365 Sporting Days

The return of the County Championship coincided with a heatwave across the country, of course in the week the children go back to school! I’d enjoyed the cricket I watched live in August including a Hundred Double Header and as many 50 One games as I could make, but it was good to be back watching county cricket at the Cloud County Ground in Chelmsford. Who did what this week?

Division 1

Surrey v Warwickshire – The Oval, London. Will Rhodes won the toss for Warwicks and put Surrey in to bat. Surrey won by an innings and 97 runs.

Surrey 396 All Out, Warwickshire 161 All Out & 138 All Out.

Surrey are seeking a second consecutive Championship win, they found themselves in some trouble early on in their innings as they fell to 31 for 2. The potential champions have been saved several times by their middle order this season and along came Jamie Smith who shared a 99 run partnership for the 3rd wicket with Dom Sibley. Smith was out for 60 from 72 balls, Sibley then shared a 4th wicket partnership of 57 with Ben Foakes before he was run our for 65 from 171 balls,, Sibley knows how to bat time! Foakes was joined by Cameron Steel and the pair put on 156 for the 5th wicket. Steel made 71 from 122 balls. Foakes batted for over 4.5 hours and finished with 125 from 210 balls. Ed Barnard took 5 for 66 i9n his 20 overs.

Warwickshire found themselves on 39 for 5 before being bowled out for 161 in 44.3 overs. Keeper Michael Burgess in at 7 top scored with 54 from 92 balls remarkably! The returning Kemar Roach took 4 for 64 in his 13 overs.

Warwickshire weren’t for hanging around in South London, they were bowled out in just 37 overs for 138,, Dan Mousley batting at 5 scored nearly half of those runs with 61 from 77 balls. Dan Worrall who’d taken 3 in the 1st innings took 5 for 25 in his 9 overs.

Hampshire v Somerset – The Ageas Bowl, Southampton. James Vince won the toss for Hants and elected to bat. Hampshire won by 185 runs.

Hampshire 308 All Out & 330 for 3 dec, Somerset 137 All Out & 316 All Out

Hants lost their opener Fletcha Middleton for a 3 ball Duck but built their innings well, Liam Dawson was the star of their innings with 115 from 220 balls, he batted for over 3 hours and helped his team reach 308 in 109.2 overs. Jack Brooks took 5 for 56 in his 23.2 overs.

Somerset batted for just 54.1 overs, with Andy Umeed top scoring with 43 ofd their 137 runs. Keith Barker took 5 for 32 in his 12.1 overs. Dawson contributed 3 wickets to add to his century.

Nick Gubbins is having a great summer with the bat and he shone in Hants 2nd innings, he and James Vince shared a 3rd wicket partnership of 162 before Vince was out for 63 from 83 balls. Gubbins was 139* from 192 balls. That innings has taken him to 921 at 54.17 for the season so far.

Somerset made a better effort in their 2nd innings; Opener Sean Dickson scored 63 104 balls. Tom Kohler Cadmore batting at 5 top scored with 6=84 from 124 balls. The innings lasted for 94.3 overs, Liam Dawson added too his century to take 4 fir 85 in his 30.3 overs.

Northamptonshire v Lancashire – The County Ground, Northampton. Keaton Jennings won the toss for Lancs and put Northants in to bat. Lancashire won by an innings and 26 runs.

Northants 232 All Out & 266 All Out, Lancashire 524 All Out

Sam Whiteman in at 3 top scored with 79 from 127 balls, but in spite of his efforts Northants were bowled out in 85.4 overs. The 5 bowlers used shared the wickets.

Lancs lost 2 early wickets then fell to 97 for 4, Josh Bohannon in at 3 is another batter having a great 2023, he scored 175 from 294 balls and that innings has sent him to the top of the table for runs scored with 1063 at an average of 59.05. George Balderson in at 8 scored 115 from 234 balls , he has 634 runs at an average of 63.4 for the season so far. Tom Bailey in at 10 scored 77 from 75 balls as Lancs looking to bat once made their 524 in 142.3 overs.

Northants were bowled out in 82.2 oversSam Whiteman batting at 3 top scored with 54 from 112 balls. Luke Wells who opened for Lancs took 5 for 25 in his 7.2 overs.

Essex v Middlesex – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and elected to bat. Essex won by 297 runs.

Essex 304 All Out &, 319 for 7, Middlesex 179 All Out & 147 All Out.

I had to work so missed the first session on Days 1 and 2, Essex started really well and were 122 for the 1st wicket. Nick Browne scored 59 from 108 balls and Alastair Cook 58 from 127 balls. Both were out before I sat in my seat. The story of this innings was the bowling of 21 year old Josh de Caires, he pretty much obliterated the Essex line up, albeit conceding 106 runs in his 39.2 overs, but he took 8 wickets! Essex were bowled out for 304 in 98.2 overs.

Cricket watchers might imagine the tale of the Middlesex innings would be the bowling of Simon Harmer, but no, it was the bowling of Jamie Porter, he took 6 for 34 in his 12.5 overs, Sam Cook took 3 wickets. Porter sits at the top of the bowling table with 53 wickets for the season so far. Middlesex were bowled out in 53.5 overs. Harmer took just the 1 wicket. Ryan Higgins had the highest score of 44.

I’m lucky to have a very flexible working situation and decided that the opportunity to see Sir Alastair Cook bat and a potential century was a chance I didn’t want to miss ao went along for most of the day. Tom Westley and Cook put on 114 for the 3rd wicket at what was a leisurely pace, the Middlesex bowlers certainly kept things tight. I’m showing my colours in a massive way and sending massive amounts of boo’s to Sam Robson who took Cook’s wicket when he was on 84 (from 178 balls), he hadn’t read the script! Rumour has it that Cook will be retiring at the end of the summer, 5 years after his international retirement. What joy it’s been to watch him at Essex. More of that as and when the news is verified! Matt Critchley, who has been excellent for Essex this summer scored an entertaining 65 from 65 balls, he and Dan Lawrence had sped things up somewhat. Tom Westley declared with Essex on 319 for 7, a lead of 444 and 4 plus session remaining to bowl Middlesex out. de Caires took another 2 wickets giving him 10 for the game.

I’d made a schoolgirl error in agreeing to attend a meeting with 10 overs of the day remaining, I left with 6 Middlesex wickets down; 3 of those were taken by Umesh Yadav in his debut game for Essex. Simon Harmer took 5 for 43 to help bowl Middlesex out in 58.2 overs. The gap between Surrey at the top and Essex in 2nd is 18 points with 2 games remaining.

Division 2

Leicestershire v Gloucestershire – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester. Lewis Hill won the toss for Leics and put Gloucs in to bt. Leicestershire won by 8 wickets.

Gloucs 159 All Out & 212 All Out, Leics 204 All Out & 168 for 2

Opener Chris Dent top scored with 51 from 141 balsas Gloucs were bowled out in 69.5 overs. Tom Scriven took 4 for 30 in his 16.5 overs.

Leics opener Rishi Patel scored 73 from 115 balls, that innings has taken him to 964 runs at an average of 50.73. His was the only innings of note as Zaman Akhter took 4 for 46 in his 14 overs. Leics were bowled out in 55.5 overs.

Gloucs 2nd innings lasted slightly longer, 71.4 overs Miles Hammond top scored with 46. Wiaan Mulder took 4 for 61 in his 19.4 overs.

Leics took 41.4 overs to reach the required score, they lost both openers for 7 before Lewis Hill and Colin Ackermann put on the 161 runs needed. Hill scored 62 from 98 runs and Ackermann 93 from 105 balls. Leics, the team that didn’t win a match in 2022 sit 3rd in the table 24 points behind Worcestershire with a game in hand.

Worcestershire v Glamorgan – New Road, Worcester. Kiran Carlson won the toss and put Worcs in to bat. Worcs won by 80 runs.

Worcs 284 All Out & 145 All Out, Glamorgan 170 All Out & 179 All Out

Brett D’Oliveira batting at 7 top scored for Worcs with 74 from 139 balls, he shared a 7th wicket partnership of 101 with Logan van Beek who scored 53 from 95 balls. 5 of the 6 bowlers used shared the wickets.

Glamorgan were bowled out in 48 overs; Keeper Chris Cooke top scored with 38. Logan van Beek took 4 for 42 in his 12 overs.

This must have been a wicket that favoured the bowlers as Worcs were bowled out in 56.5 overs; Jake Libby top scoring with 40. Jamie McElroy took 5 for 34 in his 15.5 overs.

Glamorgan batted for 52.1 overs, with Billy Root standing firm with 84* from 100 balls as all fell about him. Logan van Beek took another 4 in his 12.1 overs for 46 runs.

Durham v Sussex – Seat Unique Stadium, Chester-le-Street. Cheteshwar Pujara won the toss and elected to bat. Durham won by 7 Wickets.

Sussex 250 All Out & 295 All Out, Durham 505 for 9 & 57 for 3

The Sussex openers put on 110 for the first wicket Tom Haines scored 51 from 99 balls and Tom Clark 58 from 111 balls. Tom Alsop (so many Tom’s in the CC!) in at 3 scored 59 from 133 balls. Matt Parkinson took 4 for 58 in his 21.3 overs as Sussex were bowled out in 90.3 overs.

Durham have been remarkable with the bat in 2023! There were 3 centuries in this innings, Alex Lees opening scored 103 from 155 balls making him the top runs scorer overall in the County Championship 1281 at an average of 75.35. Graham Clark in at 6 made 128 from 189 balls and Bas de Leede 103 from 138 balls. A mention for captain Scott Borthwick who scored 56 from 92 balls and Keeper Ollie Robinson who made 67 from 66 balls. Durham made 505 in 119 overs.

Sussex had 3 scores over 50 in their 2nd innings, Pujara made 52 from 106 balls, Keeper Ollie Carter top scored with 80 from 153 balls and Finn Hudson-Prentice made 64 from 75 balls. They were bowled out in 92.1 overs. Parkinson took another 4 wickets for 80 runs.

Durham needed just 10.5 overs to score the required runs.

Yorkshire v Derbyshire – North Marine Road, Scarborough. Leus du Plooy won the toss for Derbys and put Yorks in to bat. Yorkshire won by 277 runs.

Yorkshire 297 All Out & 520 for 9 dec, Derbys 247 All Out & 293 All Out

At last Yorkshire had some great weather for the lovely Scarborough ground! James Wharton top scored with 58 from 114 balls. Yorkshire were bowled out in 76.5 overs. Anuj Dal took 5 for 72 in 20 overs.

Opener Mitch Wagstaff top scored with 52 from 105 balls as Derbys were bowled out in 74.1 overs. the 5 bowlers shared the wickets.

Yorkshire fans haven’t had much joy in 2023 but their 2nd innings will have made those present very happy . Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean put on 100 for the 1st wicket, Bean was run out for 64 from 82 balls. James Wharton and Shan Masood put on 107 for the 3rd wicket. Masood made 86 from 85 balls. George Hill and Matthew Revis out on 94 for the 6th wicket. Hill scored 79 from 74 balls and Revis 106 from 142 balls. Amongst the carnage Alex Thomson took 5 wickets albiet for 190 runs. 520 runs were scored in 105.4 overs.

Derbys opener Harry Came scored 58 from 145 balls he and Wayne Madsen put on 127 for the 3rd wicket. Madsen top scored with 93 from 71 balls. They were bowled out in 71.2 overs, Dom Bess took 4 for 79 in his 24.2 overs.

Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers

• Ben Foakes – Surrey – 125 runs from 210 Balls
• Liam Dawson – Hants – 115 runs from 220 Balls
• Nick Gubbins – Hants – 139 runs from 192 Balls
• Josh Bohannon – Lancs – 175 runs from 294 Balls
• George Balderson – Lancs – 115 from 234 Balls
• Alex Lees – Durham – 103 runs from 155 Balls
• Graham Clark – Durham – 128 runs from 189 Balls
• Bas de Leede – Durham – 103 runs from 138 Balls
• Matthew Revis – Yorkshire – 104 from 142 Balls

• Ed Barnard – Warwicks – 5 for 66 in 20 Overs
• Dan Worrall – Surrey – 5 for 25 in 9 Overs
• Jack Brooks – Somerset – 5 for 56 in 23.2 Overs
• Keith Barker – Hants 5 – for 32 in 12.1 Overs
• Luke Wells – Lancs – 5 for 25 in 7.2 Overs
• Josh de Caires – Middlesex – 8 for 106 in 39.2 Overs
• Jamie Porter – Essex – 6 for 34 in 12.5 Overs
• Simon Harmer – Essex – 5 for 43 in 24.2 Overs
• Jamie McElroy – Glamorgan – 5 for 34 in 15.5 Overs
• Anuj Dal – Derbys – 5 for 72 in 20 Overs
• Alex Thomson – Derbys – 5 for 190 in 38.4 Overs