365 Sporting Days

Cricket weather arrived across the country and those with weather affected games last week must’ve been looking on with envy. The very same thing happened in 2023 and it had an effect on the tables at the end of the season. There were 4 games in Division 1 and 2 in Division 2. I’m starting out at the end of Day 1 and can see some decent scores! Finishing up on Day 4, at least the weather wasn;t to blame for so many Draws!

I can’t add photos to my posts anymore – the cost of the site was just too high for a hobby. But, here’s a link to a few photos from my day ay The Oval https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBpVKo

Division 1

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

Hampshire 503 All Out & 62 for 2, Durham 432 All Out

Opener Ali Orr batted for just over 4.5 hours and scored 126 from 211 balls. He and his captain, Vince, put on 94 for the 3rd wicket. Tom Prest was 65* from 83 balls at the end of Day 1 and Hants had scored 336 for 4 in the 96 overs bowled. Prest went on to score 102 from 163 balls, Keeper Ben Brown scored 67 from 116 balls as Hants went on to score 503 in 146.4 overs.

Durham faced 43 overs and were 146 for 3 in 43 overs at the end of Day 2, Opener Alex Lees scored 71 from 132 balls. David Bedingham in at 4 made 144 from 294 balls, his was the last wicket to fall on Day 3 as the game looked to be heading for a draw. Liam Dawson took 5 for 171 in his 62 overs. Durham faced 140 overs and finished the day on 410 for 8. Ben Raine finished the innings on 52* from 97 balls as Durham were bowled out for 432. Dawson didn’t add any wickets but Durham did add runs to his numbers, he took 5 for 184 from 66 overs.

Hants batted for 37 overs, losing 2 wickets for 62 before the game was declared a draw.

Kent v Worcestershire – The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury. Brett D’Oliveira won the toss for Worcs and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Worcs 618 for 7 dec, Kent 407 All Out & 146 for 4

A very emotional day for the Worcs team as they remembered their young team mate Josh Baker wjho lost his life last week. Opener Gareth Roderick scored 117 from 281 balls, I should imagine that was a heartfelt celebration when he reached the 100 landmark. He and Kashif Ali put on 136 for the 2nd wicket. Kashif scored 72 from 129 balls. Roderick and Adam Hose then put on 102 for the 4th wicket. Hose was 50* from 92 balls at the end of the day. Worcs scored 308 for 5 in the 96 overs. Hose went on to score 90 from 159 balls. Worcs 2 overseas players Jason Holder and Matthew Waite 225 before D;Oliveira declared. Holder was 123* from 110 balls and Waite 100* from 126 balls. some innings for Worcs as they scored 618 for 7 in 158.5 overs. Matt Parkinson conceded 201 runs in his 44.5 overs.

Kent were 15 for 2 in the 5th over, losing both their openers. They finished Day 2 on 11 for 2, Daniel Bell-Drummond was on 54* from 86 balls as Kent faced 33 overs. Bell -Drummond and Jack Leaning put on 116 for the 3rd wicket, Kent then lost Joe Denly for a Duck and Harry Finch and Joey Evison in the 20’s. Beyers Swanepoel and Leaning put on 97 for the 7th wicket. Sawnepoel made 54 from 72 balls and Leaning was 152* from 349 balls at the end of Day3. Kent were 362 for 8 after 129 Overs. Kent were bowled out for 407 in 149.2 overs Jack Leaning was 179* from 403 Balls.

Kent faced 57 overs to save the draw, they lots 4 wickets for 146 runs.

Nottinghamshire v Lancashire – Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Keaton Jennings won the toss and elected to bat. Notts won by 9 Wickets.

Lancashire 333 All Out & 252 All Out, Notts 503 All Out & 81 for 1

The decision to bat proved to be a good one for the captain himself. He scored 1 less than his whole team in Lancs 1st innings last week, with 91 from 180 balls. Jennings and George Balderson put on 107 for the 3rd wicket. Keeper Matty Hurst made 73 from 115 balls. Lancs were 306 for 8 after the 96 overs for the day. lancs faced another 4.2 overs and were bowled out for 331.

Haseeb Hameed opening for Notts scored 137* from 246 balls as his team mates fell around him, Notts made 279 for 7 in the 89 overs they faced on Day 2. George Balderson had taken 4 for 72 in his 2 overs. Hameed went on to score 247 from 459 balls, he and Olly Stone put on 163 for the 8th wicket, Stone made 90 from 162 balls. Balderson didn’t add to his wickets. Notts made 503 in 153.4 overs.

Lancashire faced 31 overs on Day 3 and lost 6 wickets for 100 runs. Dillon Pennington took 3 for 25 in 8 overs. Keeper Matty Hurst in at 7 scored 104 from 158 Balls and Tom Hartley 50 from 100 balls, the pair put on 116 for the 7th wicket, taking the day into Day 4. Pennington ended with 4 for 61 in his 19 overs.

Notts took just 18.4 overs to get the win secured. They scored 81 for the loss of 1 wicket.

Surrey v Warwickshire – The Oval, London. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and put Warwicks in to bat. Surrey won by 9 Wickets

Warwicks 343 All Out & 209 All Out, Surrey 363 All Out & 89 for 1

Warwicks lost steady wickets and were 167 for 6. Ed Barnard finished the day on 96* from 156 balls, somewhat saving the day for his team. Warwicks finished the day on 318 for 8 in the 96 overs. Jordan Clark had 4 for 50 in his 21 overs. Warwicks were bowled out in 102.5 overs for 343, Clark ended the innings with 4 for 65 in 24 overs. Barnard made 108 from 179 balls.

Surrey faced 87 overs on Day 2 and Craig Miles took 5 for 43 in his 14 overs, Dom Sibley scored 140 balls and Jamie Smith finished the day on 98* from 111 balls. Ben Foakes scored 52 from 96 balls as Surrey finished the day on 327 for 6. I went along to Day 3, on a rare day when Essex and Surrey weren’t both playing at home! I arrived in time to see Smith reach his century, then see him move on to 155 from 179 balls, he and Sean Abbot had a highly entertaining 9th wicket partnership of 115. Abbot really is a very good cricketer. he was 50* from 58 balls at the end of the Surrey innings. Surrey batted for 111.4 overs and scored 464. Craig Miles took 5 for 43 in his 14 overs. Strange he didn’t bowl on Day 3, perhaps he was injured.

I left after Tea, so missed Warwicks being bowled out in just 59 overs, Opener Rob Yates top scored with 52 from 68 ballsEd Barnard contributed 44 but Kemar Roach took 6 for 46 and Warwicks were bowled out for 209.

Surrey faced 8 overs on Day 3 and made 31 of the 89 runs they need for the win. Surrey needed just another 14.4 overs to get the win in the bag, they lost just the wicket of Rory Burns.

Division 2

Glamorgan v Sussex – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Sam Northeast won the toss for Glamorgan and put Sussex in to bat. Glamorgan won by 9 wickets.

Sussex 278 All Out & 188 All Out, Glamorgan 411 All Out & 58 for 1

Sussex were the only team bowled out on Day 1, Fynn Hudson-Prentice was the top scorer with 48 from 64 balls. Sussex scored 278 in 87.2 overs. Mir Hamza and James Harris both took 4 wickets.

In reply Glamorgan faced 6 overs and lost opener Eddie Byrom, they finished the day on 21 for 1. They them fell to 41 for 4, then, Kiran Carlson and Colin Ingram put on 315 for the 5th wicket. Carlson scored 148 from 217 balls and Ingram who was out in the next over scored 170 from 248 balls, somewhat saving Glamorgan’s day! They were on 411 for 9 from 102 overs at the end of Day 2. It took jiust 2 balls to see Glamorgan all out for the same 411. Jayden Seales took 5 for 101 in his 23.2 overs.

Sussex were bowled out in 49.3 overs in spite of a 6th wicket partnership of 118 between James Coles and Fynn Hudson-Prentice. Hudson-Prentice made made 70 from 74 balls and Coles was 61* from 124 balls. Andy Gorvin took 5 for 40 in his 13 overs.

Glamorgan needed just 7.5 overs to scored the required runs for a 3 day win.

Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire – County Ground, Northampton, Luke Proctor won the toss for Northants and put Gloucs in to bat. Gloucestershire won by 256 runs! A first win since 2022!

Gloucs – 409 All Out & 319 for 5 dec, Northants 171 All Out & 301 All Out

Opener Cameron Bancroft scored 53 from 94 balls and Miles Hammond in at 4 made 112 from 133 balls, Gloucs reached 338 for 8 in the 96 overs bowled. Northants were bowled out for 409 in 107.2 overs. Siddarth Kaul (freshly arrived from India) took 5 for 76 in his 29 overs.

Northants were bowled out in just 58.4 overs as Marchany de Lange took 5 for 42 in his 15 overs. Ricardo Vasconcelos top scored with 43.

With 2 days remaining Gloucs batted again and finished the day on 77 after 21 overs. a lead of 315. Gloucs faced another 50 overs and finished their innings on 319 for 5 dec. Cameron Bancroft scored 130 from 205 balls, Graeme van Buuren scored 67 from 57 balls. Watching from afar it felt like a lot of runs on the board, but Day 4 will tell!

Northants faced 43 overs and were 144 for 2 at the end of Day 3, trailing by 414. Emilio Gay scored 74 from 118 balls. Northanst kept Gloucs waiting, batting for 94.2 overs in total, they made 301 and Karun Nair top scored with 61 from 93, Luke Proctor had scored 60 from 151 balls. But the Gloucs bowlers won the day and a much needed result for Gloucs!

Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers.

• Ali Orr – Hants – 126 from 211 Balls
• Tom Prest – Hants – 102 from 163 Balls
• David Bedingham – Durham – 144 from 294 Balls
• Gareth Roderick – Worcs – 117 from 281 Balls
• Jason Holder – Worcs – 123* from 110 Balls Worcs –
• Matthew Waite – Worcs – 100* from 126 Balls
• Jack Leaning – Kent – 179* from 403 Balls
• Haseeb Haneed – Notts – 247 from 459 Balls
• Matty Hurst – Lancs – 104 from 158 Balls
• Ed Barnard – Warwicks – 108 from 179 Balls
• Jamie Smith – Surrey – 155 from 179 Balls
• Kiran Carlson – Glamorgan – 148 from 217 Balls
• Colin Ingram – Glamorgan – 170 from 248 Balls
• Miles Hammond – Gloucs – 112 from 133 Balls.
• Cameron Bancroft – Gloucs – 130 from 205 Balls

• Liam Dawson – Hants – 5 for 184 in 66 Overs
• Craig Miles – Warwicks – 5 for 43 in 14 Overs
• Kemar Roach – Surrey – 6 for 46 in 14 Overs
• Jayden Seales – Sussex – 5 for 101 in 23.2 Overs
• Andy Gorvin – Glamorgan – 5 for 40 in 13 Overs
• Siddarth Kaul – Northants – 5 for 76 in 29 Overs