Key events
A 100 for Adam Thomas!
Sprints a second to bring up a bloody brilliant hundred on debut – well played! He punches the air, unbuckles his helmet and grins. All his teammates on the balcony applaud. At 19 I was still copying lyrics out of Melody Maker.
He’s the 10th man to make a century for Surrey on debut, and here he is smacking Derbyshire around a (pretty empty) Wantage Road last year in the one-day cup.
Adam Thomas is on debut. He’s 19 and he’s on 95 not out at The Oval.
Leicestershire were doing well following on, at 99-0. But things have taken a turn for the worse. Rishi Patel (53), Jake Weatherald (38) and Ian Holland (6) gobbled up either at slip or by the keeper. Holland got a brute from Stone.
Oh what a shame for James Wharton, advances and drives at Ogborne then must swivel his head to see the edge pop into Lewis Gregory’s hands, diving at slip. Out for 92 and, eyes firmly on the turf, trudges off. Ogborne bounces around like a puppy. Yorkshire 232-6, the lead 120.
Let’s dally around the grounds before tea. In Division Two:
It’s going to be an interesting final day at Canterbury. Kent have stretched the lead to 227 against Derbyshire, Benjamin and Evison adding 57-and-counting for the seventh wicket.
Emilio Gay was finally out for 129 at Lord’s, bowled reverse-sweeping by de Caires. A couple more wickets followed in quick succession, but Bedingham still there on 116. Durham 329-5, lead by 101.
And at Wantage Road, Ben Sanderson has already grabbed a wicket in Worcestershire’s second innings, Jake Libby cheaply for the second time in the match. Worcs 18-1, trail Northants by 273.
Yorkshire looking wobbly now as Revis follows soon after, also to Pretorius, a simple catch for Rew. Five down, lead by 109. Wharton still there though, on 88.
James Sales undefeated on 146 as Northants declare
Northants have been accumulating at Wantage Road, and now declare on a huge 597-7. An undefeated 146 for Sales, joining Ricardo Vasconcelos and Lewis McManus with hundreds. Worcs must bat again 291 in arrears.
YJB can’t resist chasing a wide one, gets a cheeseboard of a top edge, and is caught by a delighted Thomas for 18. Pretorius with the breakthrough. Yorkshire 212-4, lead by 100. I think Somerset might have tickled Jonny out there.
YJB is getting prickly with Alfie Ogborne, who has a huge grin on his face, and finishes with an excellent maiden against him.
A third wicket for Mason Crane against his old county – Kyle Abbott, who holds the pose to no avail. Hampshire are eight down, Ben Mayes and Codi Yusuf are combining to stagger them towards 200.
And a new ball at Taunton.
James Wharton drives Pretorius beautifully, back past his diving right hand and to the rope. Gregory decides it is time for a change, and calls up young Alfie Ogborne
For those interested, swifts have been spotted in Manchester.
A fabulous dive on the Taunton rope from Will Smeed cuts off a sure-thing boundary from Jonny Bairstow. Wharton not out 70 – and there’s the Yorkshire 200.
100 for David Bedingham!
Today is turning into a complete trudge for Middlesex. Bedingham joins Gay in the hundred club, a nifty little number off just 124 balls. Middlesex 305-2.
Root out!
Overton, of course it’s Overton. Root prods at a full ball that winks back and bowls him. Root throws his bat in the air in annoyance – that’s 96, 33 and 64 in his three Championship innings to date. In marches Bairstow – Yorkshire, three down, lead by 56.
Have been paying no attention to Southampton, where Hampshire are making a dog’s breakfast of their first innings. Now 137 for seven – four wickets for Timm van der Gugten.
Rain at Canterbury
They haven’t come out after lunch at the St Lawrence Ground, where Chris Benjamin has yet again got useful runs, 38 not out in Kent’s 132-6. The lead a slender 180.
Leicestershire follow on
The Grace Road lunch was enough to persuade HH to insert Leicestershire again. Rishi Patel and Jake Weatherald have ushered them to 27-0.
Ffity for Joe Root!
I miss it, peeling my orange, but it also brings up the 100 partnership with James Wharton. The cameras now poke up at the very dark cloud encroaching on Taunton airspace.
Time to watch Yorkshire. A huge lbw appeal against Joe Root on 49. Overton leaps, certain, but is turned down. Yorks 140-2.
Time to riffle the cupboards, back soon.
Lunchtime scores
Division One
Southampton: Hampshire 132-5 v Glamorgan 536-7dec
Leicester: Leicestershire 308 v Nottinghamshire 490
Taunton: Somerset 274 v Yorkshire 162 and 140-2
The Oval: Surrey 413-5 v Sussex 358-9dec
Division Two
Canterbury: Kent 352 and 132-6v Derbyshire 304
Lord’s: Middlesex 430 v Durham 256-2
Northampton: Northants 458-6 v Worcestershire 306
Nat Sciver-Brunt to miss three-match ODI series against NZ
News from the England camp – captain Nat Sciver Brunt will miss the ODI series against NZ after picking up a minor left calf tear in the Blaze match against Warwickshire. England are keen to stress that she didn’t take part in any physical jerks on the army leadership weekend.
Charlie Dean will now join the squad and captain the side during the ODI series and Maia Bouchier has been called up as batting cover.
Sorry, it wasn’t lunch, and Lyndon James removes Eskinazi the very next over for exactly 100. Leices 308 all out, trail Notts by 182, which is quite something when you think they were 112-7.
A hundred for Eskinazi!
What a great innings against an awesome attack! His second of the season. He takes off his helmet after trotting a single and gives a cheerful wave.
Josh Hull, somehow, survives the over after being dropped at second slip, who eats the dirt, off Patterson-White. And that’s lunch.
With Eskinazi on 99, Hull defends with spagetti arms five balls of a James over, edging the last just short of third slip. Leics are also just 34 short of avoiding the follow on…
100 for Emilio Gay!
After playing out five dot balls from a TRJ over, Gay guides the last for four down to third man to collect his 13th f-c century. Could be a career-defining one, with the Test team soon to be picked. He takes off his helmet and raises his bat, grins, gets a warm round of applause around the ground and from his teammates on the pavilion balcony. His third century of the season – one came against Kent, but two against the more challenging Lancs and Durham attacks.
David Bedingham reaches a quick 50 shortly afterwards. Durham 226-2.
150 for Dom Sibley
And just to prove that nobody can be confined to a box, he gets there with twinking toes and a lofted drive for six off Jack Carson. Carson now has three wickets, including Jamie Smith caught in a quest for batting bonus points. Surrey 387-5.
Josh Hull’s one not out is proving very valuable, as Eskinazi continues to make merry, smacking Stone back over his head for a one-bounce boundary. Leics 285-9.
Sussex have winkled out another at The Oval, this time Dan Lawrence, aiming for the boundary but locating Daniel Hughes instead. A wicket for Jack Carson, Surrey 369-4 and a slender lead.
Now Olly Stone returns at Grace Road, Josh Hull facing. This shouldn’t take long. Stone marching back to his mark like a man whose forgotten his car keys.
Right, what’s happening at Taunton? Overton C has removed both Yorkshire openers and Joe Root is in, on 13. Yorks 78-2 trail by just 34.
Emilio Gay seems to slipped to snails pace down at Lord’s, was expecting him to be raising his bat about now, but he’s only added 12 runs in the first hour. Durham 182-2.
With just Josh Hull for company, Eskinazi is ploughing everything he can get now, scoops Hayes for four. Leicestershire 270-9.
Just before the new ball is due, Ajaz Patel steps and swipes, the ball flies high and into the hands of HH at midwicket. Leicestershire now 266-9.
10,000 runs for Dom Sibley
Dom Sibley ploughs on, and on, at The Oval, now 131 not out in Surrey’s 338-3. Ollie Pope fluttered prettily briefly before giving slip a catch off Ollie Robinson.
A fifth wicket at Canterbury, where events are hurtling towards a conclusion. Shoaib Bashir, whose throw ran out Northeast, now catches Ekansh Singh off Rory Haydon, who is having quite a game – eight wickets and counting. Kent 65-5.
Mike Daniels has an eye on events from the Grace Road scorebox: “You feel, with conditions as they are and a new ball in 10 overs, that Leics won’t be long in being asked to follow on, short of a miracle.” Eskinazi and Ajaz Patel have just picked up a batting bonus point, though Eskinazi doesn’t want to be wafting like that too often.
A second wicket for Ryan Higgins at Lord’s, McKinney nibbling behind for 58. Middx 152-2.
Kent, oh dear. Sam Northeast run out to what looks like a duff call from DBD, then shortly afterwards DBD lbw to Aitchison for four. Kent 54-4 lead by 102. Time for another lower-order rescue act.
Fifty for Ben McKinney and Ben Eskinazi!
With an edge in front of slip, McKinney’s eighth half century for Durham. He and Emilio Gay (78) both played for England Lions last winter. I wonder if there is a selector at Lord’s today.
While at Grace Road, fifty from 123 balls for Stevie Eskinazi – a great little stop-the-rot innings. Leics 228-8, need another 113 to avoid the follow on.
Lovely to see Richard Rae in the commentary box – he’s such a pro. Gutted that he won’t be doing any more CC after the next game due to a money-saving decision by BBC Leicester. In other news, Nottinghamshire Brett Hutton has been formally replaced by James Hayes
Green peace at Grace Road, though not for long with Olly Stone due to finish his over shortly.
None of the England women are playing this weekend, instead they’re team-building at an army camp. I’m naturally dubious despite England winning the Ashes after their trip to Bavaria which Graeme Swann, in his autobiography, The Breaks Are Off, described as “easily the worst four days of my life”.
Saturday’s round-up
Nottinghamshire’s Olly Stone, whose fragile body has broken with heartbreaking regularity, blew away Leicestershire in their East Midlands derby. His bowling, fierce and with chopstick-sharp accuracy, torpedoed stumps and tortured batters. Figures of five-for-41 were his best for Notts, a first five-wicket haul since 2019. Earlier, Ben Green had finished with seven for 112 as Notts’ innings ended on 490.
At Taunton, Somerset’s innings subsided much as Yorkshire’s had. Jack White collected four for 41 as Somerset lost their last seven wickets for just 73. The in-form Tom Abell reached 50 and Will Smeed, easing his way into red-ball cricket, was left unbeaten on a careful 36. Thomas Rew, brother of James, was out for a duck on Championship debut, before rain wiped out much of the day after lunch.
With an England opener slot potentially up for grabs, Durham’s Emilio Gay didn’t fluff his lines, 75 not out at quite the lick at Lord’s. Ben McKinney, also mentioned in dispatches, delivered a more sedate 46. Earlier, Ryan Higgins collected his first century for nearly two years, and Zafar Gohar added 56 as Middlesex passed 400. Ben Raine was the pick of the Durham bowlers with five for 58.
But if Brendon McCullum decides to change tack, he need glance only over to the Oval, where the stolid and steady Dom Sibley finished unbeaten on 116 for Surrey, his second hundred in successive games. Rory Burns and Ryan Patel collected more rapid half-centuries, and Sussex’s Henry Crocombe, who hit Burns on the hand before dismissing him, zipped through an impressive spell.
Luis Reece played an innings to remember at Canterbury, thrashing five sixes to get Derbyshire closer to Kent’s first innings score of 352 than looked likely. He and Shoaib Bashir (12) added 56 for the last wicket as the visitors reached 304, much to Kent’s frustration. Rain stopped play, but not before Rory Haydon had spoilt Zak Crawley’s afternoon, trapping him lbw for 15.
Ricardo Vasconcelos’ second century of the season was an entertaining one, hauling Northamptonshire in front of Worcestershire at Wantage Road. Saif Zaib, whose outstanding form last year won him several awards, danced to a quick 75.
At Southampton, there was a first Championship double century for Kiran Carlson, and a career-best 143 for Zain ul Hassan, before Glamorgan declared and the rain rolled in to stall Hampshire’s reply.
Scores on the doors
Division One
Southampton: Hampshire 58-0 v Glamorgan 536-7dec
Leicester: Leicestershire 220-8 v Nottinghamshire 490
Taunton: Somerset 274 v Yorkshire 162 and 13-0
The Oval: Surrey 292-2 v Sussex 358-9dec
Division Two
Canterbury: Kent 352 and 38-2 v Derbyshire 304
Lord’s: Middlesex 430 v Durham 135-1
Northampton: Northants 366-5 v Worcestershire 306
Preamble
Good morning! A cooler, damper one, fleece over suncream. Seven games roll into day three, will rain bring spice to batting paradises? Play starts at 11am, bring a croissant – it is Sunday after all.