365 Sporting Days

We have a somewhat strange situation this year with a couple of County Championship matches squeezed into the middle of the T20 Blast. The first match came as Summer decided to rock up and started on a Sunday, I’d decided to attend the full match at the County Ground in Chelmsford and am starting this after Day 2. A day when a record was equalled by an ex Essex player, that record was then surpassed on Day 4 by a Leicestershire batter at Hove!

Division 1

Essex v Durham – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Scott Borthwick won the toss for Durham and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Durham 587 All Out & 184 for 8, Essex 339 All Out & 208 for 2

In writing these pieces last season I can remember wondering each week which Durham batter had scored a century and it was often more than one! And that was the case in this innings. And although an Essex fan, I had to admire what I witnessed on Day 1. The toss was clearly a good one to win and Durham made the most of it. Opener Alex Lees and David Bedingham made 95 for the 3rd wicket after his fellow opener Michael Jones had made 38 from 29 balls his was like watching a T20 innings! Bedingham made 65 from 72 balls. Ollie Robinson came in at 5 and he and Lees put on 136 for the 4th wicket. Lees scored 113 from 220 balls. New signing Colin Ackermann and Robinson then put on 175 for the 5th wicket. Ackermann made 73 from 104 balls. Now I’m an Essex member and fan but I was disappointed for Robinson when he was out for 198 from 209 balls; seeing a double century scored is something special and Robinson deserved that milestone. Simon Harmer toiled throughout the innings, bowling 45 overs, the most I’ve seen him bowl, he conceded 188 runs and took 4 wickets, Matt Critchley at the other end bowled 26 overs taking 4 for 158. Durham made 587 in 122 overs.

Essex fell to 78 for 2 in chasing a massive total, then 120 for 4 as the Durham bowlers did their thing. Matt Critchley and Paul Walter put on 147 for the 5th wicket as Critchley having played a patient innings went for a Callum Parkinson ball, not getting enough on it he was caught, he’d made 53 from 131 balls. Walter went on to score 134 from 181 balls before a Matthew Potts ball beat him to knock his stumps over. Potts took 4 for 71 and looked very good, Peter Siddle, who looks as fit as a butchers dog (at nearly 40) , took 3 for 45. Essex were bowled out for 339 in 99 overs.

Scott Borthwick didn’t enforce the follow on: Durham batted for 52 overs and he made 71 from 146 balls, after Jamie Porter had taken Lees’ wi cket with the first ball of the innings. Porter took 3 for 18 and Simon Harmer bowled another 21 overs taking 4 for 75. That took him to 66 overs for the match! Durham declared with 11 overs left in the day and with the score on 184 for 8, a lead of 432.

Essex lost Nick Browne in the 8th of the 11 overs and Essex finished the day on 28 for 1. Borthwick got his declarations spot on in 2023 to help his team run away with Division 2; this one? He misjudged. Jamie Porter had come in as NIghtwatchman and he was bowled by the imprssive Potts 5 overs into the day. That brought Essex captain Tom Westley to the crease to join Dean Elgar. Now Elgar is a man renowned for batting long and saving the day for South Africa. He and Westley batted for just over 70 overs and scored 165 runs. At one point Westley scored 7 from 70 balls he finished the day on 63 from 229 balls a strike rate of 27.51, Elgar reached his century and finished with 120 from 232 balls a strike rate of 51.72. It was a riveting day of cricket as the 2 Essex batters frustrated Durham. I presume they were keeping themselves amused when they all started slow clapping as the bowlers were preparign for each ball. An idiot (that really is an apt description) shouted No Ball as Potts was running in and that caused, understandably, some annoyance on the field. There was a long chat between the umpires and Borthwick, while Peter Siddle carried on with the strange clapping. That didn’t worry the 2 Essex men and they took the game to 5pm when the captains shook hands; a draw was declared.

Kent v Lancashire – The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury. Keaton Jennings won the toss for Lancs and put Kent in to bat. Lancashire won by an innings and 83 runs.

Kent 244 All Out &, 222 All Out. Lancashire 549 for 9 dec.

Ben Compton opening for Kent scored 55 from 124 balls as the other batters fell around him, his was the 5th wicket to fall when Kent were on 124. Tawanda Muyeye scored 59 from 121 balls and he and Charlie Stobo put on 82 for the 6th wicket. Kent were bowled out in 79.1 overs 4 of the 6 bowlers used shared the wickets.

Lancashire’s innings was somewhat different! They lost Jennings for a 9 ball Duck, then Luke Wells and Josh Bohannon put on 312 for the 2nd wicket. Wells made 150 from 250 balls. Bohannon put on 99 for the 5th wicket with Keeper Matty Hurst. Bohannon made 205 from 372 balls. Hurst 50 from 131 balls. Kent used 7 bowlers and 5 of them shared the wickets. Lancs scored their 549 in 150.4 overs.

Kent batted for 53 overs in their Joe 2nd innings by the end of Day 3, Compton had the best score with 37 and they finished the day on 143 for 5, trailing by 162 runs. Kent faced another 30 overs and Charlie Stobo finished on 64 from 151 balls. 5 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.

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

Notts 360 All Out & 425 for 2, Somerset 470 All Out

Notts were 71 for 3 before Joe Clarke and Jordan Haynes put on 108 for the 4th wicket. Clarke made 512 from 76 balls and Haynes 55 from 73 balls. There was another flurry of wickets before Calvin Harrison and Ollie tone had a stand of 112 for the 8th wicket. Harrison scored 35 and Stone went on to score 83 from 148 balls. Notts were bowled out for 360 in 105 overs, Kasey Aldridge took 5 for 94 in his 23 overs.

My obsession with just how many Tom’s there are in County Cricket goes mad when I look at a Somerset scorecard! They had 4 in this match and 2 of them, Lammonby and Abell put on 157 for the 3rd wicket after opener Tom Kohler Cadmore and Umeed were out with Notts at 68 for 2, Tom Number 4, Banton was out for a 4 ball Duck. Tom Lammonby scored 87 from 173 balls and Tom Abell 11 from 230 balls. Migael Pretorius in at 9 was 95* from 71 balls! Somerset were bowled out in 121 overs for 470. Dillon Pennington took 5 for 96 in his 25 overs.

Hameed and Ben Slater put on 172 for the 1st wicket, which was Hameed, he’d made 91 from 158 balls. Notts ended Day 3 on 177 for 1 a lead of 67. Notts batted for a total of 130 overs and Slater went on to score 168* from 377 balls.Olly Stone, who I presume came in as Nightwatchman made 63 from 137 balls. Will Young finished the day on 68* from 112 balls.

Warwickshire v Hampshire – Edgbaston, Birmingham. James Vince won the toss for Hants and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Hants 298 All Out & 453 for 6 dec, Warwicks 254 All Out & 321 for 9

Hants lost opener Toby Albert in the 6th over for 5 before Fletcha Middleton and Nick Gubbins put on 102 for the 2nd wicket. Gubbins scored 44 and Middleton went on to score 74 from 135 balls. Hantrs were bowled out in 81.4 overs for 298. 4 of teh 7 bowlers shared the wickets.

The Warwickshire innings lasted just 72.5 overs, with Dan Mousley making 57 from 89 balls and Jacob Bethell 69 from 140 balls. Keith Barker took 6 for 74 in his 20 overs.

Hants 2nd innings was a much better one, James Vince and LIam Dawon put on 255 for the 6th wicket, whoch was `Dawson’s, he made 120 from 157 balls and Vince finished the innings on 166* from 1907 balls, he chose to declare rather than try for his 200.

Warwicks faced 12 overs at the end of Day 3 and finished the day on 40 for 1, trailing by 457. Warwicks batted the day and faced all 96 overs. Sam Hain scored 111* from 254 balls. He and Keeper Michael Burgess put on 183 for the 7th wicket, Burgess made 79 from 162 balls. 5 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.

Worcestershire v Surrey – New Road, Worcester. Jake Libby won the toss for Worcs and put Surrey in to bat. Surrey won by an innings and 5 runs.

With Surrey in 29 for 2 that decision at the toss seemed a good one. They lost captain Rory Burns for a 3 ball Duck and Pope for just 14. Dom Sibley and Jamie Smith put on 149 for the 3rd wicket, Sibley made 76 from 141 balls and Smith 86 from 138 balls. Ex Essex boys Ben Foakes and Dan Lawrence then put on 131 for the 5th wicket. Foakes scored 52 from 118 balls and Lawrence a huge 175 from 223 balls, that included an over facing Bashir, on loan from Somerset, where 38 runs were scored, he smashed 5 sixes then there were 5 wides and a single from a No Ball – quite amazing! Surrey scored 490 in 131.1 overs. 8 bowlers were used and 4 shared the wickets.

Jake Libby scored 77 from 211 balls for Worcs as wickets fell around him, his was the 9th to fall as Worcs were bowled out in 85.3 overs for 212. 5 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.

Burns did enforce the follow on and at the end of Day 3 Worcs were 205 for 5 trailing Surrey by 71 runs. Keeper Gareth Roderick and Kashif Ali put in 135 for the 2nd wicket. Roderick made 63 from 140 balls and Kashif 66 from 106 balls. Worcs kept Surrey waiting. Adam Hose scored 64 from 132 balls. But Worcs were bowled out in 92 overs and Surrey stretched their lead at teh top of Division 1. Jordan Clark took 5 for 65 in his 18 overs.

Division 2

Glamorgan v Northamptonshire – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Luke Proctor won the toss for Northants and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Northants 279 All Out & 472 for 8 dec, Glamorgan 490 All Out & 207 for 8

Northants fell to 19 for 2 before Emilio Gay and Luke Proctor put on 90 for the 3rd wicket. Gay made 65 from 93 balls and Proctor 48. Northants were bowled out in 86.3 overs for 279. 4 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.

Glamorgan had a better time of things, largely thanks to a 3rd wicket stand of 140 between Marnus Labuschagne and Kiran Carlson. Labuschagne scored 93 from 124 balls and Carlson 71 from 120 balls. Keeper Chrsi Cooke scored 58 from 128 balls and Jordan Crane was 56* from 116 balls as Glamorgan scored 490 in 131.5 overs. 7 bowlers were used, 6 took wickets.

Northants opener Ricardo Vasconcelos and Luke Proctor put on 116 for the 3rd wicket, Vaconcelos made was out for 99 from 173 balls and Proctor made 55 from 129 balls. Northants faced 65 overs and were 236 for 4 at the end of Day 3, a lead of 25. Proctor went on to score 98 from 248 balls, he and Keeper Lewis McManus put on 161 for the 5th wicket. McManus scored 168* from 200 balls. Northants made 472 for 8 in 120 overs.

Glamorgan batted for 38.5 overs to save the Draw. Marnus Labuschagne scored 64 from 61 balls as they went on to score 207 for 8.

Middlesex v Derbyshire – Lord’s, London. Toby Roland-Jones won the toss for MIddx and elected to bat. Middlesex won by 194 runs.

Middlesex 433 All Out & 302 All Out, Derbyshire 339 All Out & 202 All Out

Middlesex’s 2024 signing Leus du Plooy scored 57 from 107 balls and 2023 signing Ryan Higgins went big with 163 from 22.6 balls. Captain Roland-Jones chipped in with 52 from 69 balls as Middx scored 433 in 115.3 overs. 5 of the 6 bowlers shared the wickets.

Derbyshire werte 57 for 2 but opener Luis Reece scored 125 from 257 balls, sharing a 3rd wicket partnership of 109 with Wayne Madsen who scored 49. Aneurin Donald scored 54 from 66 balls as Derbys were bowled out in 87.2 overs for 339. Roland Jones took 5 for 81 in his 19.2 overs.

Middx were bowled out for 302 in 79.4 overs; Sam Robson scored 67 from 59 balls, du Plooy 59 from 107 balls and Ryan Higgins added to his tally with 67 from 80 balls.

Detbyshire were bowled out in 78 overs; Zak Chappell kept Middx waiting with 50 from 91 balls. The wickets were shared.

Sussex v Leicestershire – The 1st Central County Ground, Hove. Lewis won the toss for Leics and put Sussex in to bat. Sussex won by 18 runs.

Sussex 442 All Out & 296 for 6, Leics 275 All Out & 445 All Out

This was a match I was keeping an eye on at the County Ground, I have a soft spot for Leics and something amazing happened in their 2nd innings!

Sussex were 34 for 3 before opener Oli Carter and Keeper and captain John Simpson put on 156 for the 4th wicket. Carter made 96 from 142 balls and Simpson went on to make 183* from 258 balls. This was definitely a round for runs for Keepers across teh country! Nathan McAndrew scored 53 from 85 balls.

Leics fell to 51 for 4 before Peter Handscomb and Wiaan Mulder put on 108 for the 5th wicket. Mulder scored 53 from 82 ballks and Handscomb 92 from 176 balls. They were bowled out in 70.3 overs for 275.

I spot a Tom in the middle of the Sussex 2nd innings, Tom Alsop scored 92 from 176 balls, Sean Hunt in just before him scored 53 from 82 balls as Sussex declared after 69 overs for 296 for 6.

Leics 2nd innings is where the 2nd remarkable thing of this round happened! Dan Lawrence joined Andrew Strauss with the most runs scored in an over with 38 in Surrey’s 1st innings, but the record was broken at Hove by Louis Kimber, he hit 43 runs from an Ollie Robinson over! The over had 9 balls as Robinson bowled 3 No Balls, Kimber hit 2 Sixes and 4 Fours, his 5th Four brought up a 62 ball Hundred, the fastest scored in the County Championship. He then went on to score the fastest Double Hundred; from 100 balls. He finished the innings on 243 from 127 balls, his was the last wicket to fall and sadly his team were 18 runs short.

Yorkshire v Gloucestershire. North Marine Road, Scarborough. Graeme van Buuren won the toss and put Yorkshire in to bat. Yorkshire won by an innings and 22 runs.

Yorkshire 456 All Out, Gloucs 197 All Out & 237 All Out

It must have become clear quite quickly that the decision at the toss was a bad one, when openers Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean put on 307 for the 1st wicket! Bean scored 164 from 250 balls and Lyth 129 from 243 balls. That set Yorkshire up nicely and they made 456 in 120.1 overs.

Gloucs were bowled out in 82.3 overs for 19, Ollie Price top scored with 47 balls. The wickets were shared.

In spite of being bowled out in 68.4 oevrs Gloucs made 237, Zaman Akhter made 70 from 83 balls. 5 of teh 6 bowlers shared the wickets again.

Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers

• Alex Lees – Durham – 113 from 220 Balls
• Ollie Robinson – Durham 198 from 209 Balls
• Paul Walter – Essex – 134 from 181 Balls
• Luke Wells – Lancs – 150 from 250 Balls
• Josh Bohannon – Lancs – 205 from 372 Balls
• Tom Abell – Somerset – 111 from 230 Balls
• James Vince – Hants – 166* from 197 Balls
• Liam Dawson – Hants – 120 from 157 Balls
• Dan Lawrence – Essex – 175 from 223 Balls
• Ben Slater – Notts – 168* from 377 Balls
• Sam Hain – Warwicks – 111 from 254 Balls
• Lewis McManus – Northants – 168* from 200 Balls
• Ryan Higgins – Middlesex – 163 from 226 Balls
• Louis Kimber – Leics – 243 from 127 Balls!!
• Finlay Bean – Yorks – 164 from 250 Balls
• Adan Lyth – Yorks – 129 from 243 Balls

• Kasey Aldridge – Lancs – 5 for 94 from 23 Overs
• Keith Barker – Hants – 5 for 74 in 20 Overs
• Jordan Clark – Surrey – 5 for 65 in 18 Overs
• Toby Roland-Jones – Middx – 5 for 81 in 19.2 Overs