365 Sporting Days

I’m starting this on Day 2 and none of the games have gone yellow on the BBC App – so no 2 day results, which is surely a good thing, there have however, at this stage, been runs galore! I wonder how long the list will be by Day 4? It’s a rugby weekend for me, England Women v Ireland, so I’ll be watching from afar.

Coming back to this on Day 4 and I’m pleased to say only one match was drawn, 3 of the 4 Division 2 matches were won on Day 3 with Middlesex being the first over the line. Essex, my team, were the first to lose in Division 1, I was contemplating an innings and, but it was ‘just’ the 10 wickets for Warwickshire – On to the details.

Division 1

Kent v Hampshire – The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury. Ollie Robinson won the toss for Kent and elected to bat. Hampshire won by an innings and 51 runs.

Kent 305 All Out & 296 All Out, Hampshire 652 for 6 dec

England opener Zak Crawley faced just 22 balls befgore he was caught by Ben Brown from the bowling of Mohammad Abbas. Kent were 13 for 1. His fellow opener Ben Compton has had an excellent start to the season and his career at Kent, scoring a century in each of his 3 innings, scoring 348, with one not out, that gave him an early season average of 174! He played another patient innings, facing 103 balls, but he was out for 27. He shared a second wicket partnership of 84 with Daniel Bell Drummond. Bell Drummond batting 15 minutes short of five hours scored 149 from the 231 balls he faced, hitting 25 Fours as he went. Jordan Cox who also started his season with a century contributed 51 from 155 balls, batting for over 3 hours. There haven’t been hatfuls of wickets in general so far this season, but Keith Barker bagged himself 6 for 53 from his 24 overs. The Kent innings lasted for 106.2 overs.

Hampshire had a torrid time with the bat at the Oval in Round 2, and at 57 for 2 things weren’t looking great, then along came Nick Gubbins and captain James Vince. They put on 136 for the 3rd wicket, Gubbins was out for 69 from 110 balls and Vince went on for his very own Nelsons, he made 111 from 118 balls, having batted for a minute over 3 hours. Vince didn’t add to his 111 but Liam Dawson and Keeper Ben Brown put on a huge 273 for the 5th wicket! Dawson, batted for over 5 hours, he scored 171 from 268 balls, his partner in crime, Brown for nearly 4.5 hours, he faced 198 balls and scored 157. 3 centuries in one innings is some going! Soul destroying for Kent, who used 6 bowlers to bowl the 147 overs.

Ben Compton opening for Kent added another 89 to his tally so far this season, taking him to 464 runs at an average of 116, some start! He and Jordan Cox seem to like batting together, they put 57 on for the 6th wicket, Cox scored 64 from 183 balls. The inimitable Darren Stevens was not out 41 but the 4th highest score was down to extras. Kyle Abbot took 5 for 29 in his 16 overs as Hampshire bowled Kent out in 95 overs to get the win.

Lancashire v Gloucestershire – Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Graeme van Buren won the toss for Gloucs and elected to bat. Lancashire won by an innings and 57 runs.

Gloucestershire 252 All Out & 247 All Out, Lancashire 556 for 7 dec

An opening partnership of 119 suggested van Buren had made the right choice, Chris Dent scored 67 from 117 balls and Marcus Harris 52 from 123. Wickets 2 to 6 fell for just 19 runs before Ryan Higgins in at 6 stood firm. He finished not out with 51 from 99 balls, batting for just over 2.5 hours, as wickets fell around him. Gloucs were bowled out in 88 overs. A favourite of mine, Hassan Ali, of Pakistan fame, took 6 for 47 in his 17 overs.

Lancashire lost opener George Balderson for just 5 as he was run out, they were 11 for 1. Fellow opener Luke Wells shared a partnership of 106 with Josh Bohannon, at the time of writing Bohannon is on 142. Bohannon went on to score 231 from 467 balls, he batted for over 9 hours, that is some innings! He now had an average of over 40 in First Class cricket, the next batter off the rank for England? At 25 he probably deserves a chance soon. Captain Dane Vilas joined Bohannon in a 4th wicket partnership of 203, scoring 109 from 147 balls. With only 6 wickets taken Zafar Gohar took 4 for 135. Lancashire faced 166 overs.

There were a couple of decent innings in Gloucs second attempt, Miles Hammond scored 50 from 154 balls and in at 7 Tom Lace scored 71 from 201 balls, so there was some determination there. Another 3 wickets for Hassan Ali in this innings as Gloucs were bowled out in 124.1 overs

Northamptonshire v Yorkshire – The County Ground, Northampton,. Steven Patterson won the toss for Yorkshire and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Yorkshire 296 All Out & 406 for 3 dec, Northants 204 All out & 318 for 7

Yorkshire fell to 22 for 3 as Gareth Berg staring woking his way through the batting order. A valuable 4th wicket partnership of 131 between Dawid Malan and Harry Brook helped save the day for Yorkshire. Malan, who also fell to Berg made 64 from 99 balls and Brook, another who’s had a great start to the season, made 84 from 112 balls, Down the order Jordan Thompson in at 8 scored 51 from 70 balls, Berg finished with 5 for 58 from his 17.3 overs as Yorkshire were bowled out in 78.3 overs.

Northants innings lasted slightly longer, 84.5 overs after they fell to 26 for 3, Emilio Gay in at 56 was the the scorer with 65 from 152 balls, he was at the crease for just over 3.5 hours. Jordan Thompson was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 54 from 16.5 overs.

Only one of the 5 batters in Yorkshire’s second innings scored under 50, Opener Adam Lyth scored 50 from 93 balls, Dawid Malan 75 from 113, Harry Brook was 77 not out from 63 balls, he now has 318 from 4 innings with an average for 159, calls for an England call up have been loud and clear for the 23 year old. The innings of the match came from George Hill, the 21 year old scored 151 runs from 248 balls, he batted for 4.75 hours. Yorkshire scored 406 runs in just 95 overs.

Northants opener Will Young put the main spanner in Yorkshire’s works, he batted for over 6 hours scoring 96 from the 241 balls he faced. Rob Keogh scored 48 from 124 balls and Keeper Lewis Mc Manus made 62 from 141 balls. They batted for 119.4 overs as the game fizzled out to a draw.

Surrey v Somerset – The Oval, London. Tom Abell won the toss for Somerset and elected to bat. Surrey won by 3 wickets.

Somerset 337 All Out & 207 All Out, Surrey 308 All Out & 239 for 7

Somerset must’ve been happy to see an Oval wicket, and Abell in particular took good advantage, in at 4 he was unbeaten and finished with 150 runs to his name, he faced 298 balls and batted for just over 7 hours, that’s one heck of an innings. he and James Hildreth put on 103 for the 4th wicket, with Hildreth making 54 from 90 balls. Hampshire batted for 116.4 overs, their wickets were shared between 5 bowlers.

In reply Surrey lost early wickets falling to 48 for 3, Ollie Pope and Ben Foakesd put on 80 for the 4th wicket, Pope was out for 47 from 73 balls and Foakes scored 63 from 138 balls. Sam Curran was Surrey’s top scorer with 80 from 124 balls as they batted towards Somerset’s first innings total. Australian bowler Peter Siddle took 6 for 51 from hos 26 overs. Surrey batted for exactly 100 overs.

Tom Abell has a second good innings but only made 53 this time round, he and Tom Banton made 90 for the 3rd wicket with Banton making 52 from 110 balls. Somerset were bowled out in 66.2 overs, with Jordan Clark being the best of the bowlers with 4 for 52.

Ryan Patel opening for Surrey scored 102 from 133 balls to help his team towards the required total. Ben Foakes added 48 from 121 balls. Jack Brooks took 4 for 73 but Surrey passed the required total after 67.5 overs.

Warwickshire v Essex – Edgbaston, Birmingham. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and elected to bat. Warwickshire won by 10 wickets

That was a choice that didn’t come off, Essex found themselves out of the running for Covid times Division 1 due to early season failures with the bat. They scored runs galore in round 1, but scraped a win that needed them to score just 84 runs, by just 1 wicket in Taunton. Both openers were out with just 37 runs on the board and it was only a decent innings from Westley who scored 80 from 176 that saved Essex from another totally woeful innings. They were bowled out in just 64.2 overs, Danny Briggs was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 31 in his 15.2 overs.

In reply Warwickshire were 86 for 4 before Matthew Lamb, who likes batting against Essex, and Michael Burgess put on 113 for the 5th wicket. Lamb scored 71 from 140 balls and Burgess went really big with 170 from 217 balls, he batted 19 minutes short of 5 hours. Warwickshire batted for 121.2 overs, more than doubling the Essex score. The best of he bowlers was Mark Steketee with 4 for 130 (wickets wise, not economy wise!)

In reply Essex lost Nick Browne for a 7 ball Duck, both new boys Matt Cricthley with 49 from 82 balls and Adam Rossington with 52 from 80 balls added some respectability to the Essex innings, but it was Simon Harmer who really delayed the inevitable, he top scored with 75 from 156 balls. Essex had a better innings overall. Craig Miles took 4 for 85.

Warwickshire scored the required runs in 37.4 overs, with Alex Davies scoring 65 from 131 balls and Dom Sibley 41 from 96 balls.

Division 2.

Durham v Nottinghamshire – The Riverside, Durham. Steven Mullaney won the toss for Notts and put Durham in to bat. Notts won by an innings and 141 runs.

Durham 230 All Out & 117 All Out, Nottinghamshire 488 for 9

After making 66 for the first wicket, things went a bit awry for Durham. Sean Dickson, one of last weeks century makers top scored with 54 from 95 balls as Durham were bowled out ion 78.4 overs. Liam Patterson-White took 5 for 54 in his 26.4 overs. I can see I’m going to need a list of 5 plus wickets this week!

In reply Notts had 2 centuries and at the time of writing both are not out overnight on Day 2, I’ll come back to them, but a mention for Ben Duckett who scored 54 from 76 balls. Opener Ben Slater carried his bat, he scored 225 from 445 balls batting for over 10 hours, he and Lyndon James put on 220 for the 4th wicket. James made 108 from 223 balls. Matthew Potts took 6 for 107 from his 35 overs.

Extras were the top score in Durham’s second innings as they were bowled out in just 33.5 hours. The wickets were shared between the 4 bowlers.

Glamorgan v Middlesex – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Peter Handscomb won the toss for Middlesex and put Glamorgan in to bat. Middlesex won by an innings and 82 runs.

Glamorgan 122 All Out & 132 All out, Middlesex 336 All Out

The Middesex captain had some bowling armoury to back up his decision, one of the most exciting young bowlers in the world Shaheen Shah Afridi is spending his English summer at the Home of Cricket! I am going to confess that as a big fan of Pakistan I’m more than envious of the counties who have some of their best talents at their disposal in 2022. He took 3 for 35 in his 13.1 overs as Glamorgan were bowled out in just 41.1 overs on their home ground. Chris Cooke top scored with just 31.

Middlesex had a similar situation to Warwickshire where they seemed to be batting on a different wicket. Mark Stoneman, opening scored 53 form 79 balls, but they did fall to 110 for 6. Keeper John Simpson in at 6 is being added to my finishing list this week, he scored 104 from 246 balls, batting for just under 5.5 hours. Toby Roland-Jones, who’d taken 3 wickets scored 65 from 87 balls. Middlesex batted for 104.2 overs. Glamorgan used 8 bowlers, with James Harris being the best of the bunch with 4 for 68 from hi9s 20 overs.

Glamorgan were bowled out in 46.5 overs, with Toby Roland-Jones taking 5 for 40 in his 17 overs, the first win of the round it was emphatic!

Leicestershire v Derbyshire – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicestershire. Colin Ackermann won the toss for Leics and elected to bat. Derbyshire won by an innings and 68 runs.

Leicestershire 213 All Out & 250 All Out, Derbyshire 531 All Out

A decision at the toss that backfired as Leics were bowled out in 77.2 overs. Opener Sam Evans top scored with 63 fro 147 balls, with 8 batters scoring under 20. The wickets were shared between 5 bowlers, Sam Conners took 4 for 62 from his 22 overs.

A mighty innings at the top of the Derbyshire order saw Shan Masood (another Pakistan man) score more than Leics put together. He batted for nearly 7 hours, facing 268 balls, scoring 219 before he was bowled by Callum Parkinson. He and Wayne Madsen shared a partnership of 221 runs, with Madsen falling just short of his century. He scored 94 from 159 balls. Mattie McKiernan in at 5 scored 101 from 191 balls he and Leus du Plooy put on 94 for the 5th wicket, du Plooy scoring 61 from 116 balls. Ed Barnes took 5 for 101 in his 25 overs as Derbyshire batted for 141.5 overs.

Leicestershire’s top scorer in the second innings was Louis Kimber with 54 from 163 balls. Derbyshire used 7 bowlers with 6 of them taking wickets as Leics were bowled out in 117.1 overs.

Worcestershire v Sussex – New Road, Worcester. Brett D’Oliveira won the toss for Worcs and elected to bat. Worcs won by an innings and 34 runs

Worcestershire 491 All Out. Sussex 269 All Out & 188 All Out

Worcestershire put on 85 for the first wicket, with Ed Pollock going on to make 77 from 74 balls. Pakistan cricketer watch finds me Azhar Ali, A man I was lucky enough to interview with my good friend Daren Mootoo for his Radio show 98 Not Out, you can see that, here https://youtu.be/fmWcAdZk7B4 – he was a delight! He only made 20 in this innings, but captain D’Oliveira and Ed Barnard put on 166 for the 5th wicket. Barnard scored 75 from 144 balls and D’Oliveira carried on with his good form, not out on 169. Falling just short of 500 Worcs batted for 136.5 overs. The wickets were shared between 6 of the 7 bowlers used.

Sussex had a centurion in their ranks, another for Chetashwar Pujara, he scored 109 from 206 balls, batting for nearly 4.5 hours, only Tom Clark with 44 from 106 balls really kept him company. Joe Leach took 4 for 60 from his 17 overs as Sussex was bowled out in 81.5 overs. Sadly Pakistan start Rizwan was out for a Golden Duck (and just 4 in the second innings)

Grant Stewart batting at 8 for Sussex was the best of their batters in their second innings, he scored 67 from 58 balls as they were bowled out in 63 overs.

No Photos this week – sorry about that – I have a Saracens match to catch up with, I somehow managed to avoid the score all day. I hope to catch some live cricket next weekend.

How many Centuries this week? Here goes – 15 this round!

• Ben Slater – Notts – 225 from 445 balls
• Lyndon James – Notts – 108 from 223 balls
• John Simpson – Middx – 104 from 246 balls
• Brett D’Oliveira – Worcs – 169 from 333 balls
• Chetashwar Pujara – Derbys – 109 from 206 balls
• Daniel Bell-Drummons – Kent -149 from 231 balls
• James Vince – Hants. – 111 from 118 balls
• Liam Dawson – Hants. – 171 from 268 balls
• Ben Brown – Hants. – 157 from 198 balls
• Josh Bohannon – Lancs – 231 from 467 balls
• Dane Vilas – Lancs. – 109 from 147 balls
• George Hill – Yorks. – 151 from 248 balls
• Tom Abell – Somerset. – 150 from 298 balls
• Ryan Patel – Surrey. – 102 from 133 balls
• Michael Burgess – Warwicks – 170 from 217 balls