365 Sporting Days

September brings the business end of the season, there are 3 more rounds to go and we’re nearly into October before the season ends, the final day is due to be September 29th. As I did at the start of the season I thought I’d go back and see when the season has finished in what turned out to be the last 11 years, you can see that later September finish is not a new thing. This was the first round of 2 with the Kookaburra ball, would we see runs galore? Only 3 matches to report on in Division 2 as you’ll no doubt know!

• 2013 – 27th September
• 2014 – 23rd September
• 2015 – 22nd September
• 2016 – 20th September
• 2017 – 25th September
• 2018 – 27th September
• 2019 – 23rd September
• 2020 – 23rd September
• 2021 – 28th September
• 2022 – 26th September
• 2023 – 29th September

Starting this at the end of Day 3, I’m going to start with the match that finished on the day, a match that sees Kent rooted to the bottom of Division 1 with 71 points, they’ve won just 1 match this season.

Division 1

Warwickshire v Kent – Edgbaston, Birmingham. Alex Davies won the toss for Warwicks and put Kent in to bat. Warwickshire won by an innings and 21 runs.

Kent 156 All Out & 243 All out, Warwicks 420 All Out

In spite of 70 runs in 103 balls from Ben Compton, who batted throughout the innings, Kent were bowled out for 156 in just 39.5 overs. 4 of the 5 bowlers shared the wickets. Neither of my lists were troubled by that innings.

Warwicks put on 62 for the 1st wicket Will Rhodes, who’s heading to Durham for next season and End Barnard put on 145 for the 5th wicket, Barnard made 65 from 101 balls and Rhodes went on to score 201 from 295 balls, he batted for nearly 6.5 hours. Kent used 7 bowlers and 5 of them took the wickets.

Kent lost Compton early in their 2nd innings, but Keeper Harry Finch who opened with him and Daniel Bell- Drummond put on 116 for the snd wicket. Bell_Drummond made 78 from 94 balls. Joey Evison in at 5 scored 65 from 103 balls. Kent batted for 69.3 overs, scoring 243, but that fell short by 21 runs.

Lancashire v Hampshire – Keaton Jeninngs won the toss for Lancs and put Hants in to bat. Hants won by an innings and 37 runs.

Hampshire 389 All Out, Lancashire 200 All Out & 152 All Out

Hants lost Toby Albert in the 4th over and were 7 for 1. Fletcha Middleton and Nick Gubbins put on 151 for the 2nd wicket. Gubbins scored 75 from 169 balls and Middleton went on to score 109 from 190 balls.Liam Dawson in at 6 made 104 from 143 balls as Hants made 389 in 114 overs. Luke Wells was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 94 in his 25 overs.

Keaton Jennings who’s having a good 2024 scored 56 in 131 balls after fellow opener Luke Wells was out in the 13th over. he and Josh Bohannon put on 90 for the 2nd wicket. In spite of that start Lancs were bowled out for 200 in 77,3 overs. Liam Dawson was having a great game, he took 5 for 47 in his 28.3 overs.

Lancs followed on and this time Wells scored well, with 51 from 148 balls, Lancs were bowled out in 77.3 overs for 152, with Dawson taking another 5 wickets for 52 runs in 29.3 overs to add to his contribution to this win for Hants.

Essex v Worcestershire – The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Brett D’Oliveira won the toss and elected to bat. Worcs won by 43 runs

Worcestershire 266 All Out & 321 All Out , Essex 404 All Out & 140 All Out

The Essex bowlers had an excellent start and Worcs fell to 10 for 4, Jamie Porter took 3 of those wickets and went on to take 5 for 52 in his 27 overs. 10 for 4 turned into 46 for 5, but a few good innings took Worcs to 266 All Out. Brett D’Oliveria scored 68 from 136 balls, Tom Taylor made 62* from 94 balls he and Afar Virdi, on loan from Surrey, put on 64 for the last wicket with Virdi scoring 42 as the Essex bowlers lost their way. Simon Harmer took 3 wickets but conceded 103 runs in his 27 overs.

The Essex captain Tom Westley scored 68 from 126 balls and Essex were on 201 for 5, they then lost Paul Walter and Simon Harmer to fall to 227 for 7, 39 behind the Worcs 1st innings score. Keeper Michael Pepper and Shane Snater then put on 134 in 26 overs for the 8th wicket before Snater was out for 53 from 74 balls. Pepper worked with Sam Cook to reach the 400 mark. Pepper finished the innings on 112 * from 125 balls, his maiden FC century and one to remember for him and those watching! 5 of the 7 bowlers used shared the wickets.

Worcs second innings saw night watchman Joe Leach out for a 21 ball Duck. Keeper Gareth Roderick was out for 6 and Worcs were 24 for 2. Jake Libby opening score 65 from 112 balls. Adam Hose batting at 6 scored 64 from 91 balls and Brett D’Oliverira made 51 from 71 balls. Bad light stopped play at the end of Day 3 and Worcs were 303 for 8, taking a lead of 165 runs. That lead grew to 183 as Worcs moved to 321, leaving Essex with a target of 184.

Opener Robin Das was the top scorer for Essex with 32 as they found themselves in all sorts of trouble. Das’s was the 3rd wicket to fall as he was cleverly run out at the non strikers end by Brett D’Oliveira. D’OLiveira also took a wonder catch to dismiss Jordan Cox for just 11. Gareth Roderick was on fire behind the stumps and he too took a couple of excellent catches. Essex had a chance too close the gap on Surrey at the top of the table, but they were bowled out in just 456.3 overs. Worcs bowling and fielding was on point in this innings, the Essex batting was not. Well played Worcestershire, this was a great game of cricket played and watched in good spirit. I hope Essex get drawn to play at New Road next Summer! Amar Virdi held up one end with the ball taking 2 for 66 in his 23 overs. .Logan van Been took 4 for 26.

Somerset v Durham – The Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton. Lewis Gregory won the toss for Somerset and elected to bat. Somerset won by 293 Runs

Somerset 492 All Out & 263 for 5, Durham 336 All Out & 126 All Out

Somerset were 0 for 1 after the first ball, they then fell to 68 for 3 before Tom Abell and Tom Banton put on 185 for the 4th wicket. Abell made 124 from 181 balls and Banton made 73 from 129 balls. Keeper James Rew and Kasey Aldridge put on 89 for the 7th wicket, in the middle there was. a cameo from one Archie Vaughan with 30 runs, not sure if his Dad was was thing him or at Lord’s! Rew scored 103 from 114 balls. Somerset amassed 492 in 116,2 overs .Callum Parkinson took 4 for a heavy 136 in his 35.2 overs.

Durham were 25 for 1 losing Ben Mckinney in the 7th over, they went on to scored 336 in 100.1 overs. Alex Lees scored 59 in 128 balls, Brydon Carse and Ben `Raine put on 117 for the 7th wicket, Raine scored 62 from 107 balls and Carse went on to scrore 104 from 161 balls. Jack Leach took 5 for 124 in his 43.1 overs

Somerset batted for 52 overs scoring 263 for 5 before they declared. Tom Abell scores 56 from 65 balls has and Tom Banton put on 61 for the 4th wicket.

By the end of Day 3 Durham were 15 for 3 and Archie Vaughan had his at First Class wicket, bowling Scott Borthwick. Things didn’t;.t improve for Durham on Day 4 as Jack Leach took a total of 7 for 50 in his 30.3 over. Durham batted for 60.3 overs in their 2nd innings and Somerset did take advantage to the result of the following match!

Nottinghamshire v Surrey – Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Rory Burns won the toss for Surrey and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Surrey – 525 All Out & , Notts 405 All Out &

Surrey lost Dom Sibley in the 10 over and were 26 for 1. Rory Burns and Ryan (in and out of the team, up and down the order) Patel put on 175 for the 2nd wicket. Patel scored 77 from 161 balls Burns then shared a partnership of 207 for the 3rd wicket. Burns made 161 from 266 balls. Jack scored 59 from 74 balls, Sam Sudharsan and Jordan Clark then put on 101 runs for the 6th wicket. Clark scored 53 from 92 balls and Saw Sudharsan made 105 from 178 balls. Surrey scored 525 in 150.4 overs, hoping to only bat once. 16 year old Farhan Ahmed, brother of Rehan, took 7 for 140 in his 50.4 overs, That’s a heck of a shift for a 16 year old.

There was a theme going on with openers in this round, and Notts lost Ben Slater in the 2nd over. Haseeb Hameed his fellow opener and Freddie McCann put on 136 for the 2nd wicket. Hameed scored 68 from 111 balls. McCann went on to score 154 from 268 balls sharing a 5th wicket partnership with Jack Haynes who scored 68 from 156 balls. Keeper Kyle Verreynne made 50 from 60 balls as Notts went on to score 405 in 114.5 overs, Will Jacks took 7 for 129 in his 43.5 overs.

In common with several other games the days play was interrupted at Notts, but Surrey faced 7 overs before the end of play and were 13 for 1 at the end of the day, a lead of 133 runs. As I have all year I was keeping an eye on this match al day and was surprised to see Surrey batting on. They faced 53 overs in all and declared on 177 for 9. Liam Patterson White took 5 for 96 in his 27 overs, he and Ahmed were the sole bowlers in this innings. Rory Burns made 71 from 131 balls.

Notts faced 33 overs before the game was declared a draw, Haseeb Hameed scored 61 from 93 balls and Ben Slater 576 from 105 balls, they were 121 for No Wicket at the end of the game.

Division 2

Gloucestershire v Northamptonshire -seat Unique Stadium , Bristol. Luke Proctor won the toss and put Gloucs in to bat. Match Drawn.

Gloucs 125 All Out, Northants 116 for 2

Ollie Price in at 3 for Gloucs scored 532 from 85 balls and Graeme van Buuren 40. Gloucs were bowled out in 36.1 overs. Justin Bread took 7 for 33 in his 15.1 overs.

Northants batted for 29.3 overs and had Ricardo Vasconcelos having to retire hurt before the umpires and match referee, taking advice from the ECB inspectors, and making the decision to abandon the match due to an unsafe pitch! They deemed there was ‘a forseeable risk to the batters’. Gloucs take no points from the match and may be punished with a points deduction, It’s not entirely clear to me how may points Northants take, I’ve seen, 8 of rtes Draw plus the 3 bowling points, but also 20 points, which would seem a fairer outcome!

Glamorgan v Leicestershire – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. Sam Northeast won the toss for Glamorgan and put Leics in to bat. Match Drawn.

Leics 251 All Out & .369 for 6 Glamorgan 550 for 9 dec

Leics were bowled out in 68.5 overs, Peter Handscomb top scored with 46. Timm van Der Gugten and Dan Douthwaite took 4 wickets apiece.

Sam Northeast was out first ball and his fellow opener Asa Tribe was out in the 9trh over, Glamorgan were 27 for 2. Colin Ingrain and Kiran Carlson out 174 on for the 2nd wicket. Carlson scored 85 from 140 balls and Ingram went on to score 257* from 375 balls. Glamorgan batted for 147 overs scoring 550 for 9. Ian Holland took 4 for 96 in his 29 overs.

Leics were 144 for 3 at the end of Day 3, trailing by 155 runs. This present at this game were then treated to a partnership of 183 between Ajinkya Rahane and Peter Handscomb, oh to have been there! Rahane scored 102 from 192 balls and Handscomb 139 from 253 balls. Leics batted for 117.2 overs and made 369 for 6 before the game was declared a draw.

Yorkshire v Middlesex – Headingley, Leeds. Jonatahan Tattersall won the toss for Yorks and elected to bat. Match Drawn.

Yorkshire 601 for 6 & 150 for 2, Middx 522 All Out

This is a massive match for Division 2 as Middlesex sit 2nd 3 points ahead of Yorkshire as they battle for promotion. There were 2 big scores in this first innings. Adam Lyth scored 61 from 79 balls. But there was an inevitability to Jonathan Bairstow scoring well, he and George Hill put on 238 for the 6th wicket. Bairstow scored 160 from 198 balls and Hill 169 from 257 balls. Yorkshire batted for 144 overs and declared on 601 for 6.

Middlesex had 2 batter to add to my century makers list, Opener Sam Robson scored 108 from 219 balls ha and Sam Holden out on 121 for the 2nd wicket, Holden scored 51 from 145 balls. Ryan Higgins in at 5 scored 117* from 210 balls. Dom Bess had taken 4 of the 5 wickets to fall as Middx finished the day on 441 for 5, they trail by 160 runs. Higgins went on to score 155 from 259 balls Keeper Jack Davies scored 61 from 129 balls. Dom Bess took 7 for 179 in his 70.4 overs.

Yorkshire batted for 35 overs in their 2nd innings finishing the day on 150 for 2, Adam Lyth scored 62 from 99 balls and James Wharton 50 from 55 balls before the game was declared a draw.

Sussex v Derbyshire – The 1st Central County Ground, Hove. David Lloyd won the toss for Derbys and put Sussex in to bat. Sussex won by an innings and 59 runs.

Sussex put on 196 for the first wicket, Tom Haines scored 72 from 111 balls and Daniel Hughes went on to score 144 from 142 balls. Tom Alsop scored 70 from 149 balls. Captain John Simpson and jack Carson put on 153 for the 7th wicket, Simpson scored 121 from 167 balls and Carson made 97 from 129 balls, Sussex batted for 140.2 overs and declared on 607 for 8.

Derbyshire were bowled out in 83.3 overs for 290, Wayne Madsen scored 138 of those runs in 210 balls, his was the 9th wicket to fall. Jack Carson added to his runs with 5 for 90 in his 24 overs.

Derbys faced 55 overs by the end of Day 3 and finished the day on 141 for 2, trailing by 176 runs. Opener Harry Came scored 54 from 167 balls. jack Carson made hay again taking 6 for 67 in his 37 overs as Derbys were bowled out in 109.5 overs. That result helped stretch Sussex’s lead at the top of Division 2.

Century Makers and 5 Wicket Takers

• Will Rhodes – Warwicks – 201 from 250 Balls
• Michael Pepper – Essex – 112* from 125 Balls
• Fletcha Middleton – Hampshire – 109 from 196 Balls
• Liam Dawson – Hampshire – 104 from 143 Balls
• Tom Abell – Somerset – 124 from 181 Balls
• James Rew – Somerset – 103 from 114 Balls
• Brydon Carse – Durham – 104 from 161 Balls
• Rory Burns – Surrey – 161 from 266 Balls
• Sai Sudharsan – Surrey – 105 from 178 Balls
• Freddie McCann – Notts – 154 from 268 Balls
• Colin Ingram – 257* from 375 Balls
• Ajinkya Rahane – Leics – 102 from 192 Balls
• Peter Handscomb – Leics – 139 from 253 Balls
• Jonathan Bairstow – Yorkshire – 160 from 198 Balls
• George Hill – Yorkshire – 169 from 257 Balls
• Sam Robson – Middx – 108 from 219 Balls
• Ryan Higgins – Middx- 155 from 259 Balls
• Daniel Hughes – 144 from 142 Balls
• John Simpson – 121 from 167 Balls
• Wayne Madsen – Derbys – 138 from 210 Balls

• Jamie Porter – Essex – 5 for 52 in 27 Overs
• Liam Dawson – Hants – 5 for 47 in 28.3 Overs
• Liam Dawson -Hants – 5 for 52 in 29.3 Overs
• Jack Leach – Somerset – 5 for 124 in 43.1 Overs
• Jack Leach – Somerset – 7 for 50 in 30.3 Overs
• Will Jacks – Surrey – 7 for 129 in 43.5 Overs
• Farhan Ahmed – Notts – 7 for 140 in 50.4 Overs
• Liam Patterson-White – Notts – 5 for 96 in 27 Overs
• Dom Bess – Yorkshire – 7 for 179 in 70.4 Overs
• Justin Broad – Northants – 7 for 33 in 15.1 Overs
• Jack Carson – Sussex – 5 for 90 in 24 Overs
• Jack Carson – Sussex – 6 for 67 in 37 Overs