Vitality County Championship Round 8, Day 4 - 27th 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 8, Day 4, May 24th – 27th 2024.

Monday 27th of May

DIVISION ONE

Kent vs Essex, Vitality County Championship Division One

Essex have routed Kent by an innings and 96 runs in the Vitality County Championship at Canterbury.

Simon Harmer took four for 32 and Shane Snater three for 15 as the visitors skittled Kent for 109 in their second innings, to cut the gap to championship leaders Surrey to just two points.

Joe Denly’s 23 was Kent’s highest score and the hosts are destined to finish this round of fixtures at the bottom of the Division One table if Lancashire avoid defeat against Warwickshire at Old Trafford.

Kent were 197 behind going into the final day and home fans were hoping that a combination of the grit shown on day three and a biblical weather forecast might see them escape with a draw.

They were severely disappointed. There was torrential rain almost everywhere else in the county but play began on time and Kent endured a gruesome morning session, the tone for which was set when Zak Crawley survived just four balls before he was lbw to Snater.

Essex threw the ball to Harmer after just 12 overs and he struck with his third delivery to get Ben Compton lbw for 12. Marcus O’Riordan was next to go, making nine from 25 balls before Harmer had him caught at short leg by Nick Browne.

Daniel Bell-Drummond was lbw to Matt Critchley for 20 in the next over, the 20^th and Harry Finch inexplicably tried to reverse sweep Harmer while on 4 and was lbw, although in mitigation he seemed to have been hit outside the line.

Kent were 64 for five at lunch, after which there was a mere 10-minute delay for rain.

Denly and Joey Evison at least offered some resistance, but having dealt with the spinners fairly comfortably Evison was lbw to Snater for 16. Snater then sent Grant Stewart’s off stump cartwheeling for one to claim his hundredth first class wicket for Essex.

Denly tried to drive Harmer but was caught by Aaron Beard for 23 and with Wes Agar unable to bat the victory was confirmed when Critchley got Parkinson lbw for 10 in the 58^th over.

Essex’s Anthony McGrath said: “When we saw the wicket on Thursday at practice we knew it was probably going to be a very good one and pretty slow and that’s how it turned out. We probably batted on for longer than we normally would but just thought if the wicket did break up it was going to be in the later stages of day four.

“The wickets last night were crucial in the grand scheme of things and as we always do we find a way. To lose Sam Cook early in the match and still get 19 wickets in the end was an incredible performance and just another example of how resilient the guys are.

“Zak is a terrific player and I think to get him early was a big wicket for us because he can score so quickly. With a lead of around 200 if he’d got in he could have eaten into that pretty quickly so that was absolutely vital.

“That first session really killed it and I think it shows just what a good attack we’ve got even when it’s a slow benign pitch we’ve got high-class spinners in Simon Harmer and Matt Critchley and Tom Westley put his hand up with a few wickets so that was nice to see.

“The footmarks started to show a bit and we bowled around the wicket even to the right-handers to give him some assistance and the problem really was the bounce of the pitch but he showed all his skill, as did Matt to create the chances. That proved vital in that second innings.

“Tom’s just said upstairs in his speech to the lads that his wickets turned the game and that’s the reason why we won! No, he’s had a good week as captain, we’ve had some discussion about how long we should bat for and he was pretty adamant we should carry on. It was a brilliant decision to put pressure on the Kent batsmen with the big total we got. He’s had a good week has Tom.

“Unfortunately there’s no more news on Sam (Cook). It’s a hamstring but because it’s a Bank Holiday weekend we haven’t managed to get a scan. Hopefully we’ll get one tomorrow and we’ll know the extent of it then. Historically he is quite a quick healer and he is a very good professional so we’re crossing our fingers it’s not going to be too long.”

 

Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond said: “We’re very disappointed. We’ve been second best for the whole game really from day one so yeah, it’s very frustrating. We didn’t do very well, especially on this last day but it’s probably a little bit of the pressure, especially in this last month or so and being second best in a lot of games. It showed today with a few tired shots and scoreboard pressure got the better of us.

“It’s a shame, we batted well in the first innings to an extent so to fall in a heap like that was disappointing but in a way not surprising considering the pressure we’ve been under for quite a while.

“They bowled well as well, but yeah, we shouldn’t have been bowled out for 110. It’s day four and you expect the wicket to disintegrate but we’re not happy with that performance.

“It’s been a tough seven games. We’ve shown some good signs in patches, obviously with the win at Old Trafford but there’s a lot of things happening. Like I said before with five bowlers injured, if you put that on any team it’s going to give you a different outlook.

“They guys are giving everything, the effort in the field I can’t fault but obviously Wes going down in the first session of the first day didn’t help. There’s a few things that aren’t going our way but at the end of the day we haven’t been good enough and we need to improve if we’re going to make strides up the league.

“T20 is coming up now so it’s a good time to reflect on that and try to improve. Like I say, it has been a struggle at points and some of the loads have caught up with a lot of the bowler. It’ll be good to get them back on the park and fighting fit.”

Lancashire vs Warwickshire, 34th Match, Vitality County Championship Division One

Any hope of an exciting climax to the last day of the Vitality County Championship encounter between Lancashire and Warwickshire was dashed by the rain after only one hour and a quarter of play was possible at Emirates Old Trafford as the game finished in a draw.

Poor weather had dominated proceedings throughout the encounter but with the visitors 96 for three overnight with a lead of 231 all results were still possible in Manchester given Lancashire’s brittle batting order this season and Warwickshire’s desire to chase a first win of the campaign.

But as heavy showers swept across the ground throughout the morning both sets of players were thwarted with repeated pitch inspections coming and going without any chance of play.

Eventually a break in the weather saw the game resume at 3.15pm with a generous Nottinghamshire declaration giving Lancashire the opportunity to embark on a desperate run chase with 44 overs still scheduled.

Luke Wells quickly departed in the second over, pulling Michael Rae straight to Jake Lintott on the square leg boundary, but then for a brief time the hosts looked as if they could pull off something special.

Keaton Jennings slapped three boundaries but was bowled comprehensively by Jacob Bethall when attempting a reverse sweep that ended with the Lancashire skipper lying on his backside and out for 18 while Josh Bohannon upper cut Rae for six before he skied the same bowler to Alex Davies at mid on for a ten ball 15.

An almost identical shot saw George Bell hand Rae his third wicket leaving Tom Bruce and Matty Hurst at the crease with the pair putting on 43 runs before the rain came for a final decisive time at 4.30pm, leaving the New Zealander unbeaten on 31 and the young wicket keeper 15 not out as Lancashire closed on 89 for four off the 15 overs possible.

Lancashire claimed 11 points from the game, taking them off the bottom of Division One, while Warwickshire took 12, leaving them seventh.

Mark Chilton, Lancashire director of cricket performance, said:

"It was a brave declaration from Warwickshire and it was a very getable score in other conditions - we always knew there were showers knocking about but from the start we fancied it. 

"We are disappointed on the whole and we can't hide behind the fact that over the course of the first seven games we haven't played to our usual standards and we know that there is more in the tank for sure. 

"There have clearly been positives - I thought it was a fantastic result at Blackpool as Durham are a good team and there have been some good individual performances - Keaton (Jennings) has really led well from the start and there have been performances from the youngsters that clearly show they are capable at this level.

"We know we have a crop of fine young players and we are always keen to give them game time because that is their best chance of learning but overall we know as a team we have fallen short of our expected standards over the first couple of months and that is frustrating for everyone. 

"I don't think it is through a lack of effort - everyone is trying and talking about how we can improve - but for whatever reason we haven't quite clicked."

 

Warwickshire head coach Mark Robinson said: 

“It was a difficult toss to win, with the floodlights on everything pointed to bowl first, but we knew the ball was going to spin which it did.  

"Alex Davies played an outstanding knock. After day two nobody knew what a good score would be and he should be really proud of his innings. It should have been a match winning knock and it’s a shame that it wasn’t. The way he batted against one of the world’s best spinners, Nathan Lyon, who doesn’t normally miss the rough but in this game he couldn’t hit it. I thought they (Lancashire) bowled defensively.  

"Jake Lintott was brought into the side to do a job to knock over the tail which he did and I thought Rob Yates was unlucky when he bowled but we are investing in him and Jacob Bethell and they will get better by bowling."

 

Worcestershire vs Nottinghamshire, Vitality County Championship Division One

Nottinghamshire’s hopes of pushing for a last day victory were wrecked by the weather during the rain-ruined draw with Worcestershire in the Vitality County Championship encounter at Visit Worcestershire New Road.

Despite the wash-out of two of the first three days, Nottinghamshire were strongly placed at being 154 runs ahead.

But heavy overnight rain and a steady stream of morning showers dashed any hopes of the players being able to take the field.

Umpires Nigel Llong and Suri Shanmugam carried out a host of inspections at 11.30, 12.30, 1.30 and 2.30 …..

The visitors are entitled to feel frustrated after completing outplaying Worcestershire on the one day’s play possible on Saturday.

Luke Fletcher was the star performer with the ball but a disciplined attack took full advantage of the seamer-friendly conditions to dismiss Worcestershire for 80.

Then skipper Haseeb Hameed scored an excellent century to press home Nottinghamshire’s advantage.

Nottinghamshire Head Coach Peter Moores said: “We played brilliantly in the game so credit to the lads. To bowl them out in a session was a fantastic effort, not just the quality of the bowling but the catching that went with it.

“All in all, no complaints there, and were then getting to a very strong position in the game with the partnership between Hameed and Clarke on the second day.

“It’s been frustrating because as soon as we got here and saw the outfield, we knew it was going to be difficult if we got any rain, and we did get rain over three days.

“On the first seven games, I’d say we were a bit slow out of the blocks if I’m honest and then we picked up.

“We probably started to find ourselves as a team somewhere in the second innings against Somerset, the partnership between Will Young and Joe Clarke.

“After that we really started to pick up and find a bit of style. The captain (Haseeb Hameed) settled and started to get runs at the back end.

“We had a block of four games and, after a little break, played really well in the last three. We looked a good team.”

Worcestershire  Head Coach Alan Richardson said: “Is there a new Perudo Champion? I think they’ve found a few different games to play in the changing room. They’ve had to find some real ways of entertaining themselves. We had three days completely washed out.

“In terms of the one day we played, to get bowled out in just one session in 31 overs on a wicket which did a little bit, where had we showed a bit more application, would have stood us in good stead.

“I thought Haseeb Hameed and Joe Clarke played really well and so put us under a lot of pressure.

“In terms of a day’s cricket, this season we’ve put in some good performances and probably not got our rewards.

“In this game is one we would like to forget about. All catches are a concern if we put them down. We are creating chances but we’d like to clean that part of our game up.

“It was something we discussed last year in Division Two when our record wasn’t as good as we would like.

“If you look at Calvin Harrison and the two catches he took in the slips, they can become real game changers.

 

 

 

DIVISION TWO

Gloucestershire vs Derbyshire, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Beau Webster completed a Gloucestershire home debut to remember before the rain-ruined Vitality County Championship Division Two match with Derbyshire at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol petered out into a predictable draw.

The Australian all-rounder, recruited primarily for T20 cricket, followed up his six-wicket haul in Derbyshire’s first innings of 526 by smashing 76 off just 79 balls as Gloucestershire extended their reply from an overnight 399 for four to 530 all out, Zak Chappell claiming five for 58.

James Bracey was dismissed for 144 and Graeme van Buuren 187 after extending their record-breaking fifth-wicket stand to 277. But too much time had been lost to the weather and the players shook hands at 4.53pm when Derbyshire declared their second innings on 166 for four, with a lead of 162.

Brooke Guest contributed 57, his second half-century of the match. The visitors took 15 points from the game and Gloucestershire 14.

Only 21 overs had been bowled on day three because of rain and a draw looked the only likely outcome when play began with Gloucestershire 127 runs adrift of Derbyshire’s first innings total. The first ball of the day from Anuj Dal brought a van Buuren boundary and a fourth batting bonus point for the hosts.

Five more runs had been added when the marathon stand between Bracey and van Buuren, who had resumed on 137 and 156 respectively, was finally broken, Bracey looking aghast as the ball trickled onto his stumps and dislodged the bails as he attempted to sweep off-spinner Alex Thomson.

Bracey had faced 190 balls and hit 20 fours and a six. The stand with van Buuren occupied 52.2 overs and bettered by 16 the previous Gloucestershire record fifth-wicket partnership of 261, put together by W.G.Grace and William Moberly against Yorkshire at Cheltenham 148 years ago.

Webster soon attacked with 2 fours in an over off Dal before a van Buuren single off Thomson brought Gloucestershire their fifth batting point. The skipper’s 236-ball knock, featuring 23 fours and 3 sixes, ended with the total on 475 when he drove at a good length ball from Sam Conners and edged to slip.

An unexpected clatter of wickets followed as Ed Middleton was caught behind fencing at Chappell, who followed up by removing Matt Taylor and Marchant de Lange with successive balls, the former caught at fine leg off a glance he timed too well and the latter lbw to a toe-crushing yorker.

Chappell was denied a hat-trick when his next delivery, also very full, crashed into Ajeet Singh Dale’s pads, but was rightly ruled to be missing leg stump. Gloucestershire’s number eleven went on to share a stand of 43 with Webster, who moved confidently to a run-a-ball fifty, celebrating with a big six over mid-wicket and into the car park off Conners.

The tall Aussie was last man out, skying a catch to long-off to give Daryn Dupavillon a wicket, having struck 8 fours and 3 sixes. Chappell’s figures were outstanding, but Derbyshire were left to reflect on taking only two bowling points, having wasted the second new ball on day three, and Gloucestershire’s slender lead of four runs offered little hope of a decisive result.

Only a clatter of Derbyshire second innings wickets could change that. It seemed even less likely when Marchant de Lange’s opening over with the new ball went for 14.

There was a glimmer of light for Gloucestershire when de Lange bowled Luis Reece off an inside edge for seven with the total on 25. But skipper David Lloyd cruised to 49, with 8 fours, before edging leg-spinner Middleton through to wicketkeeper Bracey.

In bright afternoon sunshine, the cricket became soporific as Guest and Wayne Madsen steadily accumulated against slow bowlers Middleton and Ollie Price without the runs counting for much. By tea, Derbyshire had moved to 129 for two and led by 125, Guest having just reached his fifty off 100 balls, with 7 fours.

The abridged final session saw Madsen caught behind for 30 trying to reverse sweep Middleton and Guest snapped up at short-leg off Price after the pair had added 70 for the third wicket.

Gloucestershire head coach Mark Alleyne said: "We started the game slowly and were disappointed to let them score 525 when 350 would have enabled us to control the game.

"But we put some good partnerships together when we batted and it's just a shame the rain washed out so much play yesterday because I think we might have seen a thrilling finish.

"Beau Webster was signed mainly with the T20 competition in mind, but we felt it would be good for him to get some match practice. It was tough for him getting off a plane and then spending so long in the field at Leicester last week, but he has really shown his quality in this game.

"We are in a good place going into the break from red ball cricket. We will have a long debrief to make sure we package all the good things we have done in the first half of the Championship campaign before turning our attention to the Blast."

 

Derbyshire head of cricket Mickey Arthur said: "I have really enjoyed the last four days and the performance of the team. We planted the seeds last week and they are starting to sprout

"We found a method, won the toss and got on the front foot by batting and posting a score. Apart from a crazy hour yesterday with the second new ball, we bowled really well too.

"You have to maintain your line and lengths and attack with the way you set the field. We got it right this morning and if I could have cut that out and applied it to an hour and a half yesterday the outcome might have been different.

"Matt Lamb's double century was a proper innings. He is fighting a battle with his back, but was outstanding and totally deserved his runs for the effort he has put in."

Leicestershire vs Glamorgan, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Leicestershire remain the only side in either division of the Vitality County Championship to neither win a match nor suffer a defeat after their match with Glamorgan at the Uptonsteel County Ground ended in an almost inevitable stalemate, with Glamorgan 157 for four in their second innings, 201 runs in front with Sam Northeast 41 not out.

No team has been promoted with fewer than five wins since the two-division system was introduced in 2000, yet after seven of the 14 fixtures in this season’s competition Leicestershire’s unbeaten record has been enough to keep them in third place in the Division Two table, despite a zero in their wins column.

The wet spring has led to a scarcity of positive results across the board and rain took its toll on this match, too, particularly on day three, although periods of stultifyingly low scoring on a slow pitch did not help.  Five wickets each for Glamorgan’s Timm van der Gugten and Leicestershire’s Scott Currie and a century for Currie’s team-mate Peter Handscomb were the highlights.

Glamorgan’s overnight lead of 58 with one wicket down did not look a particularly promising starting point if the match was to end in any result other than a draw and the slow progress of the opening hour did nothing to alter that perception.

After a long wait for the day’s first boundary, extended by a 20-minute interruption while a shower passed through, Marnus Labuschagne began to get things moving but a couple of wickets before lunch provided a semblance of encouragement for Leicestershire, whose ambition at this stage was to bowl Glamorgan out and hope there was still time to overhaul whatever lead they had managed to chisel out.

Scott Currie, Leicestershire’s stand-out bowler in this match, picked up a wicket that looked a tad fortunate as Eddie Byrom was given out leg before but there was no good fortune about Ben Mike’s dismissal of Labuschagne, however, the right-armer bowling the Australian with his second ball, one that nipped back to pass between bat and pad and hit just below the top of off stump.

Two overs after lunch, Mike removed Kiran Carlson too, the batter perhaps still mindful of the painful effects of being struck in the lower abdomen moments before when he went back in his crease to a delivery that also came back, this time hitting middle. At that point, Glamorgan were effectively 135 for four, with 62 overs left in the day.

It opened up a small window of opportunity for the home side, although it had to be borne in mind that they were one seamer short with Tom Scriven injured on day one had no front line spinner anyway, and when Chris Cooke and Sam Northeast guided Glamorgan to 132 for four when more rain arrived before just before three o’clock, a lead of 176.

Cooke and Northeast extended their partnership to 66 when play resumed after an early tea, at which point more gathering rain clouds and the very rare sighting of Australian opener Marcus Harris bowling in a first-class match signalled the direction in which the contest was drifting.

Harris had bowled only 16 overs in his 13-year career and was left on 99 balls delivered in first-class cricket - still looking for his maiden wicket - when the skies opened again.

The 31-year-old Western Australian can claim, though, that he always bowls against Glamorgan, having sent down one over against them last year for Gloucestershire, his only other over to date in the County Championship in his only other appearance against the Welsh county.

Glamorgan captain Sam Northeast said:

“It didn’t seem like there was a positive result possible for us so we just needed to bat through today and get the draw. The pitch is pretty good and the outfield pretty quick so it would have been a tough ask for us to bowl them out again, especially without Mir Hamza in our attack.

“It has been a strange pitch. There was a lot of grass to start with, which assisted the bowlers, but as they have all season the heavy rollers made a big impact in the game. Four heavy rollers across the game has probably killed the pitch and it ended up being really slow and low.

“Maybe it is time to have another look at that. The groundsmen are trying lots of things to make it go through and keep the carry but I do think the heavy roller is killing it slightly.

“I think we have played well in periods over the first half of the season. Not being able to get over the line in the last game where we didn’t quite play up to our best was disappointing but apart from that we’ve played some good cricket in spells.  There are still quite a lot of games to go and we want to push to get back up the table.

“There are a lot of positives although we are all going to have to reflect and work out what we have to do to win games of cricket.”

Leicestershire head coach Alfonso Thomas said:

“We tried to get some sort of result wicket and we probably could have bowled a bit better on the first day but having said that it was an improvement on the previous game.

“If we could have kept Glamorgan down to 300 or just under 300 it would  have been a good game because there was enough there in the pitch. Credit to the groundsman for that. We’ve had a bit of a clash of heads on the wicket but I think that pitch was perfect for four-day cricket. There was something there for the bowlers on day one, if you applied yourself as Peter Handscomb showed you could get runs, and it was a bit up and down on day four, which is what you want out of a four-day pitch.

“The positives were Scott Currie getting a maiden five-for, another big contribution from Pete and the captain, Lewis Hill, getting some runs too, which was good to see.

“We’ve now played seven matches and not lost one. We have not won any but we are one of only two counties to have not lost one in the Championship so far.

“Obviously we want to win games and we want to start that as soon as we can but when we set our stall out at the beginning of the season this is exactly where we wanted to be at this stage.  And we are still waiting for our two senior bowlers, Wiaan Mulder and Chris Wright, to come back.

“With Chris, after his time away, it is a matter of trying to get him back up to match fitness as soon as we can. Depending on the data we get from the strength and conditioning guys and the fitness guys, we can make a decision on when he comes back into contention.

“He’s been back in the changing room the last couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed it and it is just a patient process now of getting him back on track, because we want our senior bowler back as quick as we can.”

Middlesex vs Sussex, 27th Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Middlesex and Sussex maintained their status as Vitality County Championship Division Two promotion front-runners as their match at Lord’s petered out into a draw.

It looked inevitable that the spoils would be shared once the home side had avoided the follow-on early on the final day and they went on to post 613 for nine declared in reply to Sussex’s total of 554 for nine.

Nathan Fernandes missed out on a century by nine runs, while Jack Davies struck a career-best 68 and Henry Brookes registered his first half-century as a Middlesex player, with off-spinner Jack Carson taking four for 166.

Captains Leus du Plooy and John Simpson shook hands at 4.50pm, with the draw enabling Sussex to increase their advantage at the top to eight points over Middlesex, who remain in second place.

Any faint prospect of a positive outcome essentially disappeared as early as the third over of the morning, when Fernandes clipped Fynn Hudson-Prentice for two to steer Middlesex past the follow-on target of 405.

With their over rate in negative territory the previous evening, Sussex were soon utilising spin at both ends and the seventh-wicket pair continued to chip away at the deficit as they built a partnership of 119.

Having swept Carson over the short boundary for six, Davies overtook his previous best of 65, but added just three more before he was out in the off-spinner’s next over to a ball that turned away from him and took the edge.

Fernandes looked assured against both seam and spin, cutting and sweeping confidently to usher his side’s total beyond 500 and move within range of what would have been a second first-class century.

The left-hander gained a reprieve when he was put down at backward square leg, pulling a short ball from Tom Clark – but he failed to take advantage, repeating the stroke to the next delivery and this time James Coles dived to take a tumbling catch in the deep.

The remainder of the afternoon largely involved batting practice for the Middlesex tail, with Sussex deploying nine bowlers and at one stage setting a field with all nine men ranged in a semi-circle on the off side.

Luke Hollman shared a sedate ninth-wicket partnership of 65 with Brookes, which eventually came to an end when the left-hander was bowled around his legs by Ollie Robinson’s slower ball.

However, Brookes completed his half-century – the sixth of his career – after tea, swatting Coles’ full toss into the grandstand and finishing 52 not out as he and Ethan Bamber steered Middlesex to the 12th highest total in their history.

Middlesex stand-in captain LEUS du PLOOY said:

“We found ourselves in the top two before this game and that’s how it stands after the game. Whenever you’re in a side that is unbeaten at the halfway mark, it’s a great achievement and it’s awesome to see the brand of cricket we’ve been playing.

“Unfortunately this morning, trying to set up a game, there was never really an agreeable total versus overs left in the day that we thought was fair. Both teams had a good first innings with the bat and that sometimes makes it tough to get a result.

“He (Nathan Fernandes) has been so impressive this whole season, you sometimes forget he’s only 20 years old. He’s got a real bright future ahead of him for sure and this was a great test for him, coming up against two Test bowlers.

“It might have been a good batting wicket, but you’ve still got to apply yourself and go through the same processes. He seems to be learning really quickly, which is an attribute a lot of great players have.

“I’d also have to mention Higgy (Ryan Higgins) – he always seems to find a way to contribute in every game, whether it be with ball, bat, or in the field where he took a phenomenal catch again in this game.

“Then Robbo (Sam Robson) is so consistent for us up front, he’s like the wall – I would hate playing against him.”

 

Sussex head coach PAUL FARBRACE said:

“It was a tough last day – it’s frustrating when you end up going through the motions but those games happen and you have to move on to the next one.

“We tried our best, it was pretty sensible bowling all day and it’s a shame when there’s not a lot in the pitch but that happens sometimes, it was a slow surface with not a lot of pace or bounce and both teams found it hard to get wickets.

“There were opportunities when we started bowling, we were a little bit unlucky perhaps, going past the edge a fair bit.

“We’ve said for two years we want to be promoted and be in Division One. There’s plenty of good cricket to be played before it’s decided who’s going to go up but we want to be there or thereabouts.

“Seven games in, to be in the position we’re in is fantastic. We’re right up there with three games won out of seven, two others where the weather went against us when we were in a good position and one pretty tough defeat to Glamorgan.

“But we’re certainly not getting carried away with ourselves – we know there are some good teams in Division Two who will also be looking at it and saying they’re not in a bad position at the turn.”

Northamptonshire vs Yorkshire, 28th Match, Vitality County Championship Division Two

Ricardo Vasconcelos hit a valiant 129 not out as he attempted to power Northamptonshire to an unlikely victory over Yorkshire in this Vitality County Championship match which ended in high drama on a see-saw final evening at Wantage Road.

Yorkshire had set up a tantalising run chase of challenging 326 to win in a little over two sessions, and when Vasconcelos warmed up for the T20 Blast campaign with 17 boundaries all around the ground, a home win looked a possibility.

But a dramatic clatter of wickets as Yorkshire’s attack staged a late fightback set nerves jangling in the home dressing room, Vasconcelos had to switch gears to ensure his side held out for the draw, eight wickets down for 250, in an innings full of character and maturity.

At 165 for two in the 33^rd over with Vasconcelos sharing a quickfire stand of 63 in 55 balls with Karun Nair (36), Northamptonshire were set for a potentially enthralling white ball style finish. But a persistent Yorkshire bowling attack fought back, taking three wickets for 13, and six for 54 in all, as first innings centurion Adam Lyth concluded a memorable 200^th Championship match with career best bowling figures of four for 56. In total Northamptonshire seven wickets fell in the evening session.

Earlier Yorkshire captain Shan Masood (131 not out) declared his side’s innings on 264 for six just before lunch, dangling the carrot of a chase which would have been the tenth highest to beat Yorkshire by any team in its history.

Ultimately though, the loss of 17 overs during two stoppages for rain took too much time out of the game and the captains shook hands shortly after 6.20pm. The draw leaves both sides winless after seven games, Yorkshire taking 14 points and Northamptonshire 13.

Earlier Masood, who resumed on an overnight 82 not out, powered his way to three figures, his unbeaten 131 coming off just 152 deliveries (13 fours, four sixes). He made his intentions clear from the start, driving Justin Broad through the covers and steering him down to third to reach three figures, bringing up the 50 partnership with Will Luxton (27) in the process.

While Luxton fell in the next over, edging Broad low to first slip, Masood found another willing partner in Jonathan Tattersall, combining in a run-a-ball stand of 66.

After a brief rain delay, Yorkshire briefly took the field for four deliveries, adding 11 more runs, Masood swinging Keogh high over deep square leg for six. Satisfied with their lead, Masood declared, Northamptonshire openers Vasconcelos and Emilio Gay safely negotiating four overs before lunch.

Yorkshire though struck immediately after the resumption, when a flat-footed Gay edged Fernando’s first ball to first slip.

Vasconcelos soon found the boundary, cutting Vishwa Fernando in front of point for four before rain forced the players from the field once more, this time for 55 minutes.

Vasconcelos immediately took the positive route when play resumed, running hard, driving Jordan Thompson down the ground, and smashing him through extra cover, while also showing excellent placement and timing, including a delicate late cut down to third.

Northamptonshire went into tea on 94 for one, with Vasconcelos unbeaten on 56, still needing 232 to win in a minimum of 35 overs.

Three overs behind the required over rate, Yorkshire brought on Lyth to speed up proceedings, a move which proved inspired as the part-time spinner struck early in the evening session, snaring Procter (31) who played a loose shot to cover, ending a stand of 89 with Vasconcelos.

Tattersall missed an easy chance to run out Nair on 4 and then a more difficult stumping chance off Lyth when the Indian international was on 16. Nair quickly made Yorkshire pay, picking up one from Matt Revis and dispatching it over deep midwicket for six and cutting him for four to bring up the half-century stand with Vasconcelos off 44 balls. Nair’s downfall finally came when he skied one off Revis, Finlay Bean running round to take the catch at short third.

George Bartlett (6) was next to go when he pulled Revis to short midwicket, closely followed by Rob Keogh (3) who chipped the ball back to Lyth for a simple return catch. Lewis McManus (6) then swept Lyth to backward square to leave Northamptonshire 192 for six with 134 more needed of 107 deliveries.

Vasconcelos, who had kept motoring on, upper cutting Revis over the keeper’s head for four to go to 98 before moving to his century. But he soon lost another partner when Broad (8) left a Lyth delivery and was adjudged lbw.

Northamptonshire duly shut up shop, with Vasconcelos shepherding the tail. There was one final moment of drama when Ben Sanderson was struck on the boot by Jordan Thompson, with Northamptonshire 219 for eight with just six overs left, but Siddharth Kaul kept Vasconelos company as they closed out the draw.

Northamptonshire opener Ricardo Vasconcelos said after scoring his 8^th century for Northamptonshire: “It was a bit of a weird innings. Firstly, going for it and really trying to put our foot down, to have to then scale back was quite tough. All my instincts were telling me to take it on, but sometimes you've just got to do it.

“We were willing to risk losing to win. Because ultimately, that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to win every game of cricket we play. So, we went in there, trying to set the game up, to be able to target a short boundary in the last hour. We said we could go at 10s. I think in hindsight, we might have gone a little bit early. But I think we felt good out there. And we felt like we were on top. And that was the time to kind of put the throttle on and maybe it was the wrong decision by us. But that's what we did. And we're fine in the end, we’ve got the draw.

“Karun’s very good, isn't he! Very nice to bat with him, he’s so calming. He comes down to chat with you when you have a few dot balls, says don’t worry, just take one, play normally. And then he goes on and whacks the next one for six! He's been great with us and hopefully we'll see him again fairly soon.

“When Lewis got out, I think that was the point where we were like, right, let’s take our medicine and try to take the draw and move on to the Blast. We’ve let this go on long enough now, let’s shut up shop.

“I think I've learned a lot about myself and my game over these last two years. I think I've kind of settled, I've got a fiancée now who just helps me through all those bad times. So, now it's just about being a lot more clear with my game and my plans and a lot more hungry because I know what it feels like when I don't know where my next run is coming from. So, hopefully I can continue to take advantage of the form I'm in at the minute

“I’m looking forward to the Blast. I don't think the end there was quite the practice I was looking for! But it's always fun Blast time. I think we've got a really good squad. We've got a few guys that are fresh coming in, that haven't been part of the red ball team but they're going to come in with a lot of experience and a lot of energy and we're going to give it our best shot, as always, we're going to try and win.”

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