Key events
Jonny Bairstow has been unable to show England’s errant batsman how it’s done – he’s gone for 18. Four crisp fours then out, c Patel b Scriven. He’s still the visitors top scorer too date at Grace Road. Yorkshire 63-4, but they should be on for a first-innings lead. Tom Westley has brought up a useful half-century for Essex, guiding them to 128-4 against Notts.
Ali Martin’s Test report is here. Read about the imperfect end to England’s perfect summer ambitions.
Better news from England women, where Tammy Beaumont has walloped 150 off 139 balls to take her team to a final total of 320-8 in the second ODI. There’s a batter who knows how to compile a proper big hundred.
When Yorkshire put Leicestershire in this morning, I don’t suppose Jonny Bairstow thought he’d be twirling his bat before half past two but here we are. Yorkshire have lost their third wicket, bringing YJB to the crease, and they need a knock from him on an unfriendly surface at Grace Road. William Luxton the latest to fall, caught off Tom Scriven.
Elsewhere, James Vince has helped Hampshire along to 77-2 at Canterbury, and Northants’ Zaif Saib and Justin Broad are effecting a decent recovery job at Wantage Road against Derbyshire. They’ve brought up a 50 partnership to take Northants to 142-6.
Shakib Al Hasan strikes, bowling Abell for 49 with a devilish one that skids on and clatters off stump, ending a fluent partnership from Somerset’s Tom Tom Club (the other Tom, Banton, is still there on 39. Big, big wicket that. Somerset 155-4
Lancashire lose another at Durham. Venkatesh Iyer, signed initially only for the One Day Cup but extending his stay to the end of the season, has been and gone, caught behind off England’s Matthew Potts. The visitors 55 for 3. And Sussex have now reduced Glamorgan to 141 for 7, Chris Cooke bowled by 2022’s Ollie Robinson.
The sun is out at Taunton, the crowd appears to be swelling and the always watchable Tom Banton has just played the most exquisite couple of reverse-sweeps off Shakib Al-Hasan, from whom Surrey are clearly determined to get their one-game-deal pound of flesh. He’s now bowled 19 of the 48 overs Surrey have sent down. Somerset have tootled along to 132 for 3, Abell on 42, Banton 23.
And up at Grace Road, it’s a result wicket alright. Yorkshire have lost both openers, Adam Lyth and Finley Bean, and are 21 for 2 having bowled out Leicestershire for 98 before lunch. And Luc Benkenstein’s first red-ball runs are registered with an extravagant pull for four at Chelmsford. But he’s gone straight after, edging behind off Rob Lord. Essex four down and in bother.
Gary Naylor’s county talking points have dropped, with a focus on last week’s engrossing Blast quarter-finals. Should be a cracking finals day this year.
Ouch. An insightly dismissal at Chelmsford as Matt Critchley shoulders arms to Luke Fletcher and is sent on his way for five as a nip-backer rattles off-stump. Essex 73 for 3. Luc Benkenstein, son of former South Africa international Dale, heads out to the middle for his maiden first-class innings. Quite a bit riding now on Tom Westley, 26 not out and in decent nick of late, to get Essex to a healthy total.
It’s not getting any better for Lancs. Ben Raine strikes again and in style. They’re 31 for 2 at Chester-le-Street. “Oh God, Durham are into the tail,” parps HighPeakGeek in the comments.
Thanks to Wegie BTL for flagging up a Middlesex contract extension announcement for the redoubtable Toby Roland-Jones. Middlesex are motoring along on 136 for 3 against Gloucestershire, Max Holden bringing up his half-century. This is from the club statement:
We are today delighted to announce that red-ball Captain, Toby Roland-Jones, has signed a one-year extension to his contract with the Club, which will see the talismanic seamer remain at Lord’s until at least the end of the 2025 season.
Lancashire’s early struggles will cheer Notts, the side immediately above them at the table, who will be further lifted by a post-lunch breakthrough, Robin Das out for 20, caught by Freddie McCann off Lyndon James’s fast-medium pacers.
If Lancashire do drop, Sussex’s chances of replacing them continue to increase. Two early scalps have Glamorgan in bother at 105 for 6.
We now have play in all our matches, with Kent v Hampshire and Durham v Lancashire up and running. We also have wickets in all our matches, with Hampshire, put in, losing Fletcha Middleton, bowled by George Garrett, and Lancashire, under pressure in the drop zone, losing Luke Wells, nicking behind to Ollie Robinson off Ben Raine for a duck. Lancs 14-1, Hants 20-1.
Archie Vaughan has gone. Dan Warrell snaffles up the opener for a tidy 44, caught behind by Ben Foakes. Surrey start this session with a wicket just as they did in the morning. Somerset 97-3, and in need of a defining partnership or two this afternoon now.
Right, while the nation’s county cricketers tuck into their scran, I’m about to do likewise. Feel free to carry on chatting below the line, but play nicely. Back in a bit.
And you can follow the conclusion of the Test:
Lunchtime scores
Division One:
Chester-le-street: Durham v Lancashire (Chester-le-Street) – no play, rain.
Chelmsford: Essex 40-1 v Nottinghamshire
Canterbury: Kent v Hampshire – no play, rain.
Taunton: Somerset 93-2 v Surrey
Worcester: Worcestershire 77-4 v Warwickshire
Division Two
Leicester: Leicestershire 98 v Yorkshire
Lord’s: Middlesex 117-2 v Gloucestershire
Northampton: Northampts 77-5 v Derbyshire
Hove: Sussex v Glamorgan 91-4
And that’s lunch at Taunton, Somerset 93-2. The home side will be quietly pleased about that, I suspect, having lost a wicket second ball. Archie Vaughan has dealt with everything Shakib, Roach and co have thrown at him with composure and skill, advancing to 44 not out. The in-form Tom Abell has prospered alongside him, 27 not out. No devilish turn for Shakib as yet. This one is nicely set up.
Meanwhile at Leicester, Ben Cox reached 50 while all around him crumbled. Leicestershire’s first innings has lasted precisely a session – 98 all out. Five for Coad, three for Fisher.
The Leicestershire fightback has juddered to a halt, Tom Scriven (18) providing Ben Coad with a fifth wicket, and Scott Currie perishing swiftly – 67-9 and Yorkshire’s opening batters may have their pads on before lunch. Sussex are back in the ascendancy at Hove too, two quick wickets for Henry Crocombe reducing Glamorgan to 72 for 4, Kiran Carlson still there on 32.
Essex have lost Dean Elgar early too against Notts, and are 18-1. Their season at real risk of petering out.
Surrey’s one-off overseas star, Shakib, has bowled nine overs of spin on the bounce, on a cloudy first morning, in September. But no joy for the Bangladesh legend yet. Somerset progress to 75 for 2, Archie Vaughan on 40.
Some reaction to Shakib’s freelancing BTL by AlphaJulietCharlie:
Distinct ‘Ringer being introduced to the skipper in the car park’ vibes, right there.
Over at New Road, Worcestershire, who’ve hauled themselves towards safety impressively in recent rounds, are having a tougher time of it against Warwickshire, toiling at 54-3 with Gareth Roderick, Jake Libby and Hashif Ali all back in the hutch. And Division Two promotion chasers Middlesex have eased along to 80-2 against Gloucestershire. Things have calmed down a little in most places after that gush of wickets in the first 45 minutes or so of play.
Meanwhile in Belfast, England’s women are 77-1 after 19 against Ireland in the second ODI.
They’ve just got under way at Chelmsford now, Notts having won the toss and opted to field. In the big top of the table clash, Somerset have advanced steadflastly to 62-2, Archie Vaughan looking decent against Shakib and Clark on 34 not out. Glamorgan have rebuilt a tad against Sussex, moving to 57-2 with Kiran Carlson and Colin Ingram looking in good touch. And Leicestershire have ROMPED to 47 for 7, with Tom Scriven and Ben Cox deciding to go hell for leather in a partnership currently worth 32.
More ridiculousness at Grace Road: Leics are 19 for 7! Ben Coad has four, Matthew Fisher the other three. Four of the top six made ducks. Rahane goes for eight. “Ben Coad currently returning figures normally seen in horrible school mismatches, or occasionally in adult cricket when the old seconds captain “hasn’t played in a while but wants to turn his arm over,” quips FrToddUnctious BTL. My first ever school game (for the school that Dan Lawrence would later go to) was one such – we were bowled out for 30, and the oppo cruised home by nine wickets. My one grasp at bragging-straws in the playground was that I took our one wicket. We weren’t a cricketing hotbed back then.
No sooner do I praise Lammonby’s assurance than he’s gone, to Jordan Clark’s first ball, dangling his bat a touch at a straightener speared in at the left-hander. Clark finding serious movement in his first over. Somerset 33-2.
And in case you’re wondering what’s happening at Chelmsford, Durham and Canterbury, the answer is nothing. No play before lunch at the latter two before lunch, and the covers are still on in Essex too.
Carnage at Grace Road. Leicestershire slump to three for four, Ben Coad claims a third scalp as he dismisses Rehan Ahmed, batting up the order at five. Quite the rescue job on the shoulders of Ajinkya Rahane now.
Archie Vaughan survives a vigorous appeal for caught behind at Taunton off the parsimonious Dan Worrall. Then it’s Shakib time! The Bangladesh legend’s left-arm spin is introduced early doors, as is the form here, and Somerset negotiate it comptetently enough. They’ve progressed to 33 for 1. Progress after early setbacks also for Worcestershire (35-1 against Warwicks) and Middlesex (43-1 v Gloucs).
Archie Vaughan is away after a slightly scratchy start against Surrey’s daunting attack, creaming a square cover drive for four almost as if he was taught it on his dad’s knee. Somerset 14 for 1 with Tom Lammonby looking assured at No 3 early on.
Unadkat reiterates his worth to Sussex with a second dismissal, and a big one – Sam Northeast sees his off stump cartwheeling behind him. Having been imperious at the start of the season, Northeast is on a proper lean trot now. Glammy 21-2. And at Grace Road, Matt Fisher dismisses the Leicestershire captain, Lewis Hill, to give Yorkshire a second early wicket. A third soon follows, Ian Holland bowled by Coad for a duck. Leics 3-3.
“We talk about spinners missing out on bowling in August nowadays, but it is often the best part of the year for openers as well,” writes Reading Old Boy BTL. “They get to struggle through Spring and then jump straight to Autumn.” We could, if we so choose, link this to the sub-par performances of England’s top three lately.
The Division Two leaders, Sussex, are also into Glamorgan early, Asa Tribe flicking a catch to Daniel Hughes at short leg off the bowling of the India left-arm quick Jaydev Unadkat, who rejoined the club last month for the final five games of the season. Glamorgan are 18-1. Sussex’s closest pursuers, Middlesex, have also made an iffy start, losing Sam Robson for four, bowled by Ajeet Singh Dale of Glamorgan at Lord’s. Middlesex 7-1.
A bold bit of order-reshuffling from Somerset: they’ve punted Archie Vaughan (son of etc …) in only his second first-class match but he’s lost his fellow opener already. Lewis Goldsworthy’s been castled by a befuddling inswinger from Kemar Roach for a second-ball duck. Somerset 0-1.
Goldsworthy’s not the only batter taking his pads off and flinging his gloves to the dressing room floor. Leicestershire have already lost Rishi Patel fourth ball to Ben Coad and Northants’ Indian opener Prithvi Shaw is a goner for four against Derbyshire, c Donald b Chappell.
The weather has delayed the start at Chelmsford also.
Some thoughts from Wilberforce BTL: “Jack Home making his county champs debut for Worcs, will be interesting to see how he goes, just a pity Worcs lost the toss. Jack took plenty of wickets in the 1 day cup but a different challenge here. Great to see he signed a 3 year deal.
“Only read Ali Martin’s piece on Mo this morning, great piece & all the best to Mo. Kashif Ali like Mo before looking a very good county no 3.”
Here is that Mo piece. He’s left the international scene with a host of great memories, a personal fave is his century at Rajkot in 2016 on the morning of Trump’s election. Never has cricket’s alluring escapist appeal felt so potent.
Toss news: Somerset win the toss and bat on a clouds-and-sun kind of morning at Cyderabad; Notts decide to bowl at Chelmsford; Warwickshire are having a bowl at New Road; Yorkshire have put Leicestershire in at Grace Road; Gloucestershire likewise at Lord’s; Northants opted to bat against Derbyshire and Sussex have put Glamorgan in at Hove.
Very much a bowl-first kind of morning, though you can understand Somerset taking a punt on batting – they need bonus points as well as a win.
Delayed start news: Rain at Chester-le-Street has put back the start of Durham v Lancs, and they’ll have to grab another coffee at Canterbury too:
How they stand:
Division One
1 Surrey P11 Pts 193
2 Somerset P11 Pts 169
3 Hampshire P11 Pts 156
4 Essex P11 Pts 149
5 Worcs P11 Pts 134
6 Warwickshire P11 Pts 132
7 Durham P11 Pts 130
8 Notts P11 Pts 116
9 Lancashire P11 Pts 106
10 Kent P11 Pts 71
Division Two
1 Sussex P11 Pts 177
2 Middlesex P11 Pts 158
3 Yorkshire P11 Pts 157
4 Leics P11 Pts 139
5 Glamorgan P11 Pts 125
6 Gloucs P11 Pts 119
7 Northants P11 Pts 111
8 Derbyshire P11 Pts 104
Preamble
Morning everyone. The dear old County Championship – forever derided, shunted into unwelcoming corners of the season, and no longer even an automatic barometer of England-worthiness – could do with an exciting denouement this year rather than just another Surrey procession. And, thankfully, we now have a chance of one after Somerset’s win over Durham and the champions’ draw at Trent Bridge put Lewis Gregory’s side within reach – 24 points – of the leaders.
Handily, they also meet this week at Taunton, with Somerset buoyant after white-ball successes that have them eyeing an unlikely treble, with places at Blast finals day and the One Day Cup to look forward to. Surrey meanwhile have eight players missing on England duty, with the T20 series against Australia crash-landing straight into the schedule after the Tests against Sri Lanka have concluded. Surrey though have added to their formidable depth by nonchalantly signing Shakib Al Hasan on a one-match deal, enabling the veteran former Bangladesh captain to get some red-ball cricket under his belt before their Test series against India. (It also gets him away from the political turmoil of his home country, in which he has become embroiled due to his role as a lawmaker in the party of the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.)
Elsewhere, third-placed Hampshire travel to doomed Kent, but the relegation scramble just above them looks tasty with improving Nottinghamshire visiting Essex, whose title hopes were torpedoed by their surprise defeat to Worcestershire, and seventh-placed Durham hosting Lancashire in eighth.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the second tier too, as leaders Sussex host Glamorgan and Middlesex and Yorkshire duke it out for the second promotion slot behind them. Middlesex take on Gloucestershire at Lord’s while Yorkshire visit Leicestershire, who have an outside chance themselves.
And it all starts, in the autumnal gloaming, at 10.30, rather more sensibly than at the Test, which is still scheduled for 11am, not that we’ll get a full day’s play at the Oval today.
Those fixtures in full:
Division One:
Durham v Lancashire (Chester-le-Street)
Essex v Nottinghamshire (Chelmsford)
Kent v Hampshire (Canterbury)
Somerset v Surrey (Taunton)
Worcestershire v Warwickshire (Worcester)
Division Two
Leicestershire v Yorkshire (Leicester)
Middlesex v Gloucestershire (Lord’s)
Northamptonshire v Derbyshire (Northampton)
Sussex v Glamorgan (Hove)
