Vitality County Championship Round 7, Day 2 - 18th May - Live Cricket 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 Round 7, Day 2, May 17th – 20th 2024.

Saturday 18th May

DIVISION ONE

Essex vs Warwickshire, 26th Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Warwickshire (397 & 43-5) lead Essex (162) by 278 runs

Che Simmons made a stunning impact on his first-class debut by blasting a gaping hole in the Essex batting with three wickets in 15 balls as Warwickshire gained a stranglehold on the Vitality County Championship match at Chelmsford.

The 20-year-old Barbadian-born, British passport-holder, dubbed the ‘new Jofra Archer’ when he signed three years ago, sent back Tom Westley, Nick Browne and Matt Critchley in a venomous opening spell of 6-2-10-3 that reduced Essex from 52-2 to 63-5 en route to 162 all out.

There were similarities with the England pace man as Simmons finished with 3-12 to enable Warwickshire to build upon Ed Barnard’s six-and-three-quarter-hour, career-best 165 that underpinned their first-innings 397.

Essex were dismissed inside 52 overs, 235 runs adrift, though Warwickshire opted not to enforce the follow-on. They may live to regret the decision as they lost five wickets in 17.3 evening overs on day two while extending their lead by 43.

Captain Alex Davies departed to the fifth ball, steering Sam Cook to second slip, before Will Rhodes was undone by Jamie Porter and went lbw. Barnard was unable to replicate his first-innings heroics, chasing a Porter delivery down leg-side and was caught behind for a golden duck.

When Dan Mousley patted back Critchley’s second ball and Rob Yates fell to the last ball of the day, lbw to Simon Harmer, Warwickshire were starting to relive the nightmare of their first innings when they had slumped to 64-5.

Simmons’s fellow Warwickshire debutant Michael Rae, the New Zealand pace bowler signed this week as cover a lengthening injury list in the pace department, set the ball rolling when Essex batted. Feroze Khushi tried to whip him through midwicket but only chipped tamely to mid-on.

Dean Elgar followed when edging an attempted cover drive off Oliver Hannon-Dalby to second slip.

Then Simmons took centre stage. Westley was induced to hook to short square leg where Sam Hain took his second catch inches off the ground. Browne then hung out his bat and was caught behind and next ball Critchley left his bat dangling and departed to the same combination.

Michael Pepper prevented Simmons celebrating even further by turning the hat-trick ball through midwicket. However, Hannon-Dalby replaced Simmons and had Pepper under-cutting and being caught behind.

Jordan Cox refused to be tied down amid the carnage and hit Hannon-Dalby for three successive boundaries, two angled down to third man and another driven straight. He pulled Rob Yates fiercely for six, attempted a repeat next ball that struck short-leg Hain plumb in the helmet necessitating his removal from the action, and then missed a reverse sweep two balls later and was bowled for 47.

Simon Harmer had earlier completed best season’s bowling figures of 3-93 and reached double-figures with the bat for only the second time in eight innings. However, when 13 he got a thin touch to Rae to give wicketkeeper Michael Burgess a fourth catch.

Yates wrapped up the innings for figures of 3-27 as Cook popped up a catch to Hain’s replacement at bat-pad and Porter left one alone and was bowled.

Warwickshire batted for an hour and a half in the morning. Burgess lasted just seven more balls while adding three to his overnight 105 before edging Shane Snater behind to end a seventh-wicket stand of 209 with Barnard.

Simmons was as equally confident with the bat as with the ball before attempting to sweep Harmer and was bowled. Rae fell the same way but only after launching Harmer’s previous two balls for sixes.

Barnard reached his 150 with a six off Porter and equalled his previous top score of 163 with another maximum over long leg’s head off Critchley. But two runs later he swung at the same bowler and was caught in the deep for his first dismissal of the day.

Lancashire vs Durham, 27th Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

David Bedingham scored a second consecutive century for Durham while twenty-year-old Lancashire all-rounder Tom Aspinwall took a five-wicket haul in just his second first-class match to help bowl the visitors out for 236 in reply to the hosts 337 in this Vitality County Championship match at a sweltering Blackpool.

Bedingham, the South African batter who is having such a good start to the season, backed up his 144 against Hampshire last week with a vital 101 to counter the efforts of Nathan Lyon who took four for 59 while Aspinwall, who did not bowl in his debut due to rain, twice broke important Durham partnerships on his way to impressive figures of five for 41.

Leading by 121 runs, Lancashire were 91 for two in their second innings by the close with Keaton Jennings 38 not out and nightwatchman Will Williams 0 not out having significantly extended their advantage to 212 runs with two days left to play.

Ben Stokes could only made brief contributions to his second day of action, scoring two runs in his seventeen minutes at the crease and taking one wicket from four overs when Lancashire batted a second time.

The match up that everyone at Stanley Park was looking forward to today duly arrived at 2.15pm when Stokes faced his first ball from Lyon.

The Australian off spinner had just taken his second wicket courtesy of a great one-handed reflex catch by George Bell at short leg to dismiss Ollie Robinson for a duck at the start of his 16^th consecutive over.

Stokes pressed forward to the first seven deliveries he faced from Lyon but played back to the eighth, fatefully as it turned out, that found an edge nicely snapped up by Tom Bruce at second slip.

Lyon gave a little punch of delight as Lancashire celebrated the success in a good passage of play for the hosts that had Durham in trouble on 145 for five at the halfway stage of the day.

Bedingham and Graham Clark countered impressively with a 108-run stand that looked to be putting the visitors in striking range of matching the Lancashire total. Bedingham reached his century from 142 balls just before tea having hit two sixes, one of which sailed out of the Stanley Park ground, and eight fours.

But Durham lost their last five wickets for 23 runs after the break at the hands of Lyon and Aspinwall, the latter bowling Bedingham for 101 via a bottom edge two balls into the session and the former trapping Clark lbw for 24 playing back.

Aspinwall then cleaned up the tail, taking the final three wickets of Ben Raine caught at second slip for a duck, Matty Potts bowled for six, and Callum Parkinson lbw for 0, to march off holding the match ball.

At the start of the day, Lancashire could only add seven runs to their overnight score, with Saqib Mahmood left still looking for a maiden first-class fifty when last out for 46 in the hosts total of 357.

Alex Lees made a positive start with three driven fours before two wickets in two balls dented the Durham reply after the opening pair had made 34. Lees edged behind off George Balderson for 24 at the end of the bowler’s first over while fellow opener Scott Borthwick was smartly caught at slip by Jennings off the very next ball bowled by Lyon via an edge deflected by wicketkeeper Matty Hurst.

And on a wicket that continues to interest all the bowlers, Bedingham and Ackermann fought with great determination to steer their side through the remainder of the morning session before prospering in the afternoon, building a 94-run partnership in the Blackpool sunshine.

A great leaping catch at first slip by Jennings broke that alliance, giving twenty-year-old all rounder Aspinwall his maiden first-class wicket as Ackermann departed for 44 followed quickly by Robinson.

We then briefly had the Stokes v Lyon contest, but after that it was the Bedingham show before Aspinwall  and Lyon took centre stage.

Nottinghamshire vs Hampshire, 28th Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Olly Stone pushed his claims for an England recall with his best Championship bowling figures in four years as Nottinghamshire and Hampshire reached the halfway stage of their Vitality County Championship match almost on level terms.

Stone took four for 62 with new-ball partner Dillon Pennington backing him up with three for 70, yet after slipping to 77 for five with Tom Prest unable to bat after suffering an injury in the field, Hampshire rebuilt around a sixth-wicket stand of 157 between all-rounder Liam Dawson (95) and veteran seamer Keith Barker (74) to claim a first-innings lead of 41 at 276 all out.

Nottinghamshire suffered a setback when skipper Haseeb Hameed to the second ball of their second innings but ended day two on 33 for one, just eight runs in arrears.

Earlier, Nottinghamshire all-rounder Lyndon James had turned his overnight 92 into a first century of the season, finishing unbeaten on 106 as the home side were bowled out for 235.

If he can stay fit, Stone’s express pace would make him an attractive proposition as England look for a bowling reset with James Anderson about to follow Stuart Broad into retirement.

He last represented his country in two one-day internationals in South Africa at the start of last year but spent much of the 2023 domestic season sidelined by persistent hamstring problems, another frustrating episode in a career repeatedly hampered by injuries.

Nine down for 212 overnight, Nottinghamshire’s first innings limped on just long enough to fulfil the objective of seeing James safely across the line. The 25-year-old, a genuine home-grown talent, was looking for his first hundred since hitting three in his breakthrough season in 2022.

Last-wicket partner Dane Paterson almost denied him, chancing a single that may well have seen him run out on 95 had Fletcha Middleton’s throw hit the stumps with James still scrambling to make his ground.

The moment was forgotten, though, when Kyle Abbott offered up virtually a wide long-hop in the next over and James had the reach to smash it to the off-side boundary for his ninth four, making sure his five and a quarter hours at the crease were not expended on a mere ninety-something.

A fulsome swing of the bat then saw Paterson caught behind as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 235.

Stone needed only three balls to make his first impact of the day, finding the edge of Ali Orr’s defensive bat as Hampshire went a wicket down for no runs.

Their innings almost mirrored the pattern of Nottinghamshire’s with half their wickets falling cheaply.  Felix Organ, dropped off Stone at third slip on three, had added only two more Stone found the edge again and Calvin Harrison made a fine grab at second slip.

By lunch, Hampshire were 61 for three as skipper James Vince, having taken advantage of Pennington’s struggle to find his early rhythm by hitting four boundaries in one over, got himself slightly squared up against Paterson and was caught behind.

Middleton fell two overs after lunch with no addition, gloving a catch to Clark as he tried to evade a short delivery from Pennington, after which Stone returned to claim his third wicket as Ben Brown nudged one to third slip, leaving Hampshire five down for 77, still 158 behind.

Yet thereafter the afternoon turned into a tale of frustration for the home side.  After surviving what remained of Stone’s second impressive spell of the day, Dawson and Barker became more expansive, Barker riding his luck on several occasions as the ball flew in unpredictable directions off different parts of the bat.

Barker took full advantage of his good fortune, twice whipping Pennington for sixes over the midwicket boundary and twice reverse sweeping Harrison’s leg-spin for four before Dawson, who had been circumspect initially, went after James with three boundaries in the same over.

The pair were parted soon after tea when Stone returned for a third spell, the England bowler angling one in from wide on the crease that beat Barker for pace, knocking back his off stump.

James Fuller helped Dawson add another 36 before an uppercut off Pennington looped to sub fielder James Hayes at wide third man, after which the innings ended relatively quickly in the absence of Prest, with Abbott leg before to Harrison and Dawson departing with a near carbon copy of Fuller’s shot as Pennington picked up his third.

Hameed was a second-ball casualty as Nottinghamshire began their second innings, edging a rashly extravagant drive to third slip off Barker, before Will Young and Ben Slater safely negotiated what remained of the 15 overs before the close.

Somerset vs Kent, 29th Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

England left-arm spinner Jack Leach claimed two wickets on his return to Somerset’s team after a long injury lay-off as they dominated a rain-affected second day of the Vitality County Championship First Division match with Kent at Taunton.

The home side added 114 to their overnight first innings score of 440 for seven to post their highest ever first class score against Kent, skipper Lewis Gregory making 77 off 95 balls with 9 fours.

Craig Overton then pinned England’s Zak Crawley lbw for a first ball duck as the visitors reached eight for one before the weather closed in just 11 balls into the innings.

Play resumed at 4.45pm and Kent reached stumps on 108 for five, Ben Compton top-scoring with 43 before Leach removed him and Harry Finch late in the day for figures of two for 22 from seven overs.

With George Garrett under treatment for a groin injury, Kent were a seamer light when Somerset resumed their first innings under heavily overcast skies at the start of the morning session. Gregory soon brought up a fifth batting bonus point with an on-driven four off Beyers Swanepoel.

The total had progressed quickly to 460 for seven when Migael Pretorius, on 19, edged a delivery from Grant Stewart (3-129) to slip where Marcus O’Riordan took an excellent two-handed catch diving to his left.

Six runs were added, with Josh Davey having joined Gregory before the first rain break of the day came with only 3.5 overs having been bowled. Play resumed at 11.50pm and Gregory moved to his third half-century of the season off 69 balls, with 6 fours.

Davey contributed a handy 27 before chipping a high catch to mid-wicket off Joey Evison with the score on 517. Out marched last man Leach, returning after knee surgery for his first appearance of the summer and welcomed by a rousing ovation from Somerset fans.

He played some sweet shots in contributing 21 to a tenth-wicket stand of 37 before Gregory’s impressive knock was ended by a brilliant diving boundary catch by Crawley off Evison, who finished with three for 92.

Lunch, which had been delayed with nine wickets down, was taken immediately and three overs were lost as another short shower prevented a resumption until 2.05pm. Compton took a couple of boundaries off the opening over of Kent’s reply, sent down by Davey, before Overton pinned Crawley leg before with a full delivery, which beat the inside edge.

Daniel Bell-Drummond survived a confident lbw appeal in the same over, but before it ended the rain began falling again and the heavy covers were brought on.

Tea was taken before play restarted with the floodlights on and a possible 31.1 overs left in the day. Compton played positively again, but Bell-Drummond had made only four when driving at Overton and failing to get to the pitch of the ball, wicketkeeper James Rew taking a good two-handed catch diving in front of first slip.

At 28 for two, Kent faced an uphill battle. O’Riordan joined Compton in looking to counter attack and hit 3 fours in moving to 20 before another loose drive saw his stumps scattered by Pretorius with the total on 55.

Leach was introduced into the attack at 76 for three, but after a tidy maiden saw his second over go for 14 as Compton hit him through the off-side for four and three before Joe Denly lofted a straight six. The skies had cleared to produce the best batting conditions of the day.

Compton looked in prime form. But, having faced 70 balls and cracked 7 fours he went to reverse sweep Leach and stood transfixed when judged to have feathered a catch through to Rew.

Finch looked equally perplexed to be given out lbw to Leach on five, having been struck in front possibly off a feint inside edge and Kent had lost half their wickets in 29 overs.

Leach's double strike put Somerset clear command. Their previous highest first class score against Kent was 503 at Taunton in 1898 when the team included Sammy Woods and the Palairet brothers, Lionel and Richard.

Surrey vs Worcestershire, 30th Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Leaders Surrey are in a strong position to claim their fourth win of the season in the Vitality County Championship after dominating the second day against Worcestershire at the Kia Oval.

Dan Worrall wrapped up Worcestershire’s first innings by claiming the last three wickets in five balls to finish with 6 for 22 as Surrey took a lead of 85.

Skipper Rory Burns laid the foundations with 70 at the start of Surrey’s second innings and although Worcestershire fought back after lunch with four wickets in eight overs, Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence, who was dropped on four, reasserted Surrey’s control with a fifth-wicket stand of 115 in 29 overs.

Smith made 72 before Lawrence and Jordan Clark added further punishment with an unbroken sixth-wicket alliance of 108 as Surrey closed on 342 for 5, a lead of 427.

Worrall now has 22 wickets in four games – with power to add in the second innings – after ending Worcestershire’s first innings during a high-class spell at the start of the day from the Vauxhall end.

In his fourth over and having bowled a series of inswingers at Joe Leach, he moved one away and Ben Foakes dived in front of first slip to take the edge. Ben Gibbon lost his off bail when the next ball nipped back and although Yadvinder Singh survived the hat-trick he drove airily at his second delivery and Foakes snaffled his 300th first-class catch for Surrey.

All out for 128, Worcestershire were up against it, but their seamers bowled with good control with the new ball and Burns and Sibley took no risks and settled for patient accumulation.  

Sibley’s first six runs came off 50 balls before he doubled his score by hoisting Gibbon off his pads and over the mid-wicket boundary. The partnership was worth 79 from 29 overs when Sibley nicked a fine ball from Singh on a fourth-stump line that left him off the pitch.

In the next over Ollie Pope was superbly caught by the diving Nathan Smith at leg slip to reward Gibbon’s wholehearted endeavours and, having claimed his maiden first-class wicket, debutant Singh took his second in his fourth over when Burns, having passed 50 for the fourth time this season, nicked off and was well held low down at slip by Rob Jones.

Surrey slipped to 115 for 4 in the 38th over after Foakes missed a straight one from Matthew Waite, but Waite was left shaking his head in frustration when Lawrence was put down on the mid-wicket boundary by Kashif Ali having made just three. It felt like a defining moment in the day and so it proved as the sun came out and Lawrence and Jamie Smith built the lead after tea in the best batting conditions of the match.

Smith, playing with increasing freedom, hit 12 fours in a typically enterprising 72 from 109 balls before losing his off stump to Gibbon via an inside edge as he shaped to drive through the covers.

Lawrence followed him to fifty – his second of the match – in the next over and the situation was perfect for Clark to go on the attack. He raced to his half-century off 42 balls, including a six over long-off off Ali, as the lead swelled beyond 400 with 160 runs added in the final session. Both will have their eyes on a century in the morning.

DIVISION TWO

Derbyshire vs Northamptonshire, 21st Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Brooke Guest’s highest score of the season kept Derbyshire in the Vitality County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Derby.

The wicket-keeper scored an unbeaten 76 to steer the home side to 170 for 2 in reply to Northants 422 all out on the second day of the Division Two game.

Rob Keogh made 102  and Justin Broad followed a career-best 75 with a stunning catch before Guest led a spirited response from the home side who closed 252 behind.

Derbyshire had a relatively new ball to work with at the start of play but could not make the early breakthrough they needed on the second morning.

The pattern of the first day was repeated as Blair Tickner and Anuj Dal beat the bat a number of times but Keogh and Broad maintained their concentration to accumulate steadily.

Broad was the first to his personal milestone, completing a  half century from 98 balls before Keogh guided Dal to the third man boundary to reach three figures.

It had come off 215 balls and contained only nine fours but it was a fine example of disciplined batting at a time when his team needed to rebuild.

Derbyshire had gone into the match without a front line spinner and it was not until skipper David Lloyd decided to give his own off breaks an airing that the breakthrough came.

He saw Broad dropped at point on 65 but in the same over, Keogh edged a drive and was caught at slip.

Broad quickly followed, lbw to Zak Chappell as he played around his front pad and after Wayne Madsen bowled his off spin for the first time since shoulder surgery in 2022 to improve the over rate, Lloyd beat Michael Finan’s attempted drive.

But by then, Derbyshire had conceded 400 runs for the fourth consecutive championship match although it took only three overs after lunch to polish off the tail.

Tickner deservedly picked up a second wicket when Sanderson edged a drive to second slip before Siddharth Kaul was cleaned up by Daryn Pavillon.

Derbyshire were still facing a formidable total and batting for the first time since they were bowled out in 26 overs against Sussex so there might have been some nerves in the home camp when Lloyd went in the third over.

Sanderson found just enough movement to draw Lloyd into a shot but what followed was remarkable as Broad went full length at fourth slip to take an amazing catch inches above the turf.

But Northants were unable to press home their advantage as Luis Reece and Guest displayed good judgement and application to bat through until tea.

The pair looked to be building a significant partnership until Reece swept Laim Patterson-White and picked out Finan at deep square leg.

Reece knew he had given his wicket away but Guest completed his third 50 of the season  and with Madsen made sure there were no setbacks by batting through 24 overs to stumps

Glamorgan vs Middlesex, 22nd Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

A brilliant hundred from Mark Stoneman put Middlesex in command of their Vitality County Championship fixture against Glamorgan in Cardiff.

Having resumed on 62 without loss, Middlesex reached 303 for six at the close, 120 runs in front of Glamorgan on first innings. Stoneman’s excellent 129 backed up the excellent bowling effort from Middlesex as the visitors took complete control of this match. 

There were starts all of the Middlesex top order but three wickets from James Harris pegged back their progress. Ryan Higgins was the only player other than Stoneman to make a significant contribution as he finished the day on 53 not out. 

With two days left in this game Middlesex will be hopeful of pushing for their second victory of the season to cement their place in the promotion spots at the top of Division Two. 

Stoneman and Sam Robson looked comfortable against the Glamorgan attack in the first hour of the day’s play. Stoneman reached fifty from 76 balls and Robson was starting to find some fluency when the first wicket fell. 

Robson attempted a pull shot off James Harris and the ball got a big on him and he looped a catch to Marnus Labuschagne at mid-wicket. It was one of the few balls that seemed to hurry a Middlesex batter in the first session with the opening pair putting on 97. 

Stoneman was joined by Max Holden and the two went about chasing down Glamorgan’s first innings total of 183. They took the score to 170 for one at the lunch break with Stoneman undefeated on 99. 

It was the second ball after the lunch break when Stoneman reached his first century of the 2024 season, and his sixth for Middlesex. It was that same over when the stand of 74 between Stoneman and Holden was broken when the latter gloved a ball down the leg side to wicket-keeper Chris Cooke. 

Leus du Plooy played some lovely shots during his brief stay at the crease but he fell in similar fashion to Robson. A short ball from Harris appeared to surprise him and he managed to edge the ball on to his stumps for 15. 

 Stoneman continue to look untroubled and when his wicket did come it was something of a surprise. He played a slog sweep off Kiran Carlson that came off the toe of his bat and he was easily caught at mid-on by Andy Gorvin for a brilliant hundred. 

As Stoneman’s wicket fell, Middlesex were in front, but only by 52. There was a danger that a further flurry of wickets would undo a lot of the hard work Middlesex had put in to get themselves into that position. Some of those fears were allayed with a solid stand of 64 between Ryan Higgins and Nathan Fernandes that took Middlesex to 297 for five. 

 A heavy rain shower meant that tea was taken slightly early and it kept the players off the field for more than an hour and took 16 out of the game. When play did resume Higgins reached another half century as his run tally for the season passed 500. 

 A further wicket fell before the close when Ethan Bamber was unfortunate to be run out via a drive from Higgins that Jamie McIlroy got his finger tips to before it smashed into the stumps at the non-strikers end. 

Leicestershire vs Gloucestershire, 23rd Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Gloucestershire 706-6 dec Leicestershire 133-5

Gloucestershire registered the highest score in their 154 year first-class history before making substantial inroads into the Leicestershire reply on the second day of the Vitality Division Two championship match at the UptonSteel County Ground.

Captain Graeme Van Buuren hit a century at better than a run a ball, becoming the third batsman in his team to reach three figures after Cameron Bancroft and Ben Charlesworth had reached the landmark on day one, before declaring on 706-6 at tea.

It was the first time Gloucestershire passed 700, surpassing the 695-9 made against Middlesex in 2004, and the fifth highest first-class score made against Leicestershire.

Young leg-spinner Ed Middleton then won decisions off consecutive deliveries as Leicestershire were reduced to 133-5 at the close.

A cloudy morning saw Gloucestershire made to work hard for their runs, at least for the first hour, so much so that they failed to pick up a fifth batting bonus point – a target that had looked well in reach when they began the day on 385-2, needing another 65 runs from 15.3 overs.

The loss of Miles Hammond did not help, the left-hander bowled off the inside edge trying to drive a Scott Currie delivery. Ollie Price passed 50 for the third time this season before missing an attempted reverse sweep at Rehan Ahmed, but Van Buuren and James Bracey took Leicestershire's tiring young attack apart during a partnership of 147 for the fifth wicket.

It was a surprise when Bracey, having made 92, edged a drive at a wide delivery from Currie to Ben Cox behind the stumps, but Van Buuren went to his century, made from 90 balls, with a six off Louis Kimber.

Needing 557 simply to avoid the follow on, Leicestershire made a poor start when Marcus Harris was given out leg before to Matt Taylor. The decision was a close one, the ball hitting the Australian well above the knee roll, and so too were the decisions which saw the demise of Louis Kimber and Lewis Hill. 

Kimber went back to a delivery from Middleton that skidded on and looked to be missing leg stump, and the next ball saw Hill given out caught off bat-pad when replays suggested the bat may not have been involved.

There was little doubt however about the leg before decision given when Josh Shaw's full delivery trapped Peter Hanscombe on the back foot, and none at all when Ahmed's airy waft resulted in the young England all-rounder edging Beau Webster's delivery to Bracey.

Sussex vs Yorkshire, 24th Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

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