said: “Hilly (George Hill) played unbelievably well, just made it look like he was batting on a different pitch. Lose the toss and get put in on that sort of deck, we are pretty happy overall – 350 and bowl at them tomorrow, so a good day.”

Gloucestershire vs Sussex, 51st Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Jaydev Unadkat claimed four wickets before lunch as Sussex took another step towards clinching the Division Two title with a dominant display on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.

The runaway leaders bowled out the home side for just 109 after losing the toss, left-arm seamer Unadkat finishing with four for 32, while Ollie Robinson and Tom Clark claimed three wickets each. Tom Price top scored with 25 in a sorry Gloucestershire batting effort.

Sussex then put nature of the pitch at the Seat Unique Stadium in perspective by posting 147 for four in reply, Tom Haines making 40, Tom Alsop 37 and James Coles 36 not out. Off-spinner Ollie Price took two for 13.

Just three days after the euphoria of winning the Vitality Blast, Gloucestershire were on the back foot from the third ball of their innings when Joe Phillips, making his first Championship appearance of the season, edged a defensive shot off Unadkat through to wicketkeeper John Simpson.

Chris Dent soon followed, snapped up at second slip by Clark off Robinson to make it four for two. Miles Hammond looked in good touch and hit a six over mid-wicket off Henry Crocombe in moving to 22 before miscuing a catch to mid-on off Unadkat, who had switched to the Ashley Down Road End.

The experienced Indian seamer struck again with the total on 46 as James Bracey edged to third slip and it was 49 for five when Graeme van Buuren was caught behind aiming a pull shot off Clark.

With only two runs added Ollie Price, on 11, fell to a similar shot, a thicker top edge that sent the ball looping to Simpson and gave Unadkat his fourth wicket. At lunch, his figures were four for 29 from 11 overs and the scoreboard read 68 for six.

That became 75 for seven early in the afternoon session when Zafar Gohar was bowled by Robinson pushing forward and 89 for eight when the same bowler had Zaman Akhter caught behind off a back foot defensive shot.

When Clark completed the rout by dismissing Tom Price to a spectacular diving slip catch by Alsop and last man Dom Goodman caught at midwicket, Gloucestershire had been bowled out in just 43.4 overs under virtually cloudless skies. Clark finished with three for 17 and Robinson three for 33.

There appeared nothing in the pitch to account for Gloucestershire’s slump. It had more pace and carry than is often the case at Bristol, but Sussex soon found the ball coming onto the bat nicely.

Openers Haines and Oli Carter took the score to 27 in the tenth over before the latter was caught behind pushing forward to Akhter. By tea, the total had advanced to 54 for one, with Haines unbeaten on 25 and Clark 19 not out.

Having added just two to his score, Clark aimed to hit Ollie Price over the top off only the third ball of the final session and holed out to mid-on. The bowler then went from hero to villain, spilling a sharp chance at second slip offered by Haines, on 26, off Akhter.

Haines had another narrow escape on 34 when edging left-arm spinner Gohar to short leg where Philips just failed to cling onto what would have been a brilliant one-handed catch above his head. But, having added six to his score, the opener edged Goodman to second slip where Price this time made no mistake.

By then, Sussex trailed by only 19 runs. Coles reverse swept Gohar for four to put them in front at 111 for three before hitting three successive boundaries in a Tom Price over to bring up a half-century stand with Alsop off 14.3 overs in bright early evening sunshine.

Alsop played solidly for 101 balls, but surrendered his wicket tamely, cutting a short ball from Ollie Price straight to backward point with only two full overs left in the day.

Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said: “It was an interesting day. All the chat was about the wicket turning, but it was the seamers who were the mainstay. There is a long way to go in the game and a lot of cricket to be played.

“The pitch had good carry and bounce. There was a little bit of grip and all the seamers enjoyed bowling on it. You want everyone involved in the game, so it looks a good cricket wicket to me.

“Jaydev has been excellent and showed why we brought him back and why he is coming back again next year. He is an outstanding bowler whose skills are well suited to English cricket and he runs in and tries hard every day.

“It’s a cliché, but we keep saying that we just have to focus on what we do. Having said that, of course you get drawn to looking at other scores and we know Yorkshire have missed out on two batting points today.

“A win here would be nice, but we are a long way off that. We will have to bat well because the ball will turn as the game goes on and we have to bat last.”

 

Gloucestershire off-spinner Ollie Price said: “It was a tough day. We came across a team with a very good bowling attack, who were right on it.

“Their two opening bowlers were fantastic and put us under a lot of pressure. We didn’t quite have the answers, which is frustrating, but we bowled well ourselves without some luck at times and fought back to give ourselves a chance.

“We expected the pitch to turn because it is quite dry and selected Zafar Gohar, Ed Middleton and myself with that in mind. But you can’t overlook the fact that Ollie Robinson and Jaydev Unadkat are fantastic operators with the new ball.

“I feel I have been bowling well. Sometimes here the pitch doesn’t do much quickly, but I have been happy with the way I have performed all season. Maybe I got a couple of cheap wickets today, but I am feeling comfortable with the ball.”

Northamptonshire vs Leicestershire, 52nd Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Rob Keogh combined forces again to share seven wickets and give Northamptonshire the upper hand on the opening day of their Vitality County Championship game against Leicestershire.

The pair, who bowled Northamptonshire to their first victory of the Division Two campaign last week, dismissed the visitors for 203 at Wantage Road, with Chahal taking four for 82 and Keogh three for 20.

Opener Sol Budinger’s 56 was the only score of note for Leicestershire, who opted to bat after winning the toss but struggled to get to grips with the home spinners.

Paceman Scott Currie picked up two wickets as Northamptonshire reached stumps at 134 for three in reply, with James Sales undefeated on 34.

Rishi Patel, who blazed a majestic hundred during Leicestershire’s Vitality Blast visit to Northampton earlier in the summer, registered a duck this time as he fell to Saif Zaib’s low catch at point.

Budinger, back in the Foxes’ four-day line-up for the first time since late June, cracked Ben Sanderson for successive off-side boundaries, while Ian Holland looked more skittish at the crease.

Holland batted almost an hour for 12 before he fell victim to Chahal’s third ball, bowled attempting an ambitious reverse paddle – and the Indian leg-spinner was unlucky not to gain further reward prior to lunch.

Chahal had strong lbw appeals against both Lewis Hill and Budinger turned down, but it was fellow spinner Keogh who achieved the breakthrough just before the interval, castling the Leicestershire skipper for 32 with one that pitched and turned.

Rehan Ahmed should have followed without scoring soon after the resumption, driving Chahal straight to mid-on only for Sanderson to fumble the catch, one of several instances of sloppiness in the field.

Despite that, Northamptonshire captured wickets at regular intervals, with Budinger – having reached his first half-century of the campaign – leg before to Jack White and Louis Kimber nudging Sanderson behind.

Rehan belted Chahal over the top for two sixes in his quickfire 30, but picked out the long-off fielder when he tried it a third time before Ben Cox swung and missed to provide the spinner with another wicket.

Liam Trevaskis, who survived what looked suspiciously like a bat-pad catch off Keogh, did enough to shepherd the Leicestershire innings beyond 200, finishing unbeaten on 25 as the spinners cleaned up the tail on the stroke of tea.

Luke Procter launched the home side’s response with an unconvincing edge off Holland that whistled between first and second slips, but the skipper soon settled down and advanced the scoring rate with a series of cleaner strokes.

Having rattled off an uncharacteristically rapid 38 from 36 balls, Procter was caught behind swishing outside off stump at Currie – who also pinned George Bartlett in front for a fifth-ball duck in his next over.

Gus Miller batted solidly, digging out a vicious yorker from Currie before he began to play with greater freedom and looked on course for a maiden half-century as he dispatched successive Tom Scriven deliveries to the rope.

However, those hopes were dashed when Miller was given out lbw to Scriven for 37, despite appearing to get a thick edge onto his pads and it was left to Sales and Keogh to steer their side through to the close.

Northamptonshire spin bowling coach GRAEME WHITE said:

“It’s been very pleasing to have someone of (Yuzvendra) Chahal’s quality coming into the side and performing like he has – when the ball’s spinning, he’s just another level.

“We know he’s got the skill but it’s also what’s between the ears – understanding the game and what the team needs and he does that brilliantly.

“For Rob (Keogh), I know myself that when you’ve got someone of that quality operating at one end and you’re at the other, you’re always going to be in the game, picking up chances and getting wickets.

“Rob’s skill set is huge for us as a team, in particular in this format. He brings good balance to our side and when he’s on fire, we’ve got a good operator there.

“They work really well as a partnership and they’ve put us in strong positions, winning last week and we’ve had another good day today. I think we won two out of the three sessions.

“We took wickets in clusters and didn’t really let them go anywhere. As a bowling unit, it’s about controlling the rate, making sure they don’t go too far ahead of the game and when we get an opportunity to put some pressure on them, we do that.”

 

Leicestershire opener SOL BUDINGER, who top-scored with 56, said:

“Winning the toss and batting first, our thoughts were not to bat last on that wicket as it’s going to get worse. I thought they bowled well though, especially after lunch – to lose seven for about 100 is probably not good enough as a team.

“That was my mindset, to get through the first hour, then the first session and try to bat as long as I could. It’s something I’m still working on, my tempo in this format.

“I haven’t played enough red-ball cricket this year for my liking but I was desperate to do well out there for the team today and obviously it’s a bit disappointing to get out the way I did. I felt in pretty good nick but next time I can hopefully get to three figures.

“The way they (Northants) came out is the way you’ve got to play, being proactive and getting in good positions to hit the ball because I think, with that wicket, there’s one with your name on it. But that’s also going to create opportunities for our bowlers.

“To get three wickets tonight, we could have had four or five. It probably wasn’t the best day but we’ll come again tomorrow. We can probably bowl a bit straighter, more aggressive lines and lengths.”

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