Key events
At Oakham, the batters pick carefully over the landmines. Leicestershire need 238 to win. They are 29-2. There have been more likely sandcastles keeping off the tide.
I thought I’d mentioned that Northamptonshire were following-on, but the entry seems not to have launched. Anyway, they are, but not to great effect – now 29 for three, two wickets for Henry one for Gregory. Their first innings marmaladed in a shower of orange peel and Craig Overton (4-50)
Tom Price, sponsored, as the public address has just informed us, by Future Star Coaching, has just got Lloyd lbw for 81. Glamorgan 122-1.
A neat little story in The Cricketer that some movement of players will be allowed this season between Hundred teams and One-day cup sides. Previously some players, much to their frustration, have been effectively stranded on the sidelines for a month but now after two games, if all sides agree, they can be released to play 50-over cricket.
Meanwhile Sam Morshead of the Cricketer has just been summoned to the ticket office over the public address system after dropping his wallet.
50 from Ian Holland
Holland making Hampshire’s position quite cushy at Trent Bridge where batting is suddenly easy. Hampshire 146-4, a lead of 212.
We will resume at Cheltenham at 4pm.
Essex might have a 49-run lead but look at this men and women of Kent!
An inspection at 3.15 here
Just bumped into the Glamorgan scorer and historian Andrew Hignell who pointed me towards this page on the Cricket museum Wales website. It links to a project, given legs by a grant from the Royal Society, between Glamorgan, the museum, CENIN Renewables and Pencaerau Primary School in Cardiff looking at climate change and sustainability in the context of places to keep fit during the summer.
Look out of the window absentmindedly for a minute or two and another fistful of wickets have fallen at Oakham school. Worcs now 145-9 – the lead 213.
At Chelmsford, the roller is going up and down, up and down the covers, and the umpires are out taking another look. It has stopped raining but it looks pretty damp and I’ve made the mistake of sitting in the pool at the back of my chair. Raining now at Edgbaston too, where Warwicks are 43-2, Yates and Davies removed by Bailey and Williams. I fancy Lancs for this if they can hold off the rain long enough.
An email on poor old Nick Browne, who was forced out of Essex’s game against Kent with concussion after being hit on the helmet last night. The author will remain anonymous as he apparently got too much ribbing last time he was mentioned on CCLive. Surely respect and praise would be the usual response, no?
“He’s having a v mixed week. He was in the Essex second team on Monday for their game v Surrey at Billericay.
“But he only made six and the (4 day) match had to be abandoned on the opening day because of a dangerous pitch. Not much use if you’re trying to find some form.”
Essex are currently 238-4, a lead of 31 over Kent, Critchley and Walter have so far put on 68 for the fifth wicket. SAC was earlier lbw for 87.
Durham incidentally whooshing out of trouble, 45-2.
Quite wet under my brolly here on the balcony, where play has paused with Glamorgan 120-1. Meanwhile at Headingley, Lyth and Bean are springing along, Yorks 32-0 from eight overs; and Worcestershire 115-6 in their second innings in the shoot-out at Oakham school. Worcestershire’s lead an already impregnable 183.
This was Leicestershire’s Wiaan Mulder yesterday on the pitch.
“It was an eventful day, a terrible day in terms of what the wicket produced. Nearly 20 wickets in one day is not great. It moved around all day. It wasn’t really a fair contest between bat and ball and I don’t think it is going to get a lot better, maybe a bit quicker.
“But it has been under the covers for the last four days because there has been a lot of rain, which is not ideal when you are trying to prepare a wicket for a first-class game for the first time in 16 years.”
And the rain decides to fall properly, covers on, stands evacuated at Cheltenham.
But what is afoot at Derby? Two wickets in an over for Conners has left Durham is a slump:17-2 following Derby’s 443.
A dirty black dog of a cloud has settled over Cheltenham, sending down fine raindrops which have not – yet – sent the players off. Ul Hassan out just after lunch, lbw to Zafar for 30. Glamorgan 118-1.
Lunchtime-ish scores
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 178-4 v Kent 207
Lord’s: Middlesex v Surrey 432-9
Northants: Northamptonshire 97-4 v Somerset 351
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 100 v Hampshire 166 and 43-2
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 20-2 v Lancashire 327
DIVISION TWO
Derby: Derbyshire 443 v Durham 4-0
Oakham: Leicestershire 110 v Worcestershire 178 and 81-3
Headingley: Yorkshire 14-0 v Sussex 216
Day one: Cheltenham: Gloucestershire v Glamorgan 100-0
Round the rest of the party division:
Oakham in cut-throat competition with Trent Bridge over who can lose the most wickets. Twenty-two have fallen by ten to lunch, Worcs 75-3 in their second innings, a lead of 143.
A good recovery by Sussex at Headingley, led by 73 from Hudson-Prentice and47 from McAndrew. A couple of wickets for Moriarty. Sussex 216 all out.
And Glamorgan 98 without loss, just before lunch, here at Cheltenham.
Brooke Guest out for 197
Alas, no double ton for Guest, but a supreme 197 in Derbyshire’s 443. Four wickets for Borthwick, three for Raine. Assume Durham will now race to 500 in double-quick time.
Brooke Guest approaches 200…. but Debyshire are nine down…
In Division One:
Sir Alastair Cook is still in at Chelmsford, 81 not out, where Essex are 150-2. His partner is one of your friendly substitutes, Dan Lawrence (18)
At Lord’s, Jamie Smith was Tom Helm’s fourth wicket, for 138. The attacking mantle has passed to Jordan Clark, 69 not out. Surrey 378-6.
Northants are 67-2, chasing Somerset’s 351. Both wickets to Matt Henry.
Notts and Hants looking to wrap things up rapidly at Trent Bridge, Notts all out for a round 100 – Holland 4-19, Abbas 3-34. And Hants already 12-1 in their second innings with a lead of 78.
Finally, Warwickshire are 11-1 after Lancashire were dismissed for 327. A century for Balderson.
Meanwhile at Cheltenham, a diving drop at backward point from Tom Price saves David Lloyd. I would tell you what he’s on but the scoreboard is also suffering from technical hiccups. Lloyd has now reached his first fifty of the year.
Ooof ! A hooking Lloyd is hit on the helmet, quite a nasty blow sending the neck guard flying off. He looks briefly dazed, but will carry on, and gets a short ball straight away from van Meekeren.
A maiden century from George Balderson!
Lancs now 312-9 but it has been quite some rescue act from 91-5. A memorable knock, 225 balls, nine fours. Well played!
“Morning Tanya,” Hello Romeo!
”It looks like the player who scored his career-best first-class score
was Arthur Milton, the last man to play both cricket and football for
England.
Gloucestershire v Sussex, 14th August 1965.
Milton scored 170 and Gloucs won the game.”
That’s the one! Thank you so, so much.
And here he is in his black and white glory.
To the enquiring squark of seagulls and background murmurs, Glamorgan have eased their way to 19-0 here at Cheltenham.
Right, let’s go round the grounds.
Good luck!
An early question. Morning Drew Moore!
“With the news that Robin Das is replacing Nick Browne due to concussion, is he likely to be the first player to be subbed out of a game (for Dan Lawrence) and then effectively subbed back in?”
Here, under parasols on the balcony of the college pavilion, we’re going for yes! If the hive mind disagrees, just shout
Apologies, the Cheltenham bandwidth is not huge so it is taking a while to send entries. Will try to resolve this.
Made it just in time for the start, thanks to a lovely chap called Mike who saved me from my sense of direction. Mike has been coming to watch cricket for decades at Cheltenham and his most memorable day here was the morning he went for an interview and found out he had got a job at Smiths industries, and then cycled to Cheltenham to watch – and this is where I fall down as I’ve already forgotten his name but it was in the sixties – get his highest first-class score.
Wednesday’s round-up
Time wheeled to sepia at Chelmsford, with Alastair Cook unbeaten on 64 at stumps on a good day for Essex. Kent, who had chosen to bat on a greenish pitch and with frowning skies, were dismissed by tea, with Sam Cook and Jamie Porter pocketing three wickets each.
Surrey’s Jamie Smith gambolled to an unbeaten 120, his second century of the season, in the London derby against Middlesex at Lord’s, backed up by 79 from Rory Burns who has suffered a forlorn summer with the bat.
Lancashire were rescued from the indignity of 150 for seven by an unbeaten partnership of 145 between George Balderson (94) and Tom Bailey (a career-best 75) on the Edgbaston pitch which hosted the Blast final.
A career-best 145 from Derbyshire’s wicket-keeper Brooke Guest frustrated Division Two leaders Durham. Guest’s carefree hundred came after Durham won the toss and bowled, but the overhead conditions were trumped by a true pitch, especially once the sun peeled up the blackout blind. There were two wickets for Matthew Potts, Scott Borthwick and Ben Raine. Haider Ali had time to thrash Matt Parkinson for six before suffering a brain fade and being stumped after attempting a run when an lbw appeal against him was turned down. In the race to 1,000 runs, Leus du Plooy needed just 21 but was out for two.
Another candidate for the race, James Rew, was caught 26 runs short of the magic four figures. Somerset were all out for 351, after Northamptonshire’s Jack White grabbed five for 77.
Carnage at Oakham school where 18 wickets fell, nine Worcestershire batters between lunch and tea after they’d finished a sensible morning 74 for one. But Leicestershire’s innings proved even more fragile, collapsing to 88 for eight. Fifteen wickets too at Trent Bridge, where Nottinghamshire rattled through Hampshire, only to come unstuck themselves, 87 for five at stumps, still trailing by 79. At a rainy Headingley, Yorkshire took six quick Sussex wickets.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 106-0 v Kent 207
Lord’s: Middlesex v Surrey 312-5
Northants: Northamptonshire v Somerset 351
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 87-5 v Hampshire 166
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Lancashire 295-7
DIVISION TWO
Derby: Derbyshire 317-6 v Durham
Oakham: Leicestershire 88-8 v Worcestershire 178
Headingley: Yorkshire v Sussex 120-6
Day one: Cheltenham: Gloucestershire v Glamorgan
Preamble
Hello! It’s a perfectly beautiful morning in Cheltenham. I’ve just woken up with an Americano at Madison’s cafe (highly recommended) over the road from the station where, incidentally, there are a terrific number of bike racks.
I’d better go and find the ground, back shortly!
