365 Sporting Days

Week 2 of this years competition saw 9 games in play on Day 1, involving all 18 counties. It also saw the Kookaburra Ball and various batters do horrible things to several bowlers figures! The ball is being used 4 times this season, in 2 blocks of 2 games, when all 18 teams are playing. The next set of 2 will be later in the summer, but not in the last 2 rounds, to be confirmed therefore. We go back to the good old Duke for the next round, I imagine the bowlers will be sighing in relief on the whole. However 1 Division 1 team and 2 Division 2 were bowled out on Day 1. I’m starting my write up at the end of Day 1, then carrying on at the end of Day 2 for Division 1. The weather tricked us all in this round in going ‘bad’ on Day 4, that resulted in a full round of drawn matches.

Division 1

Essex v Kent – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Essex, 530 for 7 dec & 257 for 4 dec, Kent 413 All Out & 164 for 7

Essex achieved 25 batting points is 2023 as the threshold for the 1st point was moved up to 250. Those vital points were a struggle at times, at the end of Day 1 in Chelmsford they’d reached 4 of the 5 possible batting points. At 10 for 2 in the 4th ovcer that must’ve felt unlikely! However new signings Dean Elgar and Jordan Cox put on 159 for the 3rd wicket, Cox contributed 67 from 105 balls. Elgar then shared 89 runs with Matt Critchley for the 4th wicket. Elgar was out for 120 from 176 balls. I arrived after tea; I have a daughter who will not tolerate cricket, she was visiting from Paris and dropped off to fly back in time for e to grab a couple of hours! Crithcely has become a real crowd favourite and his 103* from 173 balls will have added to the admiration. Paul Walter and he added 58 for the 5th wicket, Tall Paul scored 33 and was struggling with a foot or toe injury. Michael Pepper had a short but sweet stay, hitting 49 from 42 balls. Kent captain Daniel Bell-Drummond set his field for whta looked like a T20 match and Pepper took the bait as Tawanda Muyeye took a great catch! At the close of play Essex were 421 for 6. Tom Westley declared with Essex on 530 for 7, Critchley was 151* from 212 Balls, his average nicely boosted.

This wasn’t going to be a match for the bowlers and Essex had lost Sam Cook in the warm up on Day 1, then Paul Walter to his injury on Day 2, Charlie Allison took his place as a sub fielder. Kent finished the day having faced 80 overs on 245 for 1 Opener Ben Compton made 100* from 237 balls and Daniel Bell Drummond 134* from 215 balls. Kent batted on until just before tea on Day 3, Nathan Gilchrist and Compton put on 68 fro the 8th wicket. Compton was out on the last ball of the innings, he scored 165 from 363 balls and Kent were 413 All Out in 135.1 overs. Matt Critchley took his 1st Essex 5fer for 105 in his 29 overs. Simon Harmer bowled 45.1 overs for 117 runs and took Compton’s wicket.

I got cold with an hour to go so headed for home and missed Jordan Cox scoring a century against his old county! Essex batted for 40 overs after tea and lost 4 wickets Cox finished the day on 116* from 89 balls, I missed some entertaining batting when it had in all honesty been rather dull all day. Tom Westley declared on the overnight score of 257 for 4.

Day 4 decided to be Winter again! It rained for a goos portion of the day, but Kent faced 67.4 overs and lost 7 wickets as time ran away for Essex. Jamie Porter took 4 for 20 in his 11 overs but 18 year old Jaydn Denly, nephew of Joe, frustrated the Essex bowlers and he finished unbeaten on 41 from 128 balls, well batted young man! The match finished in an inevitable draw.

Hampshire v Lancashire – The Utilita Bowl, Southampton. James Vince won the toss for Hants and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Hampshire, 367 All Out & 179 for 4, Lancashire 484 All Out

Hampshire fell to 26 for 2 after Fletcha Middleton was run out in the 9th over and Ali Orr lost his wicket in the 13th over. Nick Gubbins and James Vince recovered things with a stand of 84 for the 3rd wicket. Vince made 56 from 74 balls and Gubbins a more leisurely 50 from 115. Tom Prest was the top scorer on Day 1 with 85 from 119 balls, he and Liam Dawson put on 93 for the 4th wicket and Dawson finished the day on 61* from 128 balls. Hants were on 305 for 6 at the end of Day 1. Hampshire were bowled out on Day 2 for 367. Liam Dawson leap frogged Prest to score 86 from 170 balls. Nathan Lyon took 3 for 110 a hard introduction to the county circuit.

Lancashire faced 73 overs on Day 2 and were 233 for 4 at the close. Keaton Jennings goes into Day 3 on 85* from 168 balls. Jennings and George Bell put on 166 for the 5th over. Jennings made 172 from 297 balls and Bell, was run out on 99 from 222 balls, an unlucky double nelson on his part. Lancashire batted for 145.3 overs for their 484. Liam Dawson took 4 for 156 in his 49 overs.

Hampshire faced 21 overs before the close of play on Day 3 and lost 2 wickets for their 39 runs. They faced a further 49.1 overs on a rainy Day 4 and got to 179 for the loss of another 2 wickets, Nick Gubbins added to his personal tally with 69* from 179 balls.

Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire – Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Haseeb Hameed won the toss for Notts and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Nottinghamshire 399 All Out & 151 for 7, Worcestershire 355 All Out

There were early wickets in this match too as Notts fell to 34 for 2. Ben Slater and Joe Clarke put things back on an even keel for Notts with a stand of 133 for the 3rd wicket Slater scored 70 from 142 balls and Clarke hit his 2nd century in 2 weeks with 105 from 185 balls, he is loving the Kookaburra ball! Notts were 305 for 6 at the end of Day 1. Lyndon James in at 8 made 96 from 180 balls and he and Calvin Harrison put on 146 for the 7th wicket. Notts batted for 128.2 overs.

Worcs were 4 for 2 before Kashif Ali and Rob Jones put on 78 for the 3rd wicket. Jones made 90 from 142 balls. Worcs finished the day on 220 for 6. Brett D’Oliveira and Nathan Smith put on 84 for the 7th wicket as D’Oliveira made 53 from 94 balls and Smith 58 from 136 balls. Worcs batted for 108.3 overs with Calvin Harrison taking 5 for 128 in his 36.3 overs.

Notts batted for 48 overs on Day 3 and after a decent start lost 7 wickets for 151 runs. Ben Duckett scored 63 from 87 balls before Notts lost 5 wickets for 19 runs. They took a lead of 195 into Day 4 with 3 wickets remaining. There was no play on Day 4.

Surrey v Somerset – The Oval, London. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and put Somerset in to bat. Match Drawn.

Somerset 285 All Out & 351 All Out , Surrey 428 All Out & 151 for 7

Somerset were bowled out in just 78.1 overs, and fell to 18 for 1 but in the midst of what must have been some good bowling Matt Renshaw made 87 from 138 balls and Tom Lammonby scored 100 from 133 balls, only Lewis Gregory in at 7 scored over 20, he made 50 from 79 balls.as Somerset went from 196 for 2 to 285 All Out. Cameron Steel who took a 5fer last week took 4 for 50 in his 12.1 overs.

Surrey were 42 for no wicket at the end of Day 1. Dom Sibley and Rory Burns put on 167 for the 1st wicket. Burns made 75 from 141 balls and Sibley went on to score 100 from 215 balls. Olli Pope back in the Surrey fold made just 11, Jamie Smith scored 51 from 77 balls and Ben Foakes also back from England duty made 57 from 124 balls. Surrey finished the day on 358 for 6. Surrey added 70 runs on Day 3 and were bowled out in 135.2 overs. Kasey Aldridge took 5 for 64 in his 24 overs.

Somerset batted for 69 overs on Day 3 and lost 6 wickets, Tom Lammonby made 51 from 85 balls and Lewis Goldsworthy 58 from 131 balls. Somerset take a 61 runs lead into Day 4 with 4 wickets remaining. Lewis Gregory in at 7 scored 80 from 188 balls, Craig Overton in at 9 made 52 from 120 balls. Somerset stretched their lead to 208. Cameron Steel took 5 for 96 in his 35.4 overs.

Surrey really went for the 209 required to win opening with Dan Lawrence and Jamie Smith, they put on 90 for the first wicket, in just 8.1 overs, before Smith was out for 45. Lawrence was not out 53 from 34 balls, but the wickets fell around him and a draw was declared with a few overs remaining.

Warwickshire v Durham – Edgbaston, Birmingham. Scott Borthwick won the toss and put Warwicks in to bat. Match Drawn.

Warwickshire 698 for 3 dec , Durham 517 All Out & 293 for 6.

We get to the final game in Division 1 (alphabet wise) before finding a game where the bat well and truly dominated and several bowlers had horrible days! Warwickshire were 490 for 1 at the end of Day 1! That’s full batting points and some! Robert Yates and Aelx Davies put on 343 for that first wicket, Yates scored 191 from 205 balls and batted for just over 4 and a quarter hours. Davies finished the day on 226 from 274 balls having batted all day and Will Rhodes was on 60* from 100 balls. Warwicks carried on batting and finally declared om 698 for 3, Davies added another 30 to take him to 256 from 311 balls and Rhodes got himself to 178* from 234 balls. Callum Parkinson conceded 206 runs from his 40 overs ad 3 other bolwers shipped 100 or over.

Durham batted or 56 overs and lost 3 wickets themselves for rather fewer runs. Opener Alex Lees finished the day on 94* from 171 balls as Durham scored 178 runs. Ollie Robinson and Lees put on 99 for the 4th wicket. Robinson scored 60 from 91 balls and Lees went on to score 145 from 240 balls. Graham Clark and Ben Raine put on 122 for the 7th wicket as Clark made 76 from 180 balls and Raine 93 from 125 balls. Durham batted for 139.5 overs and scored 517.

Remarkably with a score of 517 Durham still had to follow on! At the end of Day 3 after batting for 10 overs they were 12 for 2. They managed a further 74 overs at Edgbaston on Day 4 and Matthew Potts, generally known for his bowling, scored 149* from 254 balls. The match was declared a draw as Potts was added to the long list of Durham century makers.

Division 2

Glamorgan v Derbyshire – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. David Lloyd won the toss for Derbyshire and put Glamorgan in to bat. Match Drawn.

Glamorgan 237 All Out & 361 for 7 dec, Derbyshire 198 All Out & 225 for 3

There were to be no more of Sam Northeast’s heroics in this innings, having scored 335 at Lord’s in week 1, he was out for 11. Kiran Carlson was the top scorer in this innings with 74 from 99 balls. Alex Thomson had no issues with the Kookaburra ball taking 7 for 65 in his 26 overs as Glamorgan were bowled out in 78 overs.

Derbyshire were 46 for 1 at the end of Day1. In spite of runs from David Lloyd with 60 from 86 balls and Wayne Madsen with 63 from 113 balls Derbyshire were bowled out in 79.5 overs for juts 198. Mason Crane took 4 for 60 in his 25.5 overs.

Glamorgan lost early wickets including last weeks triple century maker Sam Northeast for a Golden Duck. Colin Ingram made 51 from and Chris Cooke was 126* from 195 balls alongside James Harris who was on 61* from 89 balls when Northeast declared on 361 for 7.

Derbyshire batted for 40 overs and finished the day on 40 for 1. Cardiff saw 35 overs bowled on Day 4 Luis Reece and Keeper Brooke Guest put on 146 before a draw was declared. Reece was 91* from 209 balls and Guest 72* from 147 balls.

Gloucestershire v Yorkshire – Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol. Graeme van Buuren won the toss for Gloucs and put Yorkshire in to bat. Match Drawn.

Yorkshire 326 All Out 434 for 6, Gloucestershire 263 All Out & 405 for 6.

The Yorkshire line up included England stars Joe Root and Harry Brook, but it was a Pakistan star and Yorks captain Shan Masood who went big, with 140 from 184 balls. Root was out for 2 and Brook 26. Keeper Jonathan Tattersall scored 58 from 65 balls and Matt Milnes 51 from 91 balls. Zaman Akhter took 5 for 89 in his 18.3 overs as Yorkshire were bowled out in 79.3 overs.

Gloucestershire were 28 for 2 at the end of Day 1. Opener Cameron Bancroft scored 70 from 196 balls after Gloucs lost a 3rd wicket on 28 runs. Ben Charlsworth scored 52* from 71 balls as Gloucs were bowled out in 92 overs. Yorkshire used 8 bowlers Ben Coad and Matthew Fisher took 3 apiece.

Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean put on 180 for the 1st wicket, Bean made 73 from 100 balls and Lyth went on to score 113 from 150 balls. Joe Root and Harry Brook both had a better innings as Root scored 51 from 60 balls and Brook 68 from 57 balls. George Hill contributed 58 from 60 balls as Shan Masood declared on 434 for 6, they scored their runs in just 82 overs!

With a huge task in front of them Gloucs batted for 26 overs and lost 4 wickets for 97 runs. Leeds saw 90 overs bowled on Day 4, who’d have thought! And Gloucs made the most of those overs. Ollie Price made 147from 220 balls he and Keeper James Bracey put on 199 for the 5th wicket with Bracey reaching his century too. He scored 102 from 199 balls. Graeme van Buuren was 51* from 77 balls at the end of play.

Leicestershire v Sussex – Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester. John Simpson won the toss for Sussex and put Leicestershire in to bat. Match Drawn.

Leicestershire 338 All Out & 86 for 1 . Sussex 694 for 9 dec

Opener Rishi Patel scored 87 from 98 balls, he and Peter Handscomb put on 78 for the 4th wicket, Handscomb made 51 from 132 balls. At the end of Day 1 Liam Trevaskis was 82* from 198 balls and Leics were 326 for 8. Leics only added 12 runs on Day 2 as they were bowled out in 98.4 overs. Sussex used 8 bowlers and Fynn Hudson-Prentice took 5 for 50 in his 22.4 overs.

Sussex lost Tom Clark on the 1st ball of their innings but his fellow opener Tom Haines scored his 2nd century in 2 games he made 108 from 133 balls. He and Tom Alsop put in 167 for the 2nd wicket. Keeper John Simpson scored 205* from 295 balls and Danny Lamb in at 8 made 134 from 137 balls. Sussex batted for 160.5 overs and declared on 694 for 9.

Leics batted for 24 overs on Day 3 and finished the day on 86 for 1. There was no play on Day 4.

Northamptonshire v Middlesex – County Ground, Northampton.Toby Roland-Jones won the toss for Middlesex and put Northants in to bat. Match Drawn.

Northamptonshire 552 for 6 dec, Middlesex 553 for 2.

Middlesex encountered Sam Northeast and his 335 in week 1 having won the toss and put Glamorgan in to bat. This week they had Northants on 1 for 1 then along came a partnership of 189 for the 2nd wicket. Luke Proctor contributed 73 from 194 balls and Opener Emilio Gay finished the day on 165* from 272 balls. Northants were on 311 for 3. I imagine the Middlesex bowlers will be pleased to see the back of the Kookaburra balls! Gay was run out on 261 from 401 balls. He and James Sales had put on 181 for the 5th wicket. Sales went on to score 113* from 174 balls as Proctor declared on 552 for 6 after 152 overs.

On the the Middlesex batters and maybe they won’t want to see the back of the Kookaburra. At the end of Day 3 and after batting for 138 overs Middlesex were 553 for 2. 19 year old Rookie Nathan Fernandes scored 103 from 213 ad his opening partner Mark Stoneman was out for 12. Max Holden finished Day 3 on 211* from 377 balls and new signing Leus du Plooy 196* from 205 balls. Middlesex had batted for 138 overs and had a lead of 1 run. There was no play on Day 4.

Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers.

• Dean Elgar – Essex – 120 from 176 Balls
• Matt Critchley – Essex – 151* from 212 Balls
• Ben Compton – Kent – 165 from 363 Balls
• Daniel Bell- Drummond – Kent – 135 from 227 Balls
• Jordan Cox – Essex – 116* from 89 Balls
• Keaton Jennings – Lancashire – 172 from 297 Balls
• Joe Clarke – Notts – 105 from 185 Balls
• Tom Lammonby – Somerset – 100 from 133 Balls
• Dom Sibley – Surrey – 215 Balls
• Rob Yates – Warwicks – 191 from 205 Balls
• Alex Davies – Warwicks – 256 from 311 Balls
• Will Rhodes – Warwicks – 178* from 234 Balls
• Alex Lees – Durham – 145 from 240 Balls
• Matthew Potts – Durham – 149 from 254 Balls
• Chris Cooke – Glamorgan – 126 from 195 Balls
• Shan Masood – Yorkshire – 140 from 184 Balls
• Adam Lyth – Yorkshire – 113 from 150 Balls
• Ollie Price – Gloucs – 147 from 220 Balls
• James Bracey – Gloucs – 102 from 199 Balls
• Tom Haines – Sussex – 108 from 133 Balls
• John Simpson – Sussex – 205 from 295 Balls
• Danny Lamb – Sussex – 134 from 137 Balls
• Emilio Gay – Northants – 261 from 401 Balls
• James Sales – Northants – 113 from 174 Balls
• Nathan Fernandes – Middlesex – 103 from 213 Balls
• Max Holden – Middlesex – 211 from 377 Balls
• Leus du Plooy – 196 from 205 Balls

• Matt Critchley – Essex – 5 for 105 from 29 Overs
• Calvin Harrison – Notts – 5 for 128 from 36.3 Overs
• Kasey Aldridge – Somerset – 5 for 64 from 24 Overs
• Cameron Steel – Surrey – 5 for 96 from 35.4 Overs
• Alex Thomson – Derbys – 7 for 65 from 26 Overs
• Alex Thomson – Derbys – 5 for 136 from 44 Overs
• Zaman Akhter – Gloucs – 5 for 89 in 18.3 Overs
• Fynn Hudson-Prentice – Sussex – 5 for 50 in 22.4 Overs

The fact there were 27 century makers and only 7 bowlers who took 5 or more wickets in thsi round tells its own story. The fact that Matt Critchley of Essex is on both lists is a testament to his all round cricket skills, The fact that Alex Thomson of Derbyshire took 12 wickets across 2 innings is highly impressive. Round 3 starts on Friday 19th and we have another full set, with the Dukes ball back in play. It’ll be interesting to see who fares batter, the batters or the bowlers.