365 Sporting Days

Things have finally caught up, with every County playing this week, playing their 13th game of 14.. The County Champions were decided with a week to go, today, Friday the 23rd September is the first day of Autumn and we’ve seen some crazy scores, none less than at the Cloud County Ground in Chelmsford. A game that was over in a day and a few hours, not great! On to who did what where.

Division 1

Essex v Lancashire – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Dane Vilas won the toss for Lancashire and elected to bat. Lancashire won by 38 runs.

Lancashire 131 All Out & 73 All Out, Essex 107 All Out & 59 All Out

Needless to say not a single batter bother my list of century makers this week! Each team struggled to reach 100! Was it all about the pitch? I honestly don’t know, several balls definitely kept low, but it wasn’t a pitch for Simon Harmer which is something Essex have been criticised for producing this summer. There was some atrocious batting, some good bowling and a hat-trick. I’m not going through each innings, it’s too depressing!

A shout out to a couple of bowlers, Shane Snater took a wicket with his first ball in Lancashire’s first innings he went on to take 5 for 41 in his 11.5 overs. It took Tom Bailey just 3 balls to despatch Nick Browne he then took 5 for 36 in his 11.1 overs.

Snater then took 6 for 10 in Lancashire’s second innings as they were bowled out for just 73. Essex required 98 to win, that should’ve been possible, shouldn’t it? Well, no! 21 year old George Balderson 5 for 14 in his 7 overs, including a cracking Hat-Trick! Taking the wickets of Alastair Cook, Dan Lawrence and Matt Critchley. Essex were bowled out for a woeful 59 and lost by 38 runs. We wait to see if the club face any punishment if it was the pitch at fault.

Gloucestershire v Warwickshire – Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol, Will Rhodes won the toss for Warwicks and elected to bat. Gloucestershire won by 3 wickets.

Warwickshire 274 All Out & 128 All Out, Gloucestershire 255 All Out & 149 for 7

These were the 2 teams bottom of the table playing each other, Gloucs had gone the whole summer without a win! Their fate is sealed and this result has probably sealed Warwicks fate too! Another season when the Champions from the previous year are relegated is looking likely.

Dom Sibley continued his good 2022, he scored 120* from 280 balls, taking him to 804 at an average of 40.2 for the year so far. He watched his team mates depart around him, until Danny Briggs joined him, they shared a partnership of 108 for the 7th wicket. Zafar Gohar took 5 for 64 in his 35 overs as Warwicks batted for 104.2 overs.

Zafar had his say in Gloucs innings too, after Game van Buuuren and Jack Taylor put on 90 for the 6th wicket. Taylor scored 71 in 106 balls and Zafar in at 8 scored scored 55 from 82 balls. Gloucs scrored their 255 in just 74.3 overs. Indian bowler Jayant Yadav took 5 for 90 in his 29.,3 overs.

In spite of 60 from 90 balls for Alex Davies Warwickshire were bowled out for just 128 in 38.5 overs. Tom Price took an amazing 8 for 27 in this 13.5 overs. Crazy stuff must’ve been going on in Bristol too!

Gloucestershire got their first win of the season in juts 48.2 overs, Chris Dent top scored with 64 from 145 balls. Yadav added another 4 to his tally for 47 runs.

Hampshire v Kent – The Ageas Bowl, Southampton. James Vince won the toss for Hampshire and put Kent in to bat. Kent won by 77 runs.

Kent 165 All Out & 269 All Out, Hampshire 57 All Out & 300 All Out

Hampshire were in with a chance of winning the County Championship before this match, Kent were at risk of relegation, both of those scenarios disappeared by the end of Day 3.

Nick Compton has had more than a good 2022, he top scored in Kent’s first innings with 63 from 161 balls, batting for just over 4 hours as he watched his team mates come and go. Kent fell to 32 for 5 before Joey Evison shared 68 runs with Compton. Evison was the 2nd highest scorer with 34 from 67 balls. Kent were bowled out in 65.4 overs. Kyle Abbot took 4 for 46 in his 14 overs.

Hampshire were basically demolished din their first innings as former Essex bowler Matt Quinn took 6 for 23 in his 6.5 overs. The innings lasted just 16.5 overs

At 55 for 4 Kent looked to be in a lot of trouble in their 2nd innings. Jack Leaning, batting at 6 gets on the century makers list however, he scored 112 from 178 balls, batting for over 3.5 hours. That helped Kent to 269 in their 71.5 overs. Mohammad Abbas took 4 for 68 in his 18.5 overs.

Hampshire had a much improved 2nd innings, Joe Weatherley scored 56 from 110 balls and James Vince, batting at 6 scored 71 from 115 balls. Vince and James Fuller shared a partnership of 90 for the 8th wicket. They scored their 300 in just 85 overs. Kent used 8 bowlers, Nathan Gilchrist took 4 for 60 in his 19 overs. That all added up to a win for Kent and a place of safety, it also meant Hampshire wouldn’t win the Championship.

Surrey v Yorkshire – The Oval, London. Jonathan Tattersall won the toss for Yorkshire and put Surrey in to bat. Surrey won by 10 wickets. AND ARE COUNTY CHAMPIONS!!

Surrey 333 Al Out & 55 for no wicket, Yorkshire 179 All Out & 208 All Out

Surrey looked to be in some trouble early in their innings as they fell to 136 for 5. Ollie Pope had been steadfast and Jordan Clark shared a partnership of 142 with him for the 6th wicket. Pope scored 136 from 131 balls, a hugely important innings! Clark scored 55 from 111 balls. Ryan Patel had scored a useful 41 opening. Surrey batted for only 80.5 overs. Steven Patterson took 4 for 69 in his 20 overs, Yorkshire might be regretting their decision to let their ex-captain go. He’s currently considering his future, he’d ba a great signing for another County.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore who is leaving Yorkshire at the end of the season top scored with 55 from 75 balls as Yorkshire were bowled out in 58.4 overs. 19 year old Tom Lawes took 4 for 31 in his 12 overs. That took him to 18 for the season at an average of 20.

Yorkshire followed on and lasted for 65.3 overs, opener Adam Lyth top scored with 46 from 99 balls. Daniel Worrall took 4 for 61 in his 15.3 overs. Surrey needed 55 to win both this match and the Championship trophy.

Rory Burns and Ryan Patel needed just 5 overs to get the required runs and Surrey had a second Championship win in 4 years and their 20th overall.

Somerset v Northamptonshire – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Tom Abell won the toss for Somerset and elected to bat. Somerset won by 352 runs.

Somerset 389 All Out & 337 for 4, Northants 265 All Out & 109 All Out.

There were only two single digit scored in Somerset’s first innings; Tom Abell top scored with 111 from 179 balls, batting for just over 4 hours, He and George Bartlett shared a partnership of 134 for the 3rd wicket. Bartlett scored 62 from 126 balls. Somerset batted for 137.3 overs. Rob Keogh took 4 for 99 in his 30.3 overs.

Northants captain Will Young scored 85, watching wickets fall around him as Northants fell to 95 for 5. Tom Taylor batting at 8 scored 60 from 99 balls as Northants were bowled out in 77.2 overs. Craig Overton took 5 for 38 in his 17.2 overs.

Somerset’s Toms – Lammonby and Abell both scored a century, in the case of the captain Abell that took him over 1000 for the season, he now has 1026 at an average of 60.35. He’s a player I’d have been getting ready to be England captain pre-Ben. Lammonby scored 110 from 242 and Abell 115 from 98. Sandwiched in-betwen was Imam who scored 52 from 85 balls. Abell declared after 75 overs with a lead of 461.

The weather changed somewhat on the 4th day of these games, I’m not sure how it was in the South West, but Somerset got the job done. They bowled Northants out in just 30.4 overs, with the wickets shared between the 4 bowlers.

Division 2

Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire – New Road, Worcester. Steven Mullaney won the toss for Notts and put Worcs in to bat. Worcestershire won by an innings and 79 runs.

Nottinghamshire 128 All Out & 183 All Out, Worcestershire 390 All Out.

Worcs lost early wickets and were 99 for 5, before Brett D’Oliveira and Gareth Roderick shared a partnership of 169. D’Oliveira scored 85 from 221 balls and Roderick 102 from 208 balls. Josh Tingue contributed a useful 45 as Worcs made 390 in 118.3 overs. 5 bowlers shared the wickets.

Notts had a fairly horrible first innings, they were bowled out in 34.2 overs, Liam Patterson-White top scored with 32. Dillon Pennington and the departing Ed Barnard took 4 wickets each.

Notts second innings lasted longer, 52.2 overs, Haseeb Hameed top scored with 58 from 102 balls. taking him to 1071 runs for the season so far, at an average of 53.55. 4 of the bowlers shared the wickets. Notts stay at the top of the table and are in a strong position for promotion.

Durham v Sussex – Seat Unique Riverside, Chester-le-Street. 82 ballsScott Borthwick won the toss and put Sussex in to bat. Durham won by an innings and 140 runs.

Sussex 162 All Out & 157 for 9, Durham 459 for 7 dec.

Sussex lost opener Tom Haines in the first over, as an aside there are a lot of Toms in County Cricket! they fell to 80 for 6 an don one really got going. Opener Ali Orr top scored with 36 from 82 balls. They were bowled out in 59.4 overs, 4 of the bowlers sharing the wickets.

In reply Durham had a rather different time; opener Michael Jones and Borthwick in at 3 shared a partnership of of 154, Borthwick scored 82 from 121 balls and Jones war on to score 96 from 193 balls. Nic Maddison put on 90 from 100 balls and Chris Benjamin finished 82 nit out from 91 balls. Durham scored their 459 in 103 overs. Sussex used 7 bowlers! Who were mostly frustrated.

Sussex only had 10 batters for their 2nd innings and they batted for 48.3 overs, Haines top scored in this innings with 37 from 62 balls. Ben Raine took 5 for 54 in his 18 overs. An emphatic win for Durham!

Glamorgan v Derbyshire – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Billy Godleman won the toss for Derbyshire and put Glamorgan in to bat. Glamorgan won by an innings and 24 runs.

Glamorgan 550 for 5 dec, Derbyshire 253 All Out & 273 All Out

Well wow – I wasn’t expecting to see a triple century when I went into the Glamorgan scorecard! Captain and opener David Lloyd had the second incredible innings for Glamorgan alongside Sam Northeast, who was 410 not out earlier in the season! Lloyd scored a massive 313 not out in 398 balls, he batted for over 9 hours and scored 57% of Glamorgan’s runs. Billy Root joined him in a partnership of 207 batting for over 3 hours, he scored 79 from 147 balls. It must’ve been tempting to bat on, but Lloyd declared after 135.2 overs.

In reply Derbyshire had 3 innings over 50 and 7 of 11 and under. Opener Luis Reece scored 56, Harry Came 64 and Anuj Dal 92 from 212 balls. Dal has had a great summer and is closing in on the 1000 runs mark, he had 926 at an average of 71.23 at the end of this match. The wickets were shared between the 5 bowlers.

Derbyshire followed on Godleman opening scored 40 Wayne Madsen 77 from 163 and Leus du Ploy 66 from 111 balls. They were bowled out in 83.4 overs; The wickets were again shared and Glamorgan had another win after an enormous individual innings!

Leicestershire v Middlesex – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester. Callum Parkinson won the toss for Leics and put Middlesex in to bat. Middlesex won by 80 runs.

Middlesex 297 All Out & 271 All Out, Leicestershire 294 All Out & 194 All Out

Middlesex lost both openers early and were 29 for 2. Steve Eskinazi batting at 3 scored 64 from 143 balls as both Malan and Holden lost their wickets for just 24 runs between them. John Simpson who’s having a good summer with the bat scored 92 from 177 balls – he had 947 runs at 63.13 at the end of this match. Ryan Higgins scored 53 from 98 balls. Mike Finan took 5 for 58 in his 18 overs. The innings lasted for 98 overs.

Leicestershire also lost early wickets falling to 66 for 5 before their middle order stood firm, Tom Screen and Harry Swindells put in 125 for the 6th wicket. Scriven scored 65 and Swindells 67. In a mirror of the Middlesex inning stash one lasted for 98.2 overs. Toby Roland-Jones took 4 for 70 in his 27.2 overs.

Middlesex opener Mark Stoneman scored 81 as his fellow opener S am Robson Eskinazi and David Malan scored 8 between them. Max Holden top scored with 91 from 112 balls. Callum Parkinson took 4 for 69 in his 26 overs. This was a quicker innings, 69 overs.

Leicestershire couldn’t achieve their first win of the season in spite of a strong innings of 80 from 156 balls from Colin Ackermann. Toby Roland-Joines took another 4 wickets taking him to 63 at 19.2 for the season. The win kept Middlesex in 2nd spot and promotion beckons with a week to go.

Century Maker – The list has got smaller as the season has progressed!

• Dom Sibley – Warwicks – 120 from 280 Balls
• jack Leaning – Kent – 112 from 178 Balls
• Ollie Pope – Surrey. – 136 from 131 Balls
• Gareth Roderick – Worcs 102 from 208 Balls
• Tom Abell – Somerset – 111 from 179 Balls
• Tom Abell – Somerset – 115 rom 98 Balls
• Tom Lammonby – Somerset – 110 from 242 Balls
• David Lloyd – Glamorgan – 313 from 398 Balls !!!!

With one week to go only Gloucestershire’s relegation is confirmed and of course the fact that Surrey are Champions! Congratulation to them! There is all to play for for Kent who play Somerset at home and Warwickshire who play Hampshire at home. Notts and Middlesex sit in pole positions to be promoted, Notts play Durham at home and Middlesex Worcestershire away. One week to go, with October approaching, hopefully we’ll get full matches.

Wickets galore in 2 days at Essex, incising a quite joyful Hat-Trick!