Key events
A spinner a “false economy”
I’d not seen this before, Mark Alleyne talking to The Cricketer about spin bowlers
“There is still no data to suggest that spinners win you Championships. You are right that they do bowl overs and can help you manage your seam attack, but if you haven’t got the right spinner, then it’s probably a false economy.”
Ooof and meanwhile at Southampton, an incredible ball by Kyle Abbott, a bullet, swerves in to remove Gregory’s off stump, . Somerset 204 for seven, trail by 34. Big Craig still there though.
Somerset suddenly look at risk of not reaching parity. They’ve lost three for 18 this morning, as Lewis Gregory joins Craig Overton at the crease. 193 for six, trail by 45. Three wickets for Codi Yusuf.
Keaton Jennings, in his first innings for Lancs of the year, is up and running. One four, squeezed through the slips. Lancs 37-0.
And tentative Will Smeed is caught, finally going for the big hit, but snaffled on boundary by Baker. I do hope red-ball cricket works for him, he probably only needs one good innings.
Five wickets for Ben Sanderson!
A good shift by Sanderson, 19 overs, and gets his reward, a fifth wicket, Tom. Helm, caught at fine leg. Middlesex will be pleased with their efforts though – 341-9, Zohar 83 not out.
A couple of quick wickets at Edgbaston, now 145 for nine.
At Southampton, Will Smeed, another slow start, nought off 21 balls, lassoos down the pitch to Liam Dawson, but the keeper can’t whip the bails off. Somerset 181 for four.
Fifty for Sam Hain
With a gentle fist pump and a shy wave of the bat, Sam Hain celebrates fifty. He and Barker (22) have pulled Warwicks towards a kind of respectability – 144 for seven.
Hundred-watch in vain as Rew uncharacteristically skews a half volley from Yusuf to backward point. Somerset 175-4.
At Southampton, Kyle Abbott is hustling with admirable vigour. Baker still running in from the other end, elbows horizontally churning. Rew (85) and Abell (41) have now put on a hundred for the fourth wicket. Somerset 175-3, 63 behind.
Gloucestershire all out – Five wickets for George Balderson
And three for Jimmy Anderson, two in an over, old teammate Will Williams lbw and Henry Brookes caught. Gloucestershire all out 136, and I predict a couple of days of toil in the field.
Weather watch
Luckily, there are no games north of the Midlands in this round. The Met Office promise: a mix of sunshine and showers across northern areas today, with some heavy and a risk of hail. Drier and brighter further south, although a few showers developing across Wales and the Midlands into the afternoon. Pleasant in any sunshine.
Kevin James on Sonny Baker: “He’s very exciting this year, he’s always up and you now.” Which is music to a selector’s ear. I like watching Baker too, he’s like a very energetic and giant springer spaniel.
Down at Bristol, Jimmy Anderson has his first wicket of the innings, Matt Taylor’s stumps clattered. Glos 124-7.
I settle down in front of Youtube but instead of events from Southampton, my son has put on Lancs v Gloucestershire. We watch a maiden from the eager Balderson before I put my foot down.
Lancs cross over “not ideal” and “bizarre” sub ruling
Controversy over the new substitute ruling continued to rumble on after Lancs were not allowed to swap Tom Bailey in for the injured Ajeet Singh Dale in the match at Bristol. Both Bailey and Singh Dale are right arm seamers, but match referee Peter Such ruled that Bailey, who came on as 12th man fielder to replace Singh Dale, was too experienced, and instead Lancs had to call on left-arm allrounder Ollie Sutton, who was at a second XI game at Grace Road.
By the time Sutton got to the ground, everyone else had left.
“There’s always going to be grey areas but if Tom had bowled the next ball, I don’t think anyone would have batted an eyelid,” Lancashire head coach Steven Croft said.
“We certainly weren’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. It’s a tough one to take and it’s bizarre how it hasn’t been granted.
“In our eyes, Tom is deemed to be a like-for-like replacement, it’s not like someone is coming in and bowling 10mph quicker. Instead, we’ve had to call up a left-arm seaming all-rounder and that doesn’t sit right with us really.
“I don’t know how it’s come to that conclusion but we’ve got to crack on with it.
“I think it was based on stats and experience, but none of that was stipulated to us when the regulations came out.”
“Top o’ the mornin’ to ya Tanya!” Hello Tim Maitland.
”I’ve finally settled on my retirement home: the place where I can happily continue to revert towards the drooling, incoherent, free-defecating mess that I was when I entered this world. However, I might need your help pooling the immense mental resources that exist BTL on this blog to complete the purchase, because it’s currently occupied by the Northamptonshire Supporter’s Club.
”I’m sure they can be rehomed, given the right incentives, because, if there’s nothing two nightmare spells of Trumpism has taught me, it’s that everything is for sale. Besides a bijou, half-timbered, mock Tudor residence that would allow me to literally roll out of bed at 10-55 to the sound of leather on second division willow is too good to miss out on, isn’t it? The lovely wife (American) is more than happy to use the ground floor on matchdays to offer succour to spectators, indeed she’d like your opinion on whether cricket fans would stump up for US-style, still lemonade (I told her they will if you lace it with enough vodka) and homemade gelatos.
She might need to stock up on the odd sausage roll and scotch egg too, don’t you think? Besides all that, does anyone know what the going rate would be for the finest building in first class cricket?”
Tim, unfortunately I can’t attach your photo, but I would very happily drink still lemonade with ice and perhaps a cinnamon bun for elevenses?
Friday’s round-up
Somerset’s James Rew was a shot of ginger on a rainy Championship day. He purred the last ball of the evening to the rope with a perfect high elbow, to finish unbeaten on 77. With innings of 64, 122 and 48 already this season, Rew’s average is 100 – numbers to lighten an England selector’s step. Thirteen wickets fell around him, with Jake Lehmann (76), who has stepped into James Vince’s boots, again top-scoring for Hampshire. There were three wickets each for Lewis Gregory and Craig Overton.
Essex had time before the deluge to reduce Warwickshire to 113 for seven – the pinpoint Jamie Porter leading the way with four for 36. Sam Hain, with 44, was the rock around which the other Warwickshire players failed to stick. There was a first Essex wicket for Zaman Akhter, a Saca (South Asian Cricket Academy) graduate who moved to Chelmsford from Bristol in the great winter raid on Gloucestershire’s bowling stocks.
Akhter’s old club suffered a mid-order malfunction against Lancashire. Ben Charlesworth and Ollie Price had lifted Gloucestershire to a respectable 80 for one, after Cameron Bancroft was dopily run out for six. But George Balderson (four for 27) then took three for five before and after lunch, and when Graeme van Buuren was caught for a three-ball duck, the innings was in disarray. Lancashire had their own problems when Ajeet Singh Dale limped off the field with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Ollie Sutton, summoned from a second XI match in Leicestershire.
Middlesex made a plucky recovery against Northamptonshire on a bouncy Wantage Road pitch from the depths of 20 for three after winning the toss and choosing to bat. Half-centuries from Leus Du Plooy and Ben Geddes and an unbeaten seventh-wicket stand of 120 between Zafar Gohar and Joe Cracknell brightened the scoreboard, before bad light stopped play.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Southampton: Hampshire 238 v Somerset 154-3
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 113-7 v Essex
DIVISION TWO
Bristol: Gloucestershire 124-6 v Lancashire
Northampton: Northants v Middlesex 284-6
Preamble
Hello! Happy Saturday morning, may your park run have been fruitful and your coffee tasty. Four games in progress this round, with James Rew’s selectorial nudge the highlight of day one. Play starts at 11am, do pull up a seat.