Key events
Three late finishes, but no two-day wrap ups. Thanks for the rhubarb cake and the company, happy birthday to a no doubt disgruntled Jimmy Anderson, and have a lovely evening all. Good night!
Close of play scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester-le-Street: Durham 153 and 222-5 v Surrey 322
Chelmsford: Essex 602-6dec v Warwickshire 140-2
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 189-2 v Somerset 438
New Road: Worcestershire 187-2 v Hampshire 293
Scarborough: Yorkshire 292-4 v Sussex 222
DIVISION TWO
Cheltenham: Gloucestershire 54-1 v Middlesex 445
Canterbury: Kent 203-3 v Leicestershire 471
Old Trafford: Lancashire 137 v Glamorgan 261 and 95-2
Northamptonshire: Northants 265-5 v Derbyshire 377
Mason Crane six for 19
Lancs all out for a measly 137, giving Glamorgan a first innings lead of 124. Mason Crane gobbling greedily at the red rose.
Right, time for me to write up for the paper, BTL remains open for all.
“Walking like a gaggle of C3POs”
Ali chews over the Oval Test, walking wounded and all.
A Hoppsagram has landed:
Here is a curious thing. For some reason, Sam Curran appears on the scorecard on the ECB app as S Curran and SM Curran, both at the same time. It is an oddity not seen elsewhere. He is only a little fella and doesn’t need two names, but he did need a wicket and Emilio Gay provided, his luscious 99 ended with a flick to midwicket against a delivery that had “century“ written all over it.
Three down, and parity barely achieved, leaves Durham in a parlous position. They looked like Championship challengers at the start of the season (a view I shared with a certain IT Botham) but defeat here would leave them in danger of an unexpected relegation. With Yorkshire and Essex confident of at least a draw, Durham could slip into the bottom two. Pitches here tend to flatten out, and we are still in Kookaburra country after all, but it is a big ask from here.
And no hundred for Wharton either, bowled by Coles for 85. He shuffles away, long limbs hanging loose in disappointment. Yorks 255 for four.
A rousing standing ovation for Adam Lyth, who reluctantly pushes one foot in front of the other to leave his favourite ground, stumped for 115 off Jack Carson. Wharton is 16 short of his first hundred for the season.
But there was to be no hundred for Emilio Gay, caught off Sam Curran for 99. Durham 177 for three.
A couple of wickets down the drain at New Road, but Libby still there on 27, Worcs 61 for two.
Just as Notts have passed 100, and HH 50, a lapse in concentration from Freddie McCann, who airily dabs behind.
But Durham are helping them out and have drawn level at CLS, with Emilio Gay in touching distance of his hundred…
A hundred for Adam Lyth!
With a cover drive and with his Pa watching. Then an upper cut for four. more. Yorks have a lead and will stick boot on accelerator and be dammned.
A five-fer for Mason Crane
And a last-week-of-July Lancs-up special – from 107 for three, tumbling to 132 for eight. The heroes of Cheltenham out in the same over.
Tea-time -ish scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester-le-Street: Durham 153 and 143-2 v Surrey 322
Chelmsford: Essex 602-6dec v Warwickshire 19-0
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 78-1 v Somerset 438
New Road: Worcestershire 36-0 v Hampshire 293
Scarborough: Yorkshire 199-2 v Sussex 222
DIVISION TWO
Cheltenham: Gloucestershire v Middlesex 391-7
Canterbury: Kent 117-1 v Leicestershire 471
Old Trafford: Lancashire 128-5 v Glamorgan 261
Northamptonshire: Northants 154-5 v Derbyshire 377
A thousand runs for Adam Lyth!
And at the same ground where Dom Sibley did it last week. Already across the line are: Sibley, Saif Zaib, Lyth and Ben Compton, with Haseeb Hameed – 933 – next in line.
Off they go for tea, with Lyth four short of his century, and Wharton on his seventh half-century of the year, but yet to reach three figures. Tea scores to follow.
Hopps muses on CLS.
During an intemperate [shurely not, ed] assessment earlier this summer of Zak Crawley‘s right to an England batting place, I might have opined in the pub that there were three better players in Durham’s top order alone. Two of these, Alex Lees and Ben McKinney, have been dismissed by Surrey just before the 100 mark, at a point when Durham still trailed by 73. All three imaginary candidates for Crawley’s England spot are left-handed, which does not help them claim an opening birth alongside Ben Duckett, even in my Fantasy XI – and it doesn’t help Durham’s balance either.
McKinney, impressive at England under-19 level, in truth still has much to learn. He is a tall, domineering batter, powerful down the ground but he looked cumbersome against Surrey’s spinners, Sai Kishore and Dan Lawrence, and eventually clubbed Kishore to long on. The elegance has come from Emilio Gay, a stately half century now secured. His England chance will surely come one day. Lawrence’s leg spin is turning but he dropped a diving return catch when Gay was 50 and Dan Worrall has also dropped a sitter at short leg. Lawrence’s staccato run up almost makes you think the TV feed is playing up, but he should have added to his 49 first class wickets here.
Divine cake and even better company, all while James Wharton whalloped two huge sixes into the crowd. Yorkshire 187 for two, with Adam Lyth 11 away from a century.
There has been an offer of home-made rhubarb cake so I’m going in search of Misanthropesarewe and company. Back shortly.
A hundred for Charlie Allison and more
With an hour gone since lunch, a whistle round the grounds:
Oh dear, not a dream start for Notts. Craig Overton castles Ben Slater in his first over. Notts 6-1.
Ben (this would be a good time to make a hundred) McKinney and Emilio Gay rebuild for Durham: 71-1.
Prest is 54 not out, but Worcs have picked away at Hampshire: 271-7.
Rain at Chelmsford, where Essex are a hefty 557-5, 111 for young Charlie Allison.
And in Division Two:
At Cheltenham, Kane Williamson has moved onto 151, Middx 323-5.
Kent are still one down, 61-1.
Fernanado and Kellaway have skittled out Lancashire’s top three, Lancs 77-3.
And fifty for the skipper, Luke Procter, as Northants make steady progress against Derbyshire. Northants 111-2.
Somerset are all out for 438. With Surrey already well on their way at CLS – Alex Lees out for 20, a lead of 121 – Notts need to match them and more, and at quite the lick.
Here, Adam Lyth has collected 52, Yorkshire 113-2, while at Canterbury, Kent were sailing along smoothly, but have just lost Jaydn Denly for 20, 52-1.
The lesser-spotted Mark Wood has been spotted bowling on the outfield at CLS at lunch. England will want to take him to Australia if his poor put upon body can endure one last wrestle Down Under.
Six deals completed with Hundred Franchise Partners
Six of the eight megabuck deals in the Hundred sell-off have been completed, with two – The Reliance Group’s 49 per cent stake in the Oval Invincibles, and Cain International and Ares Management’s 49 per cent stake in Trent Rockets – “on track” and to be completed at a later date.
The six deals formally completed are:
London Spirit – Tech Titans (49%)
Birmingham Phoenix – Knighthead Capital Management, LLC, on behalf of its investors (“Knighthead”) (49%)
Manchester Originals – RPSG Group (70%)
Northern Superchargers – Sun TV Network Limited (100%)
Southern Brave – GMR Group (49%)
Welsh Fire – Washington Freedom (50%)
A The Hundred Board will be set up, featuring representatives of the ECB and the teams (both investors and host clubs), which will have authority over things like strategic direction and commercial growth, sponsorship and licensing deals, player salaries and player draft and retention mechanics.
There are lots of quotes from the various owners saying things like “flexible capital”, “unrivalled environment” and “deep infrastructure expertise.”
But in the words of Richard Thompson: “Crucially, this investment will not only fuel the competition’s growth but also channel transformative levels of funding into our professional counties and grassroots game.”
We cross our fingers and hope for the best.
Hoppsy’s rhapsody in a B nest:
“What a dreadful slower ball,“ was the first impression as Ben Raine sought the final Surrey wicket. But a filthy full toss did the trick as Jordan Clark was last out, at long off, for a muscular 82 from 76 balls, leaving Surrey with an imposing first innings lead of 169.
It feels like a match-winning advantage for the Championship leaders and they will anticipate considerable inroads into Durham’s second innings in the last two sessions. Raine sneaked in for a five-fer, but it was Clark who dominated the morning. Talk of Surrey conveniently brings us to their head of groundstaff, Lee Fortis, and his spat at the Kia Oval yesterday with the India coach, Gautam Gambhir. Both men are not exactly averse to picking a fight. Indeed, Gambhir’s political career as a BJP MP in Delhi came to grief last year soon after a public altercation with an influential party member. “Keep your tanks off my lawn” was essentially the message to Gambhir on both occasions. In other news, the aforementioned bee man has just arrived. I might have nightmares about what is to follow. So, too, could Durham.
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chester-le-Street: Durham 153 v Surrey 322
Chelmsford: Essex 465-5 v Warwickshire
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire v Somerset 396-8
New Road: Worcestershire v Hampshire 213-6
Scarborough: Yorkshire 80-2 v Sussex 222
DIVISION TWO
Cheltenham: Gloucestershire v Middlesex 273-4
Canterbury: Kent 18-0 v Leicestershire 471
Old Trafford: Lancashire 29-1 v Glamorgan 261
Northamptonshire: Northants 48-1 v Derbyshire 377
And just as the sandwiches arrive in the press box, Imam-ul-Haq nudges Carson to first slip for a pretty 19. That’s lunch here and around the grounds, scores to follow.
The UK’s Greenest Cricket Ground
This is year five of the Greenest Ground competition – please do enter if your club is making strides to a greener and more nature-friendly future. The closing date is August 31 – please spread the word. And £500 from Ortus Energy for the winner.
In Division Two:
At Old Trafford, Glamorgan were prised out for 261, Green six for 82. Lancs are now nine for one, after Wells was sent on his way by Fernanado for two.
Happy-Sad Tom Scriven was lbw for 99 in Leicestershire’s 471, Parky seven for 137. Kent are, at this second of typing, an anything-is-possible 0-0.
Northants are 41 for one, after Chahal finished with six wickets and Derbyshire 377 all out.
And no play yet at Cheltenham, which is bad news for the festival after a small crowd yesterday.
“The risk was too high”
Off goes Finlay Bean, in comes Imam-ul-Haq, for his first match for Yorkshire. Uncle Inzamam also made his Yorkshire debut here, in 2007, during a disastrous spell at the club – three matches, four innings, 89 runs. It was, I’m told, a freezing day in August, so cold that the Yorkshire Post’s Chris Waters had to buy a fleece from the on-ground shop. Inzamam was standing at slip wearing four jumpers, wondering what on earth he’d signed up for.
Jim with a flamboyant flourish.
Hampshire are chugging along at New Road, though Gubbins and Tilak went cheaply to Allison and Taylor, Hants 186 for four.
And a huge cheer here at Scarborough as a young boy perched on the front row of the wooden benches catches a huge six off Bean, with no fuss at all.
The end of two centurions – James Rew, rather marooned this morning, caught for 166 – Somerset 361 for seven – and Tom Westley who gives leg slip catching practice for 148 – Essex 416 for five.
Gary Naylor’s eagle-eyed overview, for those who missed it yesterday.
In fact here is Hoppsy live from CLS his front room:
Bumble is on comms on the Durham feed which makes up for the fact that I can’t sit in the sun at Banks Home Riverside. And Durham have taken their first wicket after half an hour. Codi Yusuf, with his second ball of the morning, swung one back and Dan Lawrence, falling over a little, picked out one of two short midwickets: a trap well laid by Durham’s skipper Alex Lees. Lawrence, out for 88, had looked in mint form again. Six down, Surrey lead by 56 on a pitch that remains lively and is producing some compelling cricket.
Surrey, hoping to build up a hearty points lead at the top of the table after this match at Chester le Street, have lost Dan Lawrence for 88, a second wicket for Codi Yusuf. The lead is already threatening – 70, with plenty of firepower to come.
Detained by the lovely people from St Catherine’s hospice, based two miles above Scarborough, up in the hills with a view of the sea. It costs £6.2 million a year to run, only a third of which comes from the government. They are also gold awarded for their care of veterans – Scarborough is home to a fair few, those who retire here and those who find themselves here after their service has ended.
A possible bat-grass-boot chance at slip, but survived, and Yorkshire are 11-0. Let’s look around the grounds.
And Yorkshire get their man at last, a smart sliding catch by Duke to send Lamb on his way for a team face-saving 48. Sussex 222 all out, a last wicket stand of 72.
No Ben Stokes one of four changes to England’s XI for The Oval
Out go Stokes (shoulder injury), Archer, Dawson and Carse – in come Bethell, Atkinson, Overton, Tongue. Ollie Pope will captain.
1. Zak Crawley
2. Ben Duckett
3. Ollie Pope (c)
4. Joe Root
5. Harry Brook
6. Jacob Bethell
7. Jamie Smith (wk)
8. Chris Woakes
9. Gus Atkinson
10. Jamie Overton
11. Josh Tongue
Somerset start as they did yesterday, by losing an early wicket – Jack Leach heaving lustily at Dillon Pennington.
On go the players – with particularly energetic galloping by Yorkshire wicketkeeper Harry Duke, whose long blond hair swings past his shoulders. Yorkshire will not be keen for this tenth-wicket partnership to become a bigger irritation than it already is.
Harry Swindells retires
Thanks to Romeo BTL for this nudge – Harry Swindells, hero of Leicestershire’s one-day cup victory in 2023, has been forced to retire with a finger injury
Speaking to the club’s website, he said “I’ve been immensely proud to represent the club I’ve loved since I was five years old over the past eight seasons.
“I want to thank the Foxes fans for their unwavering support across my career. I’ve always felt their love, and hearing them sing ‘Harry Swindells, he’s one of our own’ was always an amazing feeling. Their passion that day at Trent Bridge was truly unforgettable, a shared memory I will treasure forever.”
Wishing him joy in whatever the future holds.
I think we’ve been here before:
And from our not-so-roving correspondent, David Hopps.
Whiling away the hours watching Championship cricket in your dotage sounds so easy. In principle. It isn’t. Stuff happens. Today I’ve fallen foul of a somewhat inflexible Bee’s Nest remover who works on the emphatic Yorkshire principle that “someone will be at home all afternoon” means any time from noon sharp, rather than any of your soft-headed Southern-influenced ideas that the afternoon actually starts around 1pm, the time when my wife will be back home from a dog-walking social in some local gardens where the hours of attendance appear to be equally non-negotiable.
Sod’s Law will now invariably apply and he will pitch up around 3pm, if he pitches up at all, to reassert well-honed arguments about why Guardian-style ideas about saving the bees are thoroughly impractical and how the honeycomb is now so large that the ceiling could collapse by close of play. While all this is going on, I’m going to pass the time watching a bit of Durham vs Surrey where Surrey, 29 ahead with five wickets left and Dan Lawrence in inspired mood, look well positioned to take another step towards the title. Unless, of course, as befits my day, there is a sting in the tail…
Tuesday’s round-up
North Marine Road shimmies up between Scarborough’s terraces, a sloping patch of green overlooked on two sides. If the crowds do not flock like they once did, there were still plenty of bums on the salt-burned wooden benches. Yorkshire won the toss and duly ran through Sussex, courtesy of disciplined bowling and some nifty slip catching, as well as a sprinting over-the-shoulder swallow dive by James Wharton to catch a top edge off Tom Haines. But then came 30 overs of frustration as the last-wicket pair of Danny Lamb and Gurinder Sandhu added an unbeaten 60.
After a high-class partnership with Rishi Patel (85), Rehan Ahmed ticked off hundred No 5 for the summer. It was the highlight of the day for Leicestershire, who then crumbled to Matt Parkinson. His seven for 104 temporarily cooled the brows of Kent members, whose last place in the table was made worse by news that their club had been docked eight points for disciplinary breaches.
Fifteen wickets fell at Chester-le-Streetwith Durham all out for 153 at tea to the Division One leaders, Surrey, who finished 29 ahead.
At Trent Bridge, Somerset’s calamitous start – 25 for three, all to Nottinghamshire’s Mohammad Abbas – improved as James Rew (162no) and Tom Abell (156) added 313, overtaking Peter Denning and Ian Botham’s 310 to become their club’s biggest fourth-wicket stand.
At Old Trafford, Australia spinner Chris Green found the devil in the dirt for Lancashire, winkling out six Glamorgan wickets. Dropped on 29, Kane Williamson duly advanced to century No 2 in two innings for Middlesex, against his old side Gloucestershire.
Tom Westley added a third hundred in five innings to give Essex another good day. From 89 for five, Martin Andersson’s 105 escorted Derbyshire to 348 for eight and tamed the Yuzvendra Chahal wicket-munching machine.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chester-le-Street: Durham 153 v Surrey 182-5
Chelmsford: Essex 350-4 v Warwickshire
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire v Somerset 338-4
New Road: Worcestershire v Hampshire 146-2
Scarborough: Yorkshire v Sussex 210-9
DIVISION TWO
Cheltenham: Gloucestershire v Middlesex 232-3
Canterbury: Kent v Leicestershire 386-9
Old Trafford: Lancashire v Glamorgan 260-8
Northamptonshire: Northants v Derbyshire 348-8
Preamble
Good morning from Scarborough, where the waves tumble onto North Beach and I saw a weasel skittling around Anne Bronte’s grave. Play looks set fair for an 11am start as the players stretch and lurch and bat around the outfield. Do join us for day two of this final mid-summer round.