365 Sporting Days

The rain ‘won’ the day at Old Trafford and Australia retain the Ashes with that draw, there was bound to be at least 1 rain affected match and Australia did what they needed t get the win in the first 2 games. I’m at The Oval for 4 days and would have loved t be watching a decider but that wasn’t to be. In spite of this being Round 12 of the Championship some teams are playing their 11th natch and 4 their 10th. This is what Division 1 looked like before this round of matches, the contrast between the top and bottom teams batting points are stark and confirms the importance of reaching the 250 plus in the first innings. I’m starting this at the end of Day 2 and am going to have to work hard to get this out and watch the Ashes! To add some interest/colour I’ve added a few of my favourite from the Ashes today

Team	P	W	L	D	Ba	Bo	Pts
Surrey	10	6	1	2	21	29	161
Essex	10	5	1	4	20	27	147
Hampshire	10	5	3	2	14	28	132
Warwick	9	4	2	3	19	26	124
Somerset	10	3	2	5	21	28	122
Lancashire	9	2	1	6	14	25	100
Notts	10	2	4	4	11	29	92
Kent	10	6	2	2	10	24	76
Middlesex	9	2	6	1	2	24	65
Northants	9	1	6	2	1	23	50

Division 1

Hampshire v Essex – The Ageas Bowl – Southampton. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and put Hants in to bat. Essex won by 6 wickets.

Hampshire 120 All Out & 131 All Out, Essex 169 All Out & 86 for 4

My Ashes trip this week meant I had to work early in the week so was keeping an eye on this one from afar, needless to sat batting points were non existent in this particular game! Hants were bowled out in just 38.2 overs, Nick Gubbins had a top score of 25. Jamie Porter took 5 for 37 in his 14 overs.

Naturally a wicket can only be judged once both teams have batted and the Essex batters didn’t fare much better, they at least lasted a few more overs, 71.5 to be precise. 2 batter reached the 30’s being Michael Pepper with 33 and Adam Rossington with 39. Hants used 6 bowlers and 5 of them took wickets, including 3 for John Turner who despatched in form Matt Critcley, Pepper and Rossington. He’d only bowled just over 11 overs ins the Championship this summer, a decent spell!

By the end of Day 2 Hants has faced 45 overs and were 122 for 6, Gubbins who’s been having a good season so far was 44*. Porter had another 3 wickets to his name. Hants put on just 9 runs for the remaining 4 wickets, with Gubbins being the last to fall for 45. Jamie Porter took another 5 this time for 46 in his 18 overs.

Essex managed to add some drama to the game in losing 4 wickets while chasing, 3 of them for single figures. This must have been an interesting wicket. Essex won on Day 3.

Lancashire v Northamptonshire – Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. Luke Proctor won the toss for Northants and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Northants 342 All Out & 213 for 5, Lancashire 544 for 7 dec

Northants lost early wickets and fell to 59 for 3, Opener Emilio Gay and Luke Proctor put on 207 for the 4th wicket, some going! Proctor made 75 from 212 balls. Gay went on to score 144 from 250 balls. The Lancashire bowlers bowled 9 No Balls as Northants batted for 116.1 overs. 5 of the 6 bowlers used shared the wickets.

By the end of Day 2 Lancs reached 121 for 1, they went on to score big thanks to 3 centuries! Opener Luke Wells scored 119 from 186 balls and shared a 1st wicket partnership of 114 with Keaton Jennings who scored 55. Well also shared a 2nd wicket partnership of 142 with Josh Bohannon who scored 128 from 165 balls. Bohannon now has 888 runs at 52.23, he shared a 3rd wicket partnership of 126 with Keeper Phil Salt who scored 105 from just 77 balls! Lancashire scored their 544 in 106 overs.

Northants batted out the 100 overs left in the game with Emilio Gay top scoring again with 61 from 155 balls. In spite of a massive score for Lancs Northants saved the Draw.

Nottinghamshire v Kent – Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Jack Leaning won the toss for Kent and put Notts in to bat.

Notts 350 All Out & 372 for 6 dec, Kent 316 All Out & 85 All Out

Notts opener Ben Slater scored 100 from 155 balls batting for over 3 hours, Keeper Tom Moores batting at 6 scored 94 from 128 balls. Notts reached their 350 in 107 overs. Arshdeep Singh took 4 for 87 in his 18 overs.

Kent had lost both openers by the end of Day 2 and were 102 for 2. Keeper Harry Finch who scored a century at Essex last week top scored with 73 from 156 balls. Kent batted for 104 overs to reach their 316. Calvin Harrison took 4 for 28 in his 7 overs.

The Notts openers put in 131 for the 1st wicket with Ben Skater scoring well again, he made 87 from 139 balls. Overseas signing Will Young scored 87 from 79 balls and shared a 3rd wicket partnership of 114 with Joe Clarke who scored 73 from 40 balls. They weren’t hangin about. Notts scored 372 in 63 overs.

Kent managed to be bowled out in just 21.3 overs, ‘beating’ the Warwick’s collapse, and managed just 85 runs between them. Dane Paterson took 5 for 41 in his 10 overs.

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

Somerset 170 All Out & 226 All Out , Surrey 368 All Out & 29 for 0

That wasn’t the best decision for Somerset as Surrey bowled them out in 56.3 overs. They lost steady wickets with only Tom Kohler-Cadmore staying firm, he scored 59 from 101 balls and batted for nearly 2 hours. Tom Lawes took 4 for 41 in his 13 overs.

Surrey lost both openers early and were 15 for 2 then 95 for 4. Tom Latham and Will Jacks put on 123 for the 5th wicket. Remarkably both Latham and Jack were out for 99! Latham faced 167 balls and Jacks 138. Surrey scored 368 in just 90.1 overs.

Somerset were bowled out for 226, with Craig Overton top scoring with 70 from 63 balls, James Rew chipped in with 55 from 106 balls, taking him to 1034 at 64.62 for the season so far. Somerset were bowled out in 62.5 overs Jordan Clark was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 36 in his 15 overs.

sorry needed just 8.3 overs to score the runs required for the win. Essex had saat at the top of the table for a couple of hours but Surrey took their place again after this match was completed.

Warwickshire v Middlesex – Toby Roland-Jones won the toss for Middx and put Warwicks in to bat. Middlesex won by 8 wickets

Warwicks 60 All Out & 232 All Out , Middlesex 199 All Out & 97 for 2

Well, as badly as Tom Abell’s decision went for Somerset Toby Roland-Jones made the right choice for his team! Warwicks were bowled out in 22.5 overs! Ed Barnard top scored with 14. Ethan Bamber took 5 for 20 in his 9 overs.

As good as the bowling performance was Middlesex didn’t improve on their 2 batting points for the season, but they did score 139 more runs than their opposition. I’ve mentioned Ryan Higgins several times this Summer and he top scored again for Middlesex, he scored 53 from 72 balls. Middlesex were bowled out in 52.1 overs the 4 bowlers shared the wickets.

Warwicks had reached 189 for 4 by the end of Day 2, Sam Hain was 66* 178 ball, he and Dan Mousley had put on 110 for the 4th wicket, Mousley scored 58 from 151 balls. Warwicks didn’t add many to the score, they were bowled out in 88.4 overs and scored 232. Bamber was the best of the boulders again he took 4 for 71 in his 22 overs.

Middlesex batted for 25.1 overs to reach the required score, giving them a much needed victory taking them above Kent.

Division 2

Derbyshire v Glamorgan – The Incora County Ground, Derby. Leus du Plooy won the toss for Derbys and put Glamorgan in to bat. Match Drawn

Glamorgan 521 for 8 dec, Derbyshire 318 All Out & 380 for 0

Glamorgan scored their 521 in 118 overs, a day to regret putting the opposition in to bat! Glamorgan lost their captain avid Lloyd early and were 19 for 1. His fellow opener Zain ul Hassan and Colin Ingram put on 193 for the 2nd wicket, ul Hassan scored 69 from 183 balls and Ingram went on to score 136 from 200 balls. KIran Carlson scored 57 from 69 balls, Billy Root 52 from 68 balls and Keeper Chris Cooke 70 from 51 balls. A difficult day at the office for the bowlers 2 of them conceded over 100 runs.

At the end of Day 2 Derbyshire were 95 for no wicket. Openers Harry Came and Luis Reece put on 165 for the first wicket. Kane has scored 65 from 192 balls and Reece went on to score 131 from 242 balls . Derby were bowled out in 104.5 overs 4 of the 5 bowlers used shared the wickets.

Derbys were required to follow on and remarkably their openers Harry Came and Luis Reece batted out the day to score 360 runs in 112 overs. Came scored 141 from his 336 balls and Reece 201 from 338 balls. That must be a a record opening innings for the club!

Yorkshire v Durham – North Marine Road, Scarborough. Scott Borthwick won the toss for Durham and put Yorks in to bat.

Yorkshire 340 All Out, Durham 106 for 1

Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean put on 113 for the 1st wicket, Bean was out for 46 but Lyth went on to score 111 from 188 balls. Jordan Thompson batting at 7 scored 54 from 52 balls. Yorkshire scored their 340 in 87.5 overs. Bet Raine and Matty Potts both took 4 wickets .

At the end off Day 2 Durham were on 106 for 1. Alex Lees carrying on with his good form was 65*. Sadly the amount of rain that fell on day 3 meant there was no play that day or on day4 and the match finished in a draw. The joys of out ground Cricket

Gloucestershire v Worcestershire – College Ground, Cheltenham. James Bracey won the toss for Gloucs and put Worcs in to bat.

Worcs 406 All Out & 316 for 8, Gloucs 301 All Out

Another decision at the toss that proved not to be the wisest Worcestershire scored 406 runs in just 90.5 overs. Brett D’Oliveira batting at 6 scored 90 from 164 balls, opener and Keeper Gareth Roderick had scored 53 from 64 balls as he saw his open opening partner and the batters in at 3 an4 out for a Duck. Matthew Waite scored 64 from 54 balls and Josh Baker in at 9 made 75 from 135 balls. Paul van Meekeren took 4 for 93.

Gloucs lost opener Dent for just 8 before Joe Phillips and Ollie price put on 100 runs for the 2nd wicket. Scored 80 from 27 balls and Price went on to score 115 from 285 balls. He and his brother 111 for the fifth wicket, with Tom contributing 46 runs. Of rhe 7 bowlers used 4 shared the wickets.

Worcs went for it again taking just 70.2 overs to score 316 runs. Jake Libby scored 117 from171 Balls, Matthew Waite had another impressive innings scoring 62 from 32 balls. This was another rain affected match and another draw.

Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers

• Emilio Gay – Northants – 144 from 250 Balls
• Ben Slater – Notts – 100 from 155 Balls
• Emilio Gay – Northants – 144 from 250 Balls
• Luke Wells – Lancs – 119 from 186 Balls
• Josh Bohannon – Lancs – 128 from 165 Balls
• Phil Salt – Lancs – 105 from 77 Balls
• Colin Ingram – Glamorgan – 136 from 200 Balls
• Luis Reece – Derbys – 131 from 242 Balls
• Harry Came – Derbys – 141 from 336 Balls
• Luis Reece – Derbys – 201 from 338 Balls
• Ollie Price – Gloucs – 115 from 285 Balls
• Jake Libby – 117 from 171 Balls

• Jamie Porter – Essex – 5 for 37 in 14 Overs
• Jamie Porter – Essex – 5 for 46 in 18 Overs
• Ethan Bamber -Middlesex – 5 for 20 in 9 Overs