365 Sporting Days

5 days at Edgbaston for the first Ashes Test meant I was in need of some ‘chilled’ cricket, that, believe it or not came in the shape of a T20 match up between Essex and Kent, a game won by Kent, it was unbelievably low key compared to The Ashes. Next up was Day 1 of the County Championship match between Essex and Warwickshire. The contrasts couldn’t be bigger, but all 3 were fabulous! Let’s see what happened around the country in the County Championship. A round that saw the Kookaburra Ball make its first appearance in the County Championship, how would that go? I’m starting this weeks’ round up on Day 2. There were plenty of centuries and one HUGE innings!

Division 1

Essex v Warwickshire – The Essex County Ground, Chelmsford. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and elected to bat. Essex won by 9 wickets.

Essex 457 All Out & 85 for 1, Warwickshire 158 All Out & 381 All Out

6In the reverse fixture Warwickshire bowled Essex out for Essex for 126 after winning the toss and putting them in to bat, things went rather differently this time. Essex did lose 2 early wickets as Feroze Khushi in the first over then Alastair Cook in the 6th, Essex were 20 for 2. Then came a record 3rd wicket stand against Warwicks, well, the best for many, many years! Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence put on 227 runs and put on a lovely display of batting. lovely from the perspective of this Essex fan at least! Tom Westley scored scored 114 from 193 balls, that took him to 625 runs at an average of 48.07. Dan Lawrence scored 152 from 233 balls, it was announced recently that Lawrence is heading to Surrey next year, difficult news to take when he’s a home grown player, but it’s becoming more common. The next player with an innings of note is Matt Critchley who signed from Derbyshire last season, he was Derbyshire captain so I imagine that won’t have gone down well with their members, swings and roundabouts! Westley was out from the first ball after tea and Critchley came in and hit an entertaining, quick fire, 47 from 43 balls, including 6 Fours and 2 Sixes, a short, but sweet stay! Simon Harmer contributed 30 and Will Buttleman 43 as Essex scored 457. One of the Warwickshire bowlers fielding nearby had said the Kookaburra ball was soft and doing nothing. Essex batted for 112.1 overs. 5 of the 7 bowlers used shared the wickets.

Matt Critchley scored an entertaining 47 in 43 balls

The first innings in this match was all about the bat, the second all about the ball, Will Rhodes and Jacob Bethell put on 67 for the 3rd wicket but they were 2 of the 3 players who got into double figures as Essex bowled Warwicks out for 158 in 50.5 overs. Simon Harmer took 5 for 65 in his 22.5 overs.

As a fan of Pakistan cricket watching a Hassan Ali celebration is always a joy!

Warwickshire naturally followed on and made a much better job of things, no batting points for the second innings of course. They scored 381 in 93.5 overs. Opener Robert Yates and Will Rhodes put on 98 for the 2nd wicket, Rhodes scored 46 and Yeates 44. I’d heard good things about Dan Mousley and he scored 61 from 74 balls, I wasn’t there to see it, but under the circumstances that was some going. Dom Bess, who I saw make his England debut in 2018 against Pakistan also fared well making 63 from 68 balls. The top scorer was Jake Lintott in only his second First Class match, he made 78 from 67 balls. Warwickshire forced Essex to bat again which will have been good for their morale. Simon Harmer bowled a huge 45.5 overs and took 5 for 165.

Essex required 83 to win and happily Feroze Khushi, a favourite of mine scored 40 of those rounds before losing his wicket. Alastair Cook and Tom Westley saw Essex too 85 and a 10 wicket win.

Hampshire v Middlesex – The Ageas Bowl, Southampton. James Vince won the toss for Hampshire and elected to bat. Hampshire won by an innings and 61 runs.

Hampshire 419 All Out, Middlesex 150 All Out & 208 All Out

Hampshire lost 4 wickets for 94 runs, including captain Vince, then along came a big partnership between Nick Gubbins and Liam Dawson. They put on 236 for the 5th wicket. Gubbins scored 120 from 318 balls and Dawson 141 from 247 balls. Hampshire batted for 137.3 balls and scored 419. Josh de Caires took 7 for 144 in his 47.3 overs.

This game was following a very similar trajectory to the game in Chelmsford, by the end of Day 2 Middlesex had lost 8 wickets for just 142 runs. Liam Dawson was having a belter of a game, he took 6 for 38 in his 20 overs! Middlesex added just 8 their first innings total. They were bowled out in 56.5 overs.

Ryan Higgins has been a great signing for Middlesex this year, he top scored in the second innings with 54 from 65 balls, that took him to 485 at an average of 40.41. Liam Dawson reined supreme in this innings again however he took 6 for 90 in his 23.4 overs, giving him 12 for the game! A memorable game for him with his 141§ to say the least! This Middlesex innings lasted a little longer, 70.4 overs.

Northamptonshire v Kent – The County Ground, Northampton. Luke Procter won the toss for Northants and elected to bat. Kent won by an innings and 15 runs

Northants 237 All Out & 369 All Out, Kent 621 All Out!!

Things were the other way round in this match, Northants were bowled out in 64.2 overs. Rob Keogh scored 41% of the Northants runs, he scored 97 from 147 balls and batted for just over 3 hours. Wes Agar, who I saw in that Essex v Kent game took 5 for 63 in his 15 overs.

In reply Kent were 550 for 5 at the end of Day 2! They lost Ben Compton for just 4. Then we have the partnership of the round, so far! Tawanda Muyeye and Daniel Bell-Drummond put on a massive 318 for the 2nd wicket! Muyeye batted for nearly 5 hours, scoring 179 from 205 balls and Bell-Drummond for over 7.5 hours, he finished the day on 271* from 398 balls. Bell-Drummond saw Joe Denly and Jack Leaning come and go in quick succession, Keeper Jordan Cox scored 41. Kent go again on Day 3 with a lead of 313. Bell- Drummond carried on where he’d left off on Day 2, reaching 300*! He faced 439 balls and batted for nearly 9 hours, the declaration came as that 300 was reached and Kent had a massive score of 621! Amongst the carnage Alex Russell took 6 for 175 in his 37.5 overs.

Northants survived 70 the overs left in the day, they lost 5 wickets and scored 214 runs, Luke Proctor and Rob Keogh put on 90 for the 4th wicket, Proctor scoring 52 and Keogh 57. They trail Kent by 170 runs with a day to bat. Ben Sanderson in at 9 and Jack White batting at 10 frustrated Kent as they put on 70 for the 9th wicket. White scored 59 from 76 balls, but the Kent bowlers got the job done saving their batters from a second innings. Joe Denly bowled 49 overs, and took 4 for 164 runs.

Somerset v Nottinghamshire – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Tom Abell won the toss for Somerset and elected to bat. Somerset won by 399 runs

Somerset 163 All Out & 514 for 8, Notts 186 All Out & 92 All Out

Somerset were bowled out in 48.1 overs, Brett Hutton took 5 for 34 in his 10.1 overs. An understated bowler I was really impressed with him when Essex played at Trent Bridge. The ball was working for the bowlers in Taunton

Notts Opener Ben Slater scored 70, but his was the only score above 33 as Notts were bowled out for 186, Matt Henry took 6 for 59 in his 20 overs. The Notts innings lasted 59.4 overs.

Somerset’s 2nd innings was quite different, at the end of Day 2 George Bartlett was 109* from 213 balls, he and opener Tom Lammonby had put on 119 for the 3rd wicket, Lammonby had scored 73 from 139 balls. Somerset start Day 3 on 269 for 4. Several WOWs as I come back to this match! Bartlett added a few and finished with 134. He and Keeper James Rew added 89 for the 5th wicket. Rew was Not Out 123 from 216 balls. Kasey Aldridge in at 7 scored 50 from 90 balls as Somerset built to 514 for 8 in 138.5 overs. 5 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets. James Rew now has 731 runs at an average of 60.91 he sits 5th in the highest runs scored figures.

In an utter contrast Notts were bowled out in 25.1 overs for just 92. Josh Davey took 4 for 17! Doing wonders for his average.

Surrey v Lancashire – The Kia Oval, London. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and put Lancashire in to bat. Lancashire won by 123 runs.

Lancashire 274 All Out & , Surrey 360 All Out & 84 All Out

The ball won out in the first innings of this match, Phil Salt made his mark with the bat, he scored 56 from 180 balls batting at 6 as Lancs were bowled out in 74 overs. Jordan Clark and Sean Abbot (a player used to the Kookaburra) took 4 wickets apiece.

Will Jacks and Sam Curran went on a bit of a runs spree for Surrey’s 6th wicket after they were 107 for 5. They put on 103, Jacks scored 64 from 77 balls and Curran went on to score 52 from 51 balls. Sean Abbot and Dan Worrall put on 130 for the 10th wicket. Abbot, who’s enjoying batting in England scored 87 from 69 balls and Worrall 51 from 73. Surrey’s innings was over quicker, in 71.3 overs but they scored 360.

For some reason I skipped this one as I was writing up Day 3, with a theatre trio on Day 4 I’m squeezing it in on the morning of Day 4. his match took a bit of a swing on Day 3 as Lancs had 5 batters with 30 or above. Will Williams (presumable William Williams?!?!) and Phil Salt put on 95 for the 5th wicket, Salt was out for 54 from 107 balls and Williams went on to score 61 from a massive 220 balls! WW is a patient batter! Lancashire batted for 114 overs and scored 293. 5 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.

Surrey sit at the top of the table and have found a way to win when it didn’t look likely this season, they batted for 24 overs on Day 3 and lost 5 wickets for 57 runs. Tom Bailey took 4 of those wickets for 34 runs, Surrey start the day with 151 runs required Lancashire need 5 wickets. On a cloud day in London , will bat or ball prevail? I can honestly say I was gob smacked when I looked at the score for this match as around 12:30 on Day 4, Surrey were bowled out for 84! It took Lancashire just 9 overs to get the job finished. Bailey took his extra wicket=, ending with 5 for 48 from his 16 overs. The Ball very much won the day!

Division 2

Glamorgan v Sussex – The SSE SWALEC, Cardiff. Kiran Carlson won the toss for Glamorgan and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Glamorgan 242 All Out & 319 All Out , Sussex 203 All Out & 273 for 9

Another on innings in the 70 overs sphere, Billy Root, in at 6, top scored with 66 from 120 balls as Glamorgan were bowled out in 71.5 overs. Nathan McAndrew took 4 for 58 in his 16.5 overs.

Sussex batted for 89.4 overs, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, in at 7, top scored with 59 from 118 balls. he 89.4 overs produced just 203 runs. 5 of the6 bowlers had an economy rate of under 3; 4 of the 6 shared the wickets.

In common with a couple of the Division 1 second innings, Glamorgan made a better effort. That was largely down to the efforts of a favourite of mine, Sam Northeast, who scored 104 from 193 balls before he was run out. Northeast and Carlson put on 85 for the 4th wicket. Carlson contributing 59 from 50 balls. Nathan McAndrew took 4 for 47 in his 20 overs.

At the end of Day 3 Sussex were 27 for 1, requiring a further 332 runs to win. Sussex batted out the day, losing 9 wickets, but Glamorgan couldn’t get the 10th in the 98 overs. Keeper Oli C after in at 7 batted for nearly 3 hours scoring 55 from 150 balls, helping his team save the draw.

Leicestershire v Durham – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester. Scott Borthwick won the toss and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Durham 517 for 6 dec & 343 for 4, Leics 422 All Out & 259 for 8

I was keeping an eye on the scores across the country on Day 1 and Leicester was the only game that didn’t have early wicket =s it seemed to me. That would be because Openers Alex Lees and Michael Jones put on 145for the 1st wicket. Jones scored 78 from 70 balls and Lees went on to score 101 from 151 balls. Keeper Ollie Robinson in at 5 was not out 167 from 218 balls. That took him to 567 at an average of 51.54. A good signing for Durham, he joined them on loan from Kent in 2022. Durham as a whole unit have been amazing with the bat. They scored their 517 runs in 112.5 overs, maximum and some batting points, again. I’m looking forward to a trip to Durham next year already!

The Leicestershire openers put on 83 for the 1st wicket, Sol Budinger scored 51 from 71 balls, Colin Ackermann finished Day 2 on 104* from 170 balls. he and Keeper Peter Handscomb put on 117 for the 4th wicket, Handscomb made 55 from 95 balls as Leics scored 335 in 70 overs. Ackermann went on to score 146. Wiaan Mulder scored 56 from 88 balls as Leics built to 422. That was helped by 3-0 runs contributed by 15 No Balls. 7 bowlers were used 4 of them took wickets with Ben Raine taking 4 for 114.

It’s becoming almost inevitable when I check out Durham that I’m going to see at least one Century maker, to add to the 2 in their 1st innings there were another 2 at the end of Day 3! Alex Lees remained 138 Not Out from 138 balls and David Bedingham 122 Not Out from 117 balls as the pair put on 212. Durham lead by 391 runs, the declaration will be coming, when is going to be interesting! Lees was out for 145 and Bedingham was Not Out 145 as Borthwick declared on 343 for 4.

We have another Century Maker in this match, a Leics man, Keeper Peter Handscomb (Australian) was Not Out 136 from 201 Balls, he batted for nearly 4.5 hours as Leics did enough to save the draw, batting for 75 overs. Ben Raine took another 4 wickets for just 55 this time round.

Worcestershire v Derbyshire – New Road, Worcester. Jake Libby won the toss for Worcs and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Worcs 237 All Out & 243 for 6, Derbyshire 578 for 5 dec

The Worcs openers put on 70 for the 1st wicket, Jake Libby scored 78 from 187 balls. His was the 7th wicket to fall as he saw his team mates come and go. Anuj Dal took 5 for 45 in his 18.3 overs as Worcs were bowled out for 237 in 83.3 overs.

Derbys felt to 38 for 3 before another big partnership of this round. Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy put on 267 for the 4th wicket. Madsen scored 143 from 230 balls. du Plooy finished the day on 159* from 261 balls. Derbys scored 374 in 106 overs, they have 4 more to get an extra batting point.I’m not sure when Drby reached the 450 but I imagine it was within the 110 overs, they made 578 for 5 in 143 overs. du Plooy was Not Out 238 from 356 Balls, he sits at the top of the runs scored table with 798 runs at an average of 114! Another WOW moment!

At the end of Day 3, having faced 22 overs Worcs are 70 for 2 and in need of 271 runs to close the gap, the gap wasn’t closed but nor were the wickets taken. 87 overs were bowled on Day 4. Keeper and Opener Gareth Roderick scored 123 from 209 balls batting for nearly 5.5 hours. He and Ed Pollock put on 63 for the 5th wicket, Pollock made 56 from 189 balls and batted for nearly 4 hours to frustrater Derbyshire.

Yorkshire v Gloucestershire – Headingley, Leeds. Shan Masood won the toss for Yorkshire and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Yorkshire 550 for 9 dec, Gloucs 421 for 8

Yorkshire fell to 90 for 3 before OpenerFinlay Bean and George Hill put on 153 for the 4th wicket. Bean scored 114 from 153 balls, and Hill went omn to score 101 from 180 balls he and Matthew Revis added 109 for the 5th wicket. Revis was Not Out 104* from 163 balls. bye used 7 bowlers and Matt Taylor took 4 for 70 in his 27 overs. Yorkshire made their 550 in 130 overs! Some going!

The Gloucs batters clearly enjoyed the Kookaburra too! They batted for 95 overs and scored 421, close to maximum batting points with 15 overs to spare! Ollie Price top scored with 97 from 140 balls with his brother Tom scoring 59 from 95, the pair put on 162 for the 7th wicket, I hope their parents were there! Gloucs reached 464 and had batted fro 103.2 overs. Dan Moriarty on loan from Surrey took 5 for 139 in his 34.2 overs.

What happened next was only likely to be batting practice, Yorkshire made 200 in 47.3 overs with Adam Lyth adding 55 to his tally for the season so far.

Century Makers and Five Wicket Takers

• Tom Westley – Essex – 114 from 193 Balls
• Dan Lawrence – Essex – 152 from 233 Balls
• Nick Gubbins – Hants – 120 from 318 Balls
• Liam Dawson – Hants – 141 from 247 Balls
• George Bartlett – Somerset – 134 from 265 Balls
• Tawanda Muyeye – Kent – 179 from 205 Balls
• Daniel Bell-Drummond – Kent 300 from 439 Balls
• Sam Northeast – Glamorgan – 104 from 193 Balls
• Alex Lees – Durham 101 from 151 Balls
• Ollie Robinson – Durham 167 from 218 Balls
• Colin Ackermann – Leics – 146 from 258 Balls
• Alex Lees – Durham 145 from 190 Balls
• David Bedingham – Durham – 145* from 133 Balls
• Peter Handscomb – Leics – 136* from 201 Balls
• Wayne Madsen – Derbys – 143 from 230 Balls
• Leus du Plooy – Derbys – 238 from 356 Balls
• Gareth Roderick – Worcs – 123 from 209 Balls
• Finlay Bean – Yorkshire – 114 from 153 Balls
• George Hill _ Yorkshire – 101 from 180 Balls
• Matthew Revis – Yorkshire – 104 from 163 Balls
• Ollie Price – Gloucs – 113 from 162 Balls

5 Wicket Takers

• Simon Harmer – Essex – 5 for 65 in 22.5 Overs
• Simon Harmer – Essex – 5 for 165 in 45.5 Overs
• Josh de Caires – Middlesex 7 for 144 in 42.3 Overs
• Liam Dawson – Hants – 6 for 40 in 22 Overs5
• Liam Dawson – Hants – 6 for 90 in 23.4 Overs
• Brett Hutton – Notts – 5 for 34 in 10.1 Overs
• Matt Henry – Somerset – 6 for 59 in 20 Overs
• Wes Agar – Kent – 5 for 63 in 15 Overs
• Alex Russell – Northants – 6 for 175 in 37.5 Overs
• Tom Bailey – Lancs – 5 for 48 in 16 Overs
• Anuj Dal – Derbys – 5 for 45 from 18.3 Overs
• Dan Moriarty – Yorkshire – 5 for 139 from 34.2 Overs