Key events
Wells makes whoopee against Agar: 4, 4, huge jolly six over midwicket. Lancs 270-2, and a hundred partnership with Bohannon.
Surrey BEAT Worcestershire by nine wickets
Easy does it.
New Road: Surrey 291 and 53-1 BEAT Worcestershire 214 and 125 by nine wickets
Surrey points; Worcestershire points.
England are absolutely cruising in the Test, it almost makes me wish for a soupcon of jeopardy.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned that Luke Wells has a century (distracted by Bethell-watch). Now 126 not out, with Parky unfortunately taking quite the pounding (0 for 72 from 16). Lancs 255-2.
Also, re game reforms, I’m sure the idea was to avoid the situation where teams didn’t know what they were playing for. Which surely means everything has to be pushed back a year …
Anyway, the school sports day is over at the athletics track next to Stanley Park, but a good crowd remains watching the cricket. Some distracted by the Test being show in the bar.
A fifth wicket falls at Edgbaston, Barnard fishing. Warwicks 235-5, a third for Coverton.
How about next year in the CC, each team plays 14 games but each player only plays 12 – thereby reducing their workload. More opportunity for young players, the same number of games for fans. Am I missing something obvious?
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester le Street: Durham 273-6 v Sussex 361 and 0-0
Chelmsford: Essex 296 v Hants 400-6
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 487 v Yorkshire 221-4
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 229-4 v Somerset 498
New Road: Worcestershire 214 and 125v Surrey 291 and 11-0
DIVISION TWO
Bristol: Gloucestershire 187 and 148-2 v Derbyshire 398
Blackpool: Lancashire 225-2 v Kent 374
Grace Road: Leicestershire 471-7 v Glamorgan 353
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire 418-9 v Middlesex 413
Rain sends the players scurrying off at Blackpool, lunchtime scores to follow.
Bethell out for 20
Coverton punches the air, Bethell looks horrified. He hooks, the slips go up and he is sent on his way.
Durham are all out – five wickets for Gurinder Sandhu on debut. They trail Sussex by 34. Two wickets each for Robinson and Hudson-Prentice. Archer’s final figures: 18-8-32-1 and he looked as if he cranked it up again this morning, though that assesment made while squinting at the stream.
A soft-stepped two-step and Bethell gently sends Leach for six.
Patel and Sibley are at the crease, Surrey need just 49 to win. Nathan Smith finished with six for 38 from Worcestershire’s sad little 125 all out.
Bethell has broken the shackles at last, almost removing Jack Leach’s fingers as he flambes him straight for four. Warwicks 206-3.
Maximum bowling points for Sussex as Durham fold, Potts caught off Robinson for 2. 320-9.
A hat-trick for Ryan Higgins!
McManus (ball six); Keogh (ball one); Guthrie. Northants melting.
How are Worcestershire doing? Collapsing and quickly. Matt Fisher has four, Nathan Smith has five. Worcs have lost five for 13 mid-morning. The lead over Surrey just 48.
Somerset are not giving Bethell any fancy-dan chances. He’s got one from 24 balls and so far this morning, Warwickshire have made 29 for two in 18 overs.
While the showstoppers strut their stuff at Edgbaston and CLS, a trot around the Division Two grounds.
Five wickets for Zafar Gohar at Wantage Road, but not before Saif Zaib has reached a fabulous century in what has been a fruitful season. Northants 350-8, trail by 63.
Leicestershire have lost Chris Wright and Lewis Hill (70) this morning, but they already have a lead of 79 against Glamorgan, 432-5.
Cameron Bancroft is doing his best to provide some stability to Gloucestershire’s top order, he’s lost Ollie Price, caught off ZaK Chappell. Glos 83-2, trail by 128.
And a wicket at Blackpool as nightwatchman Tom Bailey is finally removed for 25 after an adhesive hour. Evison again the wicket taker. Lancs 167-2, Wells 73 not out.
Bethell-time
Al Davies prods big Craig to Tom Kohler-Camore who takes a fabulous diving catch – which brings in Jacob “two and two together Bethell. Warwicks 181-3.
A hundred for Liam Dawson!
An 18th f-c hundred for Liam Dawson as Hampshire toy with Essex – 353-5. Tilak Varma, incidentally, was prised out by Harmer for exactly 100.
Drissel gets the short-short-long treatment from Jofra as rain skirts CLS and the floodlights come on.
At CLS, Jofra Archer has the ball, ends the over with a nasty skidding missile to de Leede. Another maiden.
I think we’re having a light reading here at Blackpool. Ken reports that Tom Hartley has picked up a wicket against Sussex in the second XI game at Horsham: 24.5-2-69-1. What a strange couple of years he’s had.
100 for Tilak Varma
Well played Tilak Varma on his Hampshire debut. I read something about the Indian top Test five being the most difficult line-up to get into in the world. This is a pretty dress Varma is wearing in the shop window.
At Durham, Graham Clark has moved to a canterous fifty, Durham 261 for five, Jofra yet to bowl today.
Ali reports that the skies are clear at Headingley too, and they should start on time in the Test. Daniel Harris is OBOing here:
At New Road, Worcestershire look in big trouble. Ben Allison, who finished with 5-44 to bowl Surrey out with just a 77 run-lead, pondered yesterday evening’s collapse.
”Not to go into too much detail, but, you know, Richo did sort of say, it didn’t really seem like we actually showed up that session.
“I know it wasn’t the ideal end to the day, but you know, we’re happy as a team that, you know, we fought back, and we were putting a shift and will do tomorrow.”
The weather is skirting around the grounds but, against all odds, we are starting on time at Blackpool. The mopper-sopper is doing its business, and Lancashire are huddling.
Tuesday’s round up
A familiar figure took the field at Chester-le-Street. Tall, neat, trousers nipping at his ankles, right arm wrapped with a sleeve. Red-ball cricket had been waiting for Jofra Archer for 1,501 days but the Sussex captain, John Simpson, was playing by his own timetable. He threw the new ball to Ollie Robinson – another bowler with an England shadow stuck to his boot – and Gurinder Sandhu. It was half an hour before Archer was called up from long leg to take on Durham.
For those whose memories of Archer are forever Lord’s 2019, Smith down on the burning deck, his first spell back was nothing more than solid. A couple of maidens, a handful of bouncers: 4-2-11-0. His second spell, after lunch, once he had checked that everything was in full working order, was spicier. Will Rhodes survived a toe-crusher, before Emilio Gay’s luck ran out and he was lbw to a rapid rasper low on the pad. Colin Ackerman was greeted with a snorter and there were a couple of those missiles that hone in on the body. One further spell made it 14 overs and one wicket for the day, and a nod of approval from Headingley.
On the other side of the country, Jimmy Anderson grabbed a couple of early wickets at Blackpool where the wind ran up the trouser leg and scampered out of the collar. Ben Compton’s 135 for Kent received a standing ovation before Lancashire’s openers accumulated neatly, until Keaton Jennings was out just before stumps.
Tilak Varma made an unbeaten 98 to ease Hampshire to near parity as Essex toiled. Earlier Kyle Abbott pocketed his third five-fer of the season. Yorkshire had a better day with bat than ball, biffed about by Nottinghamshire’s Ishan Kishan, Liam Patterson-White and Dillon Pennington. Mohammad Abbas then removed Adam Lyth with his first ball, but an unbeaten 86 from Finlay Bean steadied things.
Middlesex’s Zafar Gohar spun out four of Northamptonshire’s top five, but Saif Zaib danced to an unbeaten 83 at Wantage Road, and there were more fireworks from Leicestershire as Rehan Ahmed and Sol Budinger sprayed attacking centuries against Glamorgan.
Centuries from Harry Came and Wayne Madsen put Derbyshire in a happy position against Gloucestershire. Tom Lammonby’s 133 was his highest first-class score, though Somerset then lost seven for 91. Worcestershire worked hard to dismiss Surrey, but Matt Fisher and Nathan Smith ruined their top order.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chester le Street: Durham 249-5 v Sussex 361
Chelmsford: Essex 296 v Hants 293-4
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 487 v Yorkshire 154-3
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 158-1 v Somerset 498
New Road: Worcestershire 214 and 69-4 v Surrey 291
DIVISION TWO
Bristol: Gloucestershire 187 and 62-1 v Derbyshire 398
Blackpool: Lancashire 120-1 v Kent 374
Grace Road: Leicestershire 389-3 v Glamorgan 353
Wantage Road: Northamptonshire 308-5 v Middlesex 413
Preamble
Hello from a damp Blackpool tent. The skies are quizzical and there will be an inspection at 10.30am.
