365 Sporting Days

A long pre-planned theatre trip and a daughter to get to the Eurostar meant I wasn’t able to attend the first 2 days at the Cloud County Ground to watch Essex v Yorkshire. Day 3 was a no brainer with Joe Root due to bat. There were 3 draws in the 7 matches played and centuries up and down the country, with the most spectacular coming from the new England captain Ben Stokes at New Road. With 2 of the in form batters at the crease in Dawid Malan and Harry Brook it was disappointing to see such a low crowd at the Essex Cloud County Ground, those on social media call for weekend cricket, it was a glorious day, and yes the match was most likely going ti be a draw, but there were 2 ex England captains in the game alongside a lot of talent. On to who did what – only one game finished early, and that was at The Oval, more of that later. More photos to follow! I took thousands

Division 1

Essex v Yorkshire – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Steven Patterson won the toss for Yorkshire and put Essex in to bat. Match Drawn.

Essex 403 All Out & 167 for 0, Yorkshire 465 All Out.

I missed an Alastair Cook century whole i was gallavanting at the theatre, he scored 107 from 268 balls, after his opening partner Nick Browne was out for a 3 ball Duck, captain Tom Westley made just 24 but Cook and Paul Walter in at 4 put on 174 for the 3rd wicket. Walter batted for nearly 7 hours, facing 322 balls and scoring 141 runs. the nightwatchman Sam Cook batted for 95 minutes, scoring 28. Simon Harmer in at 9 scored 54 from 82 balls to help take Essex to 403 in 156.3 overs. Yorkshire used 7 bowlers and 5 of them took wickets. The Essex bowlers had some success early in the Yorkshire innings and they started Day 3 on 81 for 3. That saw Joe Root start the day with Nightwatchman Matthew Revis; they put on 124 for the 4th wicket, Revis faced 157 balls for his 47. It was only an outstanding run out with Matt Critchley and Adam Rossington combining that saw Revis heading back to the pavilion. I’d been waiting for in form batters Dawid Malan and Harry Brook to enter the fray, not that watching Root wasn’t a joy. Root was out 3 overs after Revis, he’d faced 112 balls for his 75, hitting 9 Fours, most of those were surely sweeps from the bowling of Simon Harmer. That took us to around 3:20 and sods law I had to leave, so I missed Malan and Brook piling on the runs. Brook started his innings with a huge six from the bowling of Harmer. Both were still at the crease on Day 4, but Malan didn’t add to his overnight score, I sup[pose it was wrong of me, as an Essex fan, to be disappointed to see him leave, he’d made 87 from 180 balls. Brook was out having faced 152 balls, her batted for just under 4 hours and made 123 runs. That took him to 635 for the season so fa at an average of 158.75. That surely has to put him in contention for some test cricket this summer! Yorkshire were finally bowled out for 465 having faced 144.2 overs. It was by now around mid-day on Day 4. Essex opener Nick Browne was in dire need of some runs, he and Cook batted for just over 3 hours, Browne made 50 from 178 balls and Cook made his second century with 102 from 183 balls.

Hampshire v Gloucester – The Ageas Bowl, Southampton. James Vince won the toss for Hampshire and elected to bat. Hampshire won by 87 runs.

Hampshire 342 All Out & 204 All Out, Gloucestershire 179 All Out & 280 All Out

Hampshire opener Ian Holland was out for 2 but his opening partner Felix Organ went on to score 107 from 234 balls. He shared a 3rd wicket partnership with James Vince of 161 with Vince scoring 78 from 130 balls. Liam Dawson in at 5 contributed 48 from 127 balls. Gloucs used 7 bowlers with 5 of them in the wickets, including Pakistan bowler Amir with 3. In reply Gloucs were bowled out in just 68 overs. Abbas, another Pakistan man took 6 for 45 from his 6 overs, a great signing, he loves to bowl in England! Aneurin Donald saved Hampshire from total embarrassment in their second innings, he scored 89 from 97 balls, batting at 9. They were bowled out in 59.2 overs, 6 bowlers took wickets with another 3 for Amir. Gloucs opener George Scott was the best of their batters with 77 from 164 balls, he batted for nearly 4 hours. Their innings lasted for 114.4 overs this time round, with 6 bowlers taking wickets, 3 for Abbas who finished the match with 9 for 94

Lancashire v Warwickshire – Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Will Rhodes won the toss for Warwicks and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Warwickshire 315 All Out & 184 for 6, Lancashire 361 All Out

Another Opener out for a Duck, being Alex Davies for Warwicks, another opener with a century, Dom Sibley scored 142 from 329 balls, he batted for 7.5 hours. Warwicks batted for 113 overs, Hassan Ali, on Pakistan watch, took 3 for 82, Matt Parkinson took 3 for 60 and Tom Bailey 3 for 61. In contrast Lancashire had a long opening partnership with Luke Wells and Keaton Jennings putting on 166 for the first wicket. Wells made 80 from 163 balls and Jennings 110 from 264 balls. Lancashire batted for 128.3 overs. Nathan McAndrew was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 85 from his 29 overs. Rob Yates was the top scorer in Warwicks second innings with 55 from 157 balls, he batted for just over 3 hours. The match was finished with 80 overs on the board.

Surrey v Northants – Kia Oval, London. Ricardo Vasconcelos won the toss for Northants and put Surrey in to bat. Surrey won by an innings and 5 runs

Surrey 401 All Out. Northants 194 All Out & 202 All Out.

This round seems to be all about the openers and there was another with a century at Surrey, Rory Burns scored 107 from 259 balls, batting for nearly 6 hours. Sam Curran in at 6 was the best of the rest with 73 from 143 balls, Gus Atkinson in at 8 finished not out on 66 from 98 balls. Surrey made their 401 in 126.3 overs. 6 bowlers were used and 4 took the wickets. Luke Procter had taken 3 for 68 and he was the beat of the batters with 83 from 196 balls in just under 4.5 hours. Northants were bowled out in 74.5 overs. Overseas signing Colin de Grandhomme took 4 for 39 in his 14.5 hours. Surrey made quicker work of Northants second innings, Emilio Gay top scored with 51 from 73 balls, 5 bowlers shared the wickets.

Division 2

Glamorgan v Leicestershire – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. David Lloyd won the toss for Glamorgan and put Leics in to bat. Glamorgan won by 6 wickets.

Glamorgan 437 All Out & 153 for 4, Leics 320 All Out & 266 All Out

Leics Openers Hassab Azad and Sam Evans put on 90 for the f1st wicket, Evans was out for 29 and Azad went on to score 64 from 154 balls. I’m thrilled to see ex Essex batter Rishi Patel in at 3 top scoring with 82 from 164 balls. An unusual stat from this innings, there were 3 run outs! Leics batted for 107.5 overs with Glamorgan using 7 bowlers, Marnius Labuschagne was the best of the bowlers with 3 for 65 from his 17 overs. Glamorgan were 63 for 3 in reply before Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson put on 182 for the 4th wicket. Carlson made 91 from 135 balls and Northeast 84 from 125. Keeoer Chris Cooke in at 6 scored 52 from 139 balls. The wickets were shared between 5 of the 6 bowlers. Opener Azad had another good innings for Leics with 58 from 98 balls, But it was Ben Mike, in at 8 who top scored with 64 from 100 balls as Leics were bowled out in 86.2 overs. 8 bowlers this time for Glamorgank 5 of them took the wickets. Glamorgan made the runs they needed to get the win in 40.4 overs. Northeast was not out 40 from 87 balls

Sussex v Middlesex – The 1st Central County Ground, Hove. Tom Haines won the toss for Sussex and elected to bat. Middlesex won by 7 wickets.

Sussex 392 All Out & 335 for 4 dec. Middlesex 358 All Out & 370 for 3.

A 2nd wicket partnership of 204 between Ali Orr and Tom Alsop set Sussex off well, Orr missed his century by just 1, making 99 from 204 balls and Alsop scored 113 from 179 balls. George Garton batting at 7 made 53 from 79 balls. Sussex scored their 392 in 106.4 overs. Pakistan bowler Shaheen took 3 for 97, 6 bowlers were used and they all took at least a wicket, with Martin Andersson also taking 3, for 88. Middlesex fell to 45 for 4 before their middle order stepped up. John Simpson and Max Holden put on 130 for the 4th wicket, Simpson made 71 from 130 balls and Holden 58 from 103 balls. Luke Hollman in at 7 top scored with 82 from 148 balls, Andersson scored 55 from 103 balls. Middlesex made their 358 in 102.2 overs. Ollie Robinson took 5 for 66 in his 24 overs in a spell that will please the England set up. Both Sussex openers went for a Duck with extras providing the 6 runs for the 2 opening wickets. Stop up Tom Alsiop and Chetashwar Pujara they put on 138 for the 3rd wicket. Alsop made 66 from 90 obversd and Pujara a mighty 170 from 197 balls. Tom Haines declared after 68 overs with 335 for 4 on the board. Middlesex lost Mark Stoneman for 1 but Sam Robson and Peter Handscomb put in 209 for the 2nd wicket. Handscomb scored 79 from 142 balls and Robson 149 from 181 balls, Max Holden had another good innings finishing 80 not out from just 76 balls. The 370 runs required for the win were scored in 73.5 overs.

Worcestershire v Durham – New Road, Worcester. Scott Borthwick won the toss for Durham and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Durham 580 for 6 & 170 for 1 dec. Worcestershire 309 All Out & 262 for 3 .

This is the match with THE innings of the round! But before that 4 other Durham batters get a mention. Sean Dickson is having a great season, opening, he scored 104 from 184 balls, sharing a 2nd wicket stand of 123 with Keegan Peterson who scored 50 from 118 balls. Scott Borthwick scored 80 from 144 balls and David Bedingham back in the runs after a quiet week last week scored 135 from 175 balls. All pretty impressive stuff! Then along came England captain Ben Stokes, he scored 161 in 88 balls! He hit 8 Fours and 17 Sixes, hitting 34 from one over, hopefully not traumatising for life the 18 year old bowler. Durham scored 580 in 128 overs. 3 of the bowlers conceded over 100 runs, not a great day at the office! In reply Worcs had just 2 innings over 50, Ed Barnard scored 55 from 89 balls and Joe Leach in at 8 scored 62 from 105 balls. They batted for 99.5 overs for their 309. Matthew Potts took 6 for 62 in his 24 overs. Durham put on a quick fire 170 in just over an hour, with Alex Lees making 60* from 56 balls and Dickson made his second century Stokes stylie with 105 from 73 balls, hitting 5 Fours and 8 Sixes. In determined mode Worcs saved the draw, ex Pakistan captain Azhar Ali batting at 3 scored 92 from 224 balls and Jack Haynes finished not out on 120 from 276 balls. I’d judge those at this game got their moneys worth! But, Imagine scoring 2 centuries and having an innings like Stokes and not winning!

Century Makers Week 5 – 16 this eek with an amazing 3 on 19=07 from a very similar number of balls.

• Rory Burns – Surrey – 107 from 259 balls
• Alastair Cook – Essex. – 107 from 268 balls
• Paul Walter – Essex. – 141 from 322 balls
• Harry Brook – Yorkshire – 123 from 152 balls
• Alastair Cook – Essex. – 102 from 183 balls
• Felix Organ – Hants. – 107 from 234 balls
• Dom Sibley – Warwicks – 142 from 329 balls
• Keaton Jennings – Lancs – 110 from 264 balls
• Tom Alsop – Sussex – 113 from 179 balls
• Chetashwar Pujara – Sussex – 170 from 197 balls
• Sam Robson – Middx – 149 from 181 balls
• Sean Dickson – Durham – 104 from 184 balls
• David Bedingham – Durham – 135 from 185 balls
• Ben Stokes – Durham. – 161 from 88 balls
• Sean Dickson – Durham – 105 from 73 balls
• Jack Haynes – Worcs – 120 from 276 balls