365 Sporting Days

A third round in April saw the Duke’s ball back in action, sadly one thing that hadn’t changed from the first 2 rounds was the weather! I’m starting my write up on Day 1 after a chilly, rainy day watching Essex v Lancs 54 overs were bowled. Yet, in spite of a late start then a very long, over 2 hours, lunch, the players went off for tea 75 minutes after they came on after that extended break at lunch. The sky was probably the best it’d been all day; that seems crazy to me! Tea ios spoken about a lot in the PLAying Conditions, but the only pertinent point I can find is the following

“Clause 11.2.2.5 Where the provision for making up lost time (12.2.2) has been invoked prior to the tea
interval, the Umpires may at their sole discretion rearrange the timing of the tea interval regardless of
the number of overs remaining to be bowled (but not dispense with it).’

I am struggling to understand why tea had to be taken in a day with so much play lost, play finished at gone 7pm at the County Ground today, so was a 20 minute tea break really that beneficial after all involved had sat twiddling theirs thumbs for an hour at the start of the day and over 2 hours in the middle of the day? Do let me know what you think if you can find me on social media.

Division 1

Essex v Lancashire – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Tom Westley won the toss for Essex and put Lancs in to bat. Essex won by an innings and 124 runs.

Lancashire 146 All Out & ,107 All Out Essex 377 All Out

Lancashire had last years’ top run scorer in Division 1 in their ranks, Josh Bohannon who finished 2023 with 1257 runs, he came in at 3 and was dismissed for a Duck by a great grab by Dean Elgar low to the ground, from the bowling of Shane Snater who’d also dismissed Keaton Jennings who scored just 5. The best of the batting for Lancs came with the 9th wicket partenrship bewteen Jack Blatherwick and Will Williams (that is William Williams) they put on an entertaining 53 as Lancs were bolwed out for 146 in just 42 overs. Snater took 4 in all for 42 and 19 year old debutant Noah Thain took both a wicket in hsi first over and a catch to dismiss Blatherwick. Williams top scored with 32 from 29 balls.

In reply Essex finished Day 1 on 78 for 1 from the 12 overs they faced. Feroze Khushi scored 53 from 33 balls, hitting 9 Fours as he went. His opening partner Dean Elgar went on to score 79 from 137 balls, putting on 120 for the 2nd wicekt with nightwatchman Sam Cook who contributed 49 from 126 balls, not quite Mattie Potts, but a decent effort. Tom Westley was in next at 4 and he scored 81 from 138 balls. Essex faced 103.2 overs and scored 377. Nathan Lyon took 2 for 65 in his 24 overs.

Lancashire were 10 for 1 at the close of play on Day 2. I went down to the County Ground dressed for WInter, I was hoping for a good day of cricket. The morning was certainly a good one for the Essex bowlers as they took all 9 wickets with a small extension to the morning. Lancashire faced a total of 40.3 overs in their 2nd innings, with all 4 experienced bowlers taking wickets. There were 2 caught & bowled for Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter sent one of the stumps flying for one of his 3 wickets. George Bell was the best of the batters as he scored 35 from 40 balls as Lancashire were bowled out for just 107.

Hampshire v Warwickshire – Utilita Bowl, Southampton. Alex Davies won the toss for Warwicks and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Warwickshire 455 All Out &, 205 for 4 Hampshire 365 All Out

The full 96 overs were bowled on Day 1 in Southampton, Hallelujah! And Warwicks certainly made the most of the day, they finished the day on 340 for 4. Alex Davies and Rob Yates put on 116 for the 1st wicket, Yates scored 69 from 109 balls. Davies then shared a 2nd wicket partnership of 174 with Will Rhodes for the 2nd wicket, Davies made 149 from 229 balls and Rhodes made 81 from 151 balls. A frustrating day for the bowlers Liam Dawson took 2 of the 4 wickets but conceded 100 runs. Warwicks went on to score 455 from 133.1 overs. Liam Dawson ended up with 5 for 146 from his 40.1 0vers.

Hampshire lost Ali Orr in the 7th wicket and were 16 for 1. Fletcha MIddleton and Nick Gubbins put on 213 for the 2nd wikcet batting together for just over 80 overs. Gubbins scored 119 from 241 balls and Middleton went on to make 116 from 329 balls. Middleton batted from another 20 overs once Gubbins had gone. Those 2 big scores helped take Hants to 365. They batted for 134.4 overs. Rob Yates took 4 for 37 in his 19 overs.

Warwickshire finished Day 3 after facing 15 overs with a lead of 136 having made 46. They faced another 34 overs as the game moved towards a draw.

Kent v Surrey – The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and put Kent in to bat. Surrey won by 37 runs.

Kent 244 All Out & 262 All Out, Surrey 543 for 7 dec

In the scheme of things Canterbury isn’t that far from Chelmsford and they obviously had a very similar day with just 39 overs bowled. Kent fell to 9 for 2 before Daniel Bell-Drummond and jack Leaning put on 100 for the 3rd wicket. Zac Crawley playing his 1st County game had been out for a 5 ball 5. Bell-Drummond scored 70 from 109 balls and Leanng finished the day on 30*. Kent were bowled out in 81.4 overs for 244. The 5 bowlers shared the wickets and Cameron Steel added 3 to his tally for the season,

Surrey faced 49.4 overs and were 185 for 1 at the end of Day 2. Rory Burns with 69 from 100 balls and Dom Sibley put on 147 for the 1st wicket, Sibley finished the day on 87* from 163 balls. Sibley alongside Dan Lawrence put on 193 for the 2nd wicket. Lawrence made his 1st Surrey century, making 112 from 143 balls, hitting 10 Fours. Sibley was out for 150 from 253 balls, he hit 16 Fours and a Six. Jamie Smith scored 58 from 55 balls. Burns declared when Surrey had batted for 114 overs and made 543 for 7.

Kent faced 37 overs on Day 3 and lost 5 wickets for 120 runs. Crawley had a similar innings making 4 from 8 balls. Dan Worrall took 3 for 18 runs. Kent kept Surrey waiting for most of the dayJoey Evison top scored with 53 from 119 balls, Kent batted for 86.2 overs in total. Worrall took a 4th wicket to help Surrey to the win.

Somerset v Nottinghamshire – The Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton. Haseeb Hameed won the toss for Notts and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Nottinghamshire 193 All Out & , Somerset 454 All Out

Another full day of cricket in Taunton as Notts were bowled out in 62.4 overs. All 5 bowlers took wickets including 1 for Shoaib Bashir. Matthew Montgomery top scored wih 48 from 84 balls.

Somerset faced 33 overs and made 116 for 1, Sean Dickson was on 70* from 102 Balls at the end of the day. Dixson onbly added 2 to his score on Day 2. Tom Banton (so many Toms in County Cricket!) in at 6 scored 83 from 114 balls and Craig Overton 95 from 111 balls. Migael Pretorius scored 77 from 70 balls as Somerset batted for 112.5 overs scoring 454.

Notts faced 14 overs on Day 2 and lots a wicket for 38 runs. Hameed lost his wicket with the score on 48 then…. Will Young and Joe Clarke got busy and had put on 370 before the end of the day. Young made 156* from 303 balls and Clark 209* from 304 balls. Notts made 418 for 2 in 110 overs. There were onky a further 9 overs bowled on Day 4 and with Notts on 440 for 2 the match was declared a draw. Young finished on 174* and Clarke 213*.

Worcestershire v Durham – Chester Road North, Kidderminster. Scott Borthwick won the toss for Durham and elected to bat. Durham won by 185 runs.

Durham 244 All Out & 397 for 5 dec, Worcestershire 184 All Out & 272 All Out

With another flood having hit New Road Worcesterhire were forced to ‘go on the road’ and are in fact contemplating moving fully away from the ground with one of the best views in cricket. That’s likely to be a sensible decision considering the recent history at the ground, we watch this space.

Borthwick made some very fine decisions as captain in 2023 but this may not have been his finest decision. Durham were bowled out in 61.3 overs. Worcs used 6 bowlers and I’m only now noticing Jason Holder amongst them, he had the best figures of 3 for 47 from his 16 overs. He took just 1 wicket with the Kookaburra ball over the 2 previous games.

Worcestershire faced 26 overs and lost 4 wickets for 78 runs. 3 of the Durham bowlers took 3 wickets each as they bowled Worcs out in 59.3 overs for 184.

Things went a` bit better for Durham on Day 12 as they finished the day on 319 for 5 after facing just 64 overs. Scott Borthwick and David Bedingham put on 195 for the 3rd wicket, in 33.1 overs. Borthwick made 75 from 142 balls and Bedingham scored 138 from 99 balls, hitting 13 Fours and 8 Sixes! Ollie Robinson with 67* from 82 and Graham Clark with 50* from 91 balls helped take Durham to 397 for 5 before Borthwick declared.

Both Worcs openers fared well, making 49 for the 1st wicket, Keeper Gareth Roderick made 34 and Jake Libby made 50 from 88 balls, Libby was the 6th wicket to fall. Matthew Waite and Nathan Smith put on 103 for the 7th wicket, Smith made 57 from 95 balls and Waite scored 62 from 134 balls. But Worcs were bowled out in 76.4 overs for 272. Paul Coughlin took 4 for 45 in his 16 overs.

Division 2

Derbyshire v Leicestershire – The Incora County Ground, Derby. David Lloyd won the toss for Derbys and put Leics in to bat. Match Drawn.

Leicestershire 574 for 7, Derbyshire 167 All Out & 224 for 6.

Just 46 overs were bowled on Day 1, and Leics finished the day on 168 for 2; Marcus Harris was 77* from 147 Balls. Harris went on to score 214 from 303 balla and was involved in a 4th wicket partnership of 153 with fellow Australian Oeter Handscomb who scored 68 from 104 balls. Keeper Ben Cox scored 69 from 76 balls. Leics batted for 130 overs and declared on 574 for 7.

Derbyshire faced 18 overs, scored 54 and lost 4 wickets on Day 2. David Lloyd scored 54 from 76 balls but Derbyshire were bowled out for 167 in 46 overs.

Derbyshire got to 224 for 6 on Day 3 in their 2nd innings. Wayne Madsen finished the day on 59* from 114 balls and batting with him Alex Thomson was on 46* from 112 balls. They trailed by 183 going into Day 4. There was no play on Day 4 and the match was declared a Draw.

Middlesex v Yorkshire – Lord’s, London. Toby Roland-Jones won the toss for Middlesex and put Yorks in to bat. MIddlesex won by 6 wickets.

Yorkshire 159 All Out & 244 All Out , Middlesex 246 All Out & 158 for 4.

Another ground that isn’t far from Chelmsford suffered a disturbed day, 55.4 overs were bowled. Both Joe Root and Harry Brook featured for Yorkshire but neither were at the crease for long, just 10 balls for Root and 9 for Brook. Shan Masood was the top scorer with 33 from 51 balls as Yorkshire were bowled out for 159 in 37.4 overs. Ryan Higgins took 4 for 31 in his 6 overs.

Middlesex batted for 18 overs and lost 2 wickets, scoring 84 runs. Middlesex had a couple of half centuries in the 56.2 overs they faced. New signing Leus du Plooy scored 51 from 47 balls and Josh de Caires 50 made 50 from 66 balls. Jordan Thompson took 5 for 80 in his 17.2 overs. The innings lasted just 56.2 overs.

Yorkshire faced 63 overs on Day 2 and reached 216 for 7 George Hill was 52* from 125 at the end of play. Hill went on to score 75 from 151 balls but the innings lasted just 71.3 overs. All 4 bowlers used took wickets.

Middlesex needed 57.4 overs to get the required runs, they lost 4 wickets and Leus du Plooy top scored with 42 from 78 balls.

Northamptonshire v Glamorgan – County Ground, Northampton. Luke Proctor won the toss and put Glamorgan in to bat. Match Drawn.

Glamorgan – 271 All Out & 104 for 3, Northamptonshire 605 for 6

Northampton is pretty close to Derby and the weather must have been similar. tehre were just 56.1 overs bowled. Glamorgan fell to 27 for 4 before Keeper Chris Cooke and Colin Ingram put on 69 for the 5th wicket. Ingram then put on 74 with Dan Douthwaite for the 6th. Douthwaite scored 50 from 63 balls and Ingram finished the day on 69*( from 110 balls. Ingram went on to score 82 from 125 balls. Mason Crane in at 9 scored 50 from 63 balls as Glamorgan were bowled out in 74.2 overs for 271. Ben Sanderson took 5 for 92 in his 26 overs.

Northamptonshire faced 84 overs and were 314 for 2 at the end of Day 2. Ricardo Vasconcelos finished the day on 166* from 246 balls, he and Luke Proctor had put on 191 for the 2nd wicket. Proctor made 65 from 158 balls. Karun Nair finished the day on 55* from 87 balls. Nair went on to score 202* from from 253 balls, he and Saif Zaib put on 212 for the 5th wicket as Zaib scored 100 from 138 balls. Northants scored their 605 runs in 145.4 overs.

Glamorgan faced 40 overs in their final innings and scored 104 for the loss of 3 wickets.

Sussex v Gloucestershire – The 1st Central County Ground, Hove. John Simpson won the toss for Sussex and put Gloucs in to bat. Sussex won by 4 wickets

Gloucestershire 417 All Out & 205 All Out, Sussex 479 All Out & 144 for 6.

Opener Ben Charlsworth scored 62 from 130 balls, he and Miles Hammond put on 106 for the 3rd wicket. Hammond scored 56 from 105 balls. Keeper James Bracey made 69 from 97 balls. there were 90 overs in the day and Gloucs finished on 319 for 8. Zafar Gohar batting at 8 scored 60 from 118 balls as Gloucs were all out for 417 in a total of 108.5 overs.

Sussex faced 81 overs on Day 2, Opener Tom Clark (another one!) scored 62 from 130 balls he and Tom Alsop (and another!) put on 108 for the 2nd wicket. Alsop scored 84 from 156 balls. Cheteshwar Pujara was 75* from 129 balls as Sussex finished the day on 267 for 5. Pujara was run our on 86 from 148 ballls. Keeper and captain John Simpson scored 78 from 174 balls and put on 143 for the 8th wicket with Danny Lamb who scored 83 from 116 balls. Sussex scored 479 in 135.5 overs. Sussex went on to score 479 in 135.5 overs.

Gloucs batted for 41 overs on Day 3 and lost 6 wickets for 81 runs, they lead by 19 runs going into Day 4. Gloucs batted for a total of 85.2 overs and were bowled out for 205. Jayden Seales took 4 for 18 in his 16.2 overs.

Looking from afar, (BBC Sport) thsi felt like a nailed on draw, but Sussex had other plans. They scored the required runs to get the win in 37.4 overs, but not before Zafar Gohar had taken 5 for 59. Pujara top scored with 44*

Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers

• Alex Davies – Warwicks – 149 from 229 Balls
• Fletcha Middleton – Hants – 116 from 329 Balls
• Nick Gubbins – Hants – 119 from 241 Balls
• Dom Sibley – Surrey – 150 from 253 Balls
• Dan Lawrence – Surrey – 112 from 143 Balls
• Will Young – Notts – 174 from 334 Balls
• Joe Clarke – Notts – 213 from 327 Balls
• Marcus Harris – Leics – 214 from 303 Balls
• Ricardo Vasconcelos – Northants – 182 from 272 Balls
• Karun Nair – 202* from 253 Balls

• Liam Dawson – Hants – 5 for 146 from 40,1 Overs
• Ben Sanderson – Northants – 5 for 92 from 92 Overs
• Zafar Gohar – Gloucs = 5 for 59 from 18.4 Overs

Far fewer in both lists with the Dukes ball this week, A couple of batters fared well against both and are building their personal tallies. We had 5 wins this week which is a much better return for those attending in particular. Essex, with 2 wins sit at the top of Division 1 (but are waiting for news on Batgate), Sussex are at the top of Division 2.