For some reason only known to the ECB the 2 teams challenging for the Championship didn’t play last week when the weather was good. Autumn and rain seems to have arrived this week, with a possible return to decent days next week. I’m starting this write up at the end of day 2 when every game has been stopped at least during the day, if not remaining without an over bowled.
Division 1
Essex v Hampshire – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and elected to bat. Hants won by 3 wickets.
Essex 447 for 9 dec & 153 for 8 dec, Hants 334 All Out & 267 for 7
I messed up. my day on Day 1 and didn’t arrive until after lunch, I’d been hoping to watch Sir Alastair Cook bat, but he was out for a 3 ball Duck bowled by Mohammad Abbas, Nick Browne lasted 28 balls but only scored 3 runs, continuing his poor run of form. Tom Westley steadied the ship with a 102 ball 50 as his was the 3rd wicket to fall, that took him to 1035 for the season at an average of 47.04, he sits 3rd in the runs table for the year. Dan Lawrence, playing his last home game for Essex faced 103 balls for 36 runs. He and Paul Walter were out by the 49th over. Essex were 132 for 5, not great for a team chasing the leaders, Surrey. Then along came Matt Critchley and Paul Rossington. They put on 177 for the 6th wicket. Rossington scored 104 from 145 balls. Critchley finished Day 1 on 83*from 123 balls. I had to work on Day 2 so was ‘watching’ from afar and was so disappointed to get the wicket notification for Critchley as he was out on 99 from 172 balls, so close yet so far! Simon Harmer and Umesh Yadav put on 70 for the 8th wicket. Harmer made 62 from 90 balls and Yadav a very useful 51 from 45 balls. Westley declared with Essex on 447 for 9 after batting for 119.4 overs.
Hants were 10 for no wicket when the rain intervened. I arrived just before lunch on Day 3 to see Essex take 3 quick wickets, an unusually poor shots from James Vince and Liam Dawson saw them fall as the 5th and 6th wickets. Hants were in some trouble at 141 for 5.Keeper Ben Brown and Tom Prost put on 54 for th e 6th wicket and then Prest played a great innings alongside Keith Barker; the pair put on 89 for the 6th. Barker contributed 42 from 62 balls and Prest finished the day on 102* from 126 balls; he batted really well for his first First Class Century. The rain that had put most of the other games om hold came to Chelmsford at around 4:15 and as much as the ground staff tried and the umpires were prepared to wait there was no more play. Hants finished the day on 322 for 8. They only added 12 the next morning, Press was out for 108 from 144 balls.
Essex opened their innings with Alastair Cook and Adam Rossington, Rossington was out for a 3 ball Duck Cook faced 38 balls for 68 runs. Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence playing his last innings at Chelmsford for Essex put on 83 for the 43rd wicket. Westley’s 45 from 49 balls took him to the top of the runs scoring board alongside Somerset’s James Rew with 1080 runs. Lawrence scored 53 from 49 balls. The rest of the Essex batters were to great degree blown away! Westley declared on 153 for 8 giving Hants a score of 267 to chase.
Hants were 32 for 4 in the 11th over of the innings, the first innings century maker was dropped then caught on subsequent balls. That left captain James Vince and Liam Dawson at the crease. Both were dropped in their innings, Dawson when he was in single figures. The pair took the game away from Essex and in doing so their chance of a trophy in 2023, Surrey will need just 5 points next week, against Hants by chance to ensure a 2nd consecutive Championship. They put on 184 for the 5th wicket. Dawson made 119 from 150 balls and Vince 89 from 111 balls. Hants scored the required runs in 58.1 overs with 3 wickets to spare. Tom Westley’s gamble didn’t pay off.
Middlesex v Warwickshire – Lord’s, London. Will Rhodes won the toss and put Middx in to bat. Match Drawn.
Middlesex 121 All Out & 251 All Out, Warwicks 315 All Out & 58 for 2
Middlesex had 2 batting points to their name before this match, Kent have 16. Middlesex were bowled out in 39.5 overs for just 121. Josh de Caires contributed 40 of those runs from 58 balls. Oliver Hannon-Dalby took 5 for 29 in his 10.5 overs.
At the end of Day 2 Warwicks were 228 for 6. Tim Murtagh announced his retirement from cricket this week and to add to the guard of honour Warwicks gave him he took 5 of their wickets for 55 runs in his 17 overs. Will Rhodes finished the day on 95* from 164 balls and Danny Briggs 71* from 119 balls. They’d put on 133 and will continue when the rain stops. Rhodes went on to complete his century and was out for 102 from 189 balls. Briggs was out on 99. Warwicks were out for 315 in 89.4 overs. Tim Murtagh ended with 6 for 83 in his 25 overs.
Middlesex made a better fist of things in their 2nd innings, Opener Sam Robson carried his bat having made 107 from 287 balls, that took him to 734 for the season so far, Ryan Higgins in at 5 scored 57 from 83 balls, that took him to 803 in 2023. He’s been one of the real bright lights for Middlesex in a poor season. The innings lasted for 100.2 overs and 5 of the 6 bowlers used shared the wickets.
The weather intervened in London on Day 4 but Warwicks had the time they needed to get the game won. That was just 8.3 overs, they lost 2 wickets, both to Tim Murtagh during his last home game.
Somerset v Kent – The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton. Jack Leaning won the toss for Kent and put Somerset in to bat. Match Drawn.
Somerset 404 for 4, Kent 235 All Out & 44 for 2
There were 53.2 overs bowled in the first 2 days and Somerset were 214 for 2. Tom Lammonby scored 109 from 151 balls as he and Lewis Goldsworthy put on 132 for the 2nd wicket. Day 3 saw the total overs bowled reach 86. Goldsworthy went on to score 122 from 203 balls. The day ended with Somerset on 404 for 4.
Kent needed to at least draw this game to give themselves a chance of staying in Division 1. Being bowled out in just 55 overs put that at risk. Joe Denly scored 73 from 119 balls batting for nearly 3 hours. Tom Abell took 4 for 54, Somerset helped Kent with 10 No Balls adding 20 to their total of 235.
Kent batted put the remaining 15 overs ensuring a draw, they now sit in 8th place a single poiunt above Middlesex. Kent entertain Lancashire at home in the final game and Middlesex travel to Trent Bridge. Relegation will go to the final week.
Surrey v Northamptonshire – The Oval, London. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and put Northants in to bat. Match Drawn.
Northants 357 All Out, Surrey 185 All Out & 142 for no wicket
Northants had 63 points before this game, and had been rooted to the bottom of Division 1. They had 4 batting points, double that of Middx and just 1 win. Their final 2 games were this one against league leaders Surrey and at home to Essex who’re battling them for the Championship. Wickets fell regularly but Karun Nair in at 4 and Tom Taylor in at 9 put on 114 for the 8th wicket. Taylor made 66 from 77 balls and Nair remains not out on 144 from 238 balls. Northants finished a rainy day 2 on 351 for 9 after 104.5 overs, adding 3 batting points to their tally! Nair scored another 6 runs to take him to 150 from 246 balls.
Surrey have had several batting collapses this year and this innings was no exception. They fell to 79 for 6 before Ben Foakes and Jamie Overton put on another 79 before rain and the light finished the day off. Overton finished the day on 50* from 52 balls. They go again in the morning. Overton added just 1 to his total and Surrey were all out for 185 in 63.4 overs.
Surrey’s 2nd innings canlt have been a thrilling one to watch, but it was one which ensured the draw. Dom Sibley and Rory Burns batted for nearly 4 hours, facing 64 overs.Burns scored 71 from 196 balls and Burns 67 from 188 balls.
Lancashire v Nottinghamshire – Old Trafford, Manchester. Steven Mullaney won the toss for Notts and put Lancs in to bat. Match Drawn.
There was no play in the first 2 days. 69 overs were bowled on day 3 and Lancs made 255 for 6. 84.1 overs were bowled in total, so a spot of atting practice for Lancs to all intents and purposes. Matty Hurst in at 7 top scored with 54 from 115 balls.
Division 2
Leicestershire v Yorkshire – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester. Lewis Hill won the toss for Leics and put Yorks in to bat. Match Drawn.
Yorkshire 155 All Out & 225 or 4 , Leics 233 All Out
Leics were on a high going into this match on a high having won the Metro One Day Cup against Hants., the weather will have put a dampener on things as only 38.5 overs were bowled in the first 2 days. They did bear fruit for Leics however as Yorks fell to 155 for 9. Finlay Bean scored 40 of those runs. Yorks didn’t add to their total on day 3. Will Davis took 4 for 28
Harry Swindells who was the Leics hero during the One Day Cup Final and his was the innings that anchored Leics after they fell to 97 for 6. His was the last wicket to fall after he’d made 73 from 78 balls. George Hill took 4 for 69.
Opener Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean put on 112 for the 1st wicket , Lyth made 60 from 98 balls. James Wharton in at 5 scored 58 from 77 balls and the draw was saved.
Worcestershire v Durham – New Road, Worcester. Scott Borthwick won the toss for Durham and put Worcs in to bat. Match Drawn.
Worcs 313 for 9, Durham 371 for 4
Only 27 overs were bowled in the first 2 days, Worcs reached 104 for the loss of 1 wicket. Opener Gareth Roderick made 52 from 74 balls. Worcs faced another 56 overs on day and finished on 313 for 9, Adam Hose had to retire hurt. Jake Libby made 57 from 98 balls and Brett D’Oliveira 63 from 75 balls. 4 of the 6 bowlers used shared the wickets.
Durham were 10 for no wicket at the end of day 3. Scott Borthwick was this weeks’ century maker, he scored 134 from 197 balls in at 5 scored 84 from 66 balls. Robinson is just short of his 1000 runs for the season at 919, he has one more match to reach that magic mark. Opener Alex Lees top the Division 2 table and the overall runs scored table with 1341 at an average of 74.50.
Derbyshire v Sussex – The Incora County Ground, Derby. Leus du Plooy won the toss for Derbys and put Sussex in to bat. Match Drawn.
Sussex 100 All Out & 84 for 3, Derbyshire 229 for 6 dec.
There was no play in the first 2 days. Sussex lasted just 36.2 overs with opener Tom Clark scoring 31 of the 100 runs. Zak Chappell and Sam Conners took 4 wickets each.
Derbys openers Harry Came and Luis Reece put on 65 for the 1st wicket. Reece went on to score 86 from 108 balls. Looking for a result Leus du Plooy declared after 50.4 overs.
Sussex survived the 32.3 overs left in the game scoring 84 runs.
Century Makers & Five Wicket Takers
- Adam Rossington – Essex – 104 from 145 Balls
- Tom Prest – Hants – 108 from 144 Balls
- Liam Dawson – Hants – 119 from 150 Balls
- Will Rhodes – Warwicks – 102 from 189 Balls
- Tom Lammonby – Somerset – 109 from 151 Balls
- Lewis Glodsworthy – Somerset – 122 from 203 Balls
- Karun Nair – Northants – 150 from 246 Balls
- Scott Borthwick – Durham – 134 from 197 Balls
- Simon Harmer – Essex – 6 for 149 in 38.3 Overs
- Oliver Hannon-Dalby – Warwicks – 5 for 19 in 10.5 Overs
- Tom Lawes – Surrey – 5 for 105 in 23.5 Overs
365 Sporting Days 