365 Sporting Days

We all knew the weather in April was too good to be true! And so those April showers have rocked up in April. The rain was the biggest winner overall sadly.

Durham v Worcestershire – Emirates Riverside, Durham. Joe Leach won the toss for Worcestershire and put Durham in to bat. A win for Durham by 258 runs.

Durham 246 All Out & 389 for 5 dec , Worcestershire 213 All Out & 164 All Out

Alex Lees opening for Durham scored 99 batting for nearly 4.5 hours and facing 202 balls, his was the 7th wicket to fall, Brydon Carse batting at 8 scored 38 and finished not out. Josh Tongue took 5 for 39 in his 19.2 0vers. Durham were bowled out in 82.2 0vers.

Worcestershire’s innings in reply lasted only 69.4 overs, Chris Rushworth, a 34 year old who made his debut for Durham in 2010 against Yorkshire took 5 for 56 in 18.4 overs. He has in excess of 500 First Class wickets in his career at an average of just over 22. His is a name I’m not overly familiar with. Tom Fell top scored with 44 and Joe Leach contributed a useful 42.

Opener Will Young scored Durham’s first century of 2 in this second innings. He made 103 from 254 balls, batting for nearly 6 hours. The second by Jack Burnham saw him score 102 from 184 balls, he batted for just under 4 hours. Ned Eckersley scored 86 from 57 balls hitting 6 Fours and 6 Sixes. 389 runs were scored in 110.5 overs.

Chris Rushworth is most definitely a name that should be known, in Worcestershire’s second innings he took a further 4 wickets (for 52 runs) that put him into Durham’s record books as he overtook Graham Onions as their top wicket taker with 528 red ball wickets, some feat! Things started well for Worcestershire in this innings as they made 79 fro the first wicket. Darryl MItchell ended up with 62 from 72 balls in his 90 minute innings. However it took Durham just 60.2 overs to bowl Worcestershire out for just 164. A win for Durham.

Essex v Derbyshire – The County Ground, Chelmsford. Billy Godleman won the toss and put Essex in to bat. Essex won by an innings and 15 runs.

Essex 412 for 3, Derbyshire 146 All Out & 251 All Out

There was no play possible on Day 1.

With their team having been bowled out for under a 100 so far this season Essex members have been a perturbed bunch. However the top order stood up in this match. The openers Nick Browne and Alastair Cook put on 137 for the first wicket, they both fell within 2 overs, Browne had scored 59 from 113 balls and Cook 58 from 99 balls. Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence then put on something of a batting exhibition. They put on 221 for the 3rd wicket, Westley scored 106 from 112 balls, Lawrence finished on 152* he hit 16 Fours and 6 Sixes. 18 No Balls contributed to Essex’s score of 412 for 3.

Simon Harmer was the story of the Derbyshire innings, he took 9 for 80 in 25.5 overs. Brooke Guest top scored with 49 from 116 balls as they were bowled out for 146 in 56.5 overs.

Having had a forecast of rain for mist of day 4 , there was only a short interruption. Derbyshire put up some stubborn resistance, Brooke Guest top scored for the second time, he made 65 from 141 balls batting for just over 2.5 hours. Billy Godleman scored 45 and the middle order added 100 runs. The wickets were shared this time round wit 3 for Harmer to add to his 9. A win for Essex

Middlesex v Hampshire – Lord’s, London. James Vince won the toss for Hampshire and put Middlesex in to bat. Hampshire won by 7 wickets.

Middlesex 172 All Out & 101 All Out & , Hampshire 208 All Out & 66 for 3.

Day one was a stop start affair with 3.75 hours lost. Nick Gubbins batting at 3 top scored for Middlesex, he scored 51 from 131 balls. Kyle Abbot took 6 for 44 in 18.1 overs as Middlesex were bowled out in 68.1 overs. Kyle Abbot took 6 for 44 in 18.1 overs.

Hampshire haven’t had the best of times with the bat in recent weeks, they were bowled out for 79 and 92, only just surpassing my Essex. They fell to 67 for 5 before James Vince spent some time at the crease, he scored 62 from 125 balls batting for nearly 3 hours. Keith Barker batting at 8 top scored with 84 from 116 balls, he too batted for just under 3 hours. Tim Murtagh took 3 wickets, taking him to 25 for the season so far. Hampshire were bowled out in 73 overs for 208.

Kyle Abbot reperated his first innings performance taking 5 for 41 in just 9.5 overs taking him to 26 so far. Peter Handscomb, who isn’t having the best of seasons top scored with just 24 as Middlesex were bowled out in 29.5 overs for 101.

Hampshire lost 3 wickets in their run chase, but reached the required total in 15.3 overs to record their third win. A win for Hampshire

Somerset v Surrey – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Tom Abel won the toss and put Surrey in to bat. Match Drawn.

Surrey 206 for 4

The rain had the biggest say in this match as only 68 overs were bowled. Some batting practice for the Surrey batsman who got their chance. Rory Burns seems to be finding some form and he was the top scorer with 55 from 104 balls. Lewis Gregory had the time to take 2 wickets, taking him to 18 for the season so far at an average of 22.31. Craig Overton sat this one out, at the request of the ECB I beleive, he’s surpassed Gregory with 32 wickets at 13.96. He’s surely put his hand up for England. This match was a Draw.

Glamorgan v Yorkshire – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Steven Patterson won the toss for Yorkshire and put Glamorgan in to bat. Match Drawn.

Glamorgan 149 All Out & 164 for 4, Yorkshire 203 All Out

There was no play on Day 1. David Lloyd top scored with 31 in an innings where 7 batsmen scored 10 or under. The wickets were shared amongst 5 bowlers with 3 each for Harry Brook and Steven Patterson.

Yorkshire found themselves 10 for 3 before England captain Joe Root anchored their innings. His was the 9th wicket to fall, he was bowled on 99 having faced 199 balls and batted for nearly 5 hours. He and Steven Patterson shared a 9th wicket partnership of 118 and Patterson was 47 Not Out.

Another match where the weather dictated the result, Kiran Carlson played the notable innings with 88* from 84 balls. as the inevitable draw loomed. Match Drawn.

Sussex v Kent – The 1st Central County Ground, Hove. Ben Brown won the toss for Sussex and put Kent in to bat. Match Drawn.

Kent 145 All Out & 387 for 4 dec , Sussex 256 All Out

Another 3 wickets for Ollie Robinson in a season that’s seen him take 29 wickets at an average of 13.75, time for an England call up for the Sussex bowler? Jack Leaning batted for just over 3 hours and top scored with 63, he wasn’t well supported with 8 batsmen scoring under 20. The innings lasted just 54.3 Overs.

Stiaan van Zyl top scored with 52 from 83 balls and Tom Clark contributed 34 in an innings that lasted only 76.3 overs for Sussex. Matt Quinn on loan from Essex took 4 for 54 in his 19.3 Overs. The evergreen Darren Stevens took 3 for 64 taking him to

Kent’s second innings was a very different prospect, they fell to 59 for 2 before Zak Crawley and Jack Leaning put on 130 for the 3rd wicket. Crawley scored 85 from 144 balls, Leaning then shared a partnership of 172 with Kent’s Ollie Robinson, Robinson scored 85 from 135 balls. Leaning was 127 Not Out after facing 263 balls and batting for just under 5.5 hours. Match Drawn.

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