Key events
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 273 and 178-4 BEAT Hampshire 235 and 214 by six wickets
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 229 and 202-5 v Somerset 354 and 157 Glamorgan need 81 to win
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 415 and 219-2 v Surrey 449
Hove: Sussex 430 and 8-1 v Leicestershire 328 and 227 Sussex need 118 to win
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 147 and 553-6 BEAT Yorkshire 152 and 171 by 377 runs
DIVISION TWO
The County Ground: Derbyshire 604-7dec v Northamptonshire 228 and 140-5
Bristol: Gloucestershire 325 and 262 v Kent 327 and 64-2 Kent need 197 to win
Old Trafford: Middlesex 169 and 117-4 BEAT Lancashire 201 and 84 by six wickets
New Road: Durham 268 and 143-1 BEAT Worcestershire 308 and 102 by nine wickets
Warwickshire BEAT Yorkshire by 377 runs
Ali Martin
Another former Yorkshire cricketer seals it for Warwickshire at Edgbaston, with Jordan Thompson replacing OHD at the City End and seeing his first ball tickled behind by Jack White. Yorkshire 171 all out and defeated by 377 runs in the end. Plenty to ponder for the visitors, while the Bears go top of the table after bagging 19 points. They may not end the day there but a promising start to the season all the same.
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 147 and 553-6 BEAT Yorkshire 152 and 171 by 377 runs
Warwickshire 19 points, Yorkshire points
Aha, one pre-lunch offering of Jack Leach at Sophia Gardens.
Over at Derby, Northants have lost three wickets this morning, one each for Bashir, Aitchison and Chappell. A long afternoon of defence ahead to avoid an innings defeat. Nathan McSweeney 33 not out.
Lewis Gregory gets a ticking off from the umpires for misdemeanours unknown.
Ali Martin
A third wicket of the morning for Olly Hannon-Dalby takes him to a seventh wicket in the match against his former county. Nice bit of bowling from Halifax’s finest, setting up Ben Cliff for an inswinger that sent leg stump for a tumble. Warwickshire now within touching distance of a huge victory.
The weather seems to be fine for now at Sophia Gardens, where, softly, softly, Glamorgan are creeping up on Somerset. Sean Dickson drives Craig Overton for four to reduce the target to under a hundred. And the next ball, a fat half volley is driven for another. Glamorgan 191-5.
Rain at Bristol
With Kent 64-2, needing another 197 off 72 overs.
Leicestershire are nine down and in deep trouble, despite Ben Cox’s best efforts. His 46 ball 32 sits amongst six single figures scores. Leicestershire 215 for nine, lead by just 113. Though rain may yet have a word.
Hadley and Dickson continue to gather runs slowly at Cardiff, Glamorgan now need just 111 with five wickets still in hand. Still no overs from Jack Leach.
Another three fours by Muyeye off the next over, including a lipsmacking straight drive. Kent 56 for 2.
Muyeye tucking into Taylor in Bristol – three fours and an elaborate leave to finish the over. That’ll lighten Kent spirits – Kent 43-1, need another 218 to beat Gloucestershire.
Was chatting to people at OT yesterday, asking if there were any batters from the second XI knocking on the door of the first team and the answer was no – not really. Harry Singh and George Bell, but neither have looked totally convincing yet when they’ve had their chance. Rocky Flintoff hasn’t been in the runs. Young Joe Moores looks the real deal but he’s also a wicketkeeper so that would be a big call.
Ali Martin
It’s a bit Logan van Bleak for Yorkshire here, as their Dutch all-rounder repeats the earlier Matt Revis dismissal to give Rob Yates his sixth catch of the match at second slip. Two wickets sit between Warwickshire and their second win of the season.
Fifty for Ben Duckett
Ben Duckett must be pretty pleased with his returns after turning down the IPL to rediscover his red-ball form: 25, 1, 62, 93, 77, 42 and now 59 not out. Notts 155-2, lead Surrey by 121 in a game that has had nothing like the jeopardy of the penultimate match of the season last year.
Ali Martin
This has been a very good start to the day by Warwickshire, with both OHD and Ethan Bamber probing away and being rewarded with a wicket apiece. George Hill is the latest to fall, Bamber getting a smidgeon of extra bounce to send a simple catch to Sam Hain at first slip. Yorkshire seven down now with Logan van Beek joining Dom Bess out in the middle.
Yikes, Crawley crouches and, head bobbing, opts for a huge booming drive and loses his middle stump to Will Williams. He turns smartly on his heel and marches away. Kent 24-2. And now no-one knows where the ball is.
Nothing much happening for a bit at Cardiff so swapping over to the Bristol stream, where Kent are already 23 for one. Dawkins the wicket, Bell the wickettaker.
Ali Martin
OMG it’s OHD with the breakthrough at chilly Edgbaston – reward for his accurate start from the City End as Matt Revis finally pushes out to one and sends a catch to second slip. Yorkshire 122 for six, with two of my County XI players now at the crease in the shape of George Hill and Dom Bess.
Leicestershire are disintegrating this morning – as now Hudson-Prentice removes Ben Green’s off stump. Three wickets have gone for ten runs.
At Cardiff, Sean Dickson flays Jake Ball through the covers for four. Glamorgan 158-5.
Kent have started their chase and Crawley and Dawkins have safely knocked off eight runs.
Calamity, calamity for Leicestershire, as Stevie Eskinazi is run out charging down the pitch. His partner Ben Cox has his back turned, diving for his own crease and then slips, and both batters end up the same end rather cross. Leicestershire 162-6, lead Sussex by just 60.
Watching Craig Overton run in at full throttle, and wondering what it is like to be six foot five and built like the Berlin wall, that’s a hell of a lot of body to carry around . Anyway, a ninth maiden for Overton. Glamorgan 148-5, need another 135.
Kent need 261 to win
Kent now know their equation, as Derbyshire add another 11 runs this morning before Matt Taylor secures his fourth wicket.
Ollie Robinson with an early breakthrough at Hove, where the weather looks rather nicer than it is in Manchester. Jonny Tattersall’s stumps disturbed, out for 54. Leicestershire half out, with the lead just 52.
Anthony Gibson reports that Tom Abell said it was 50:50 last night in Cardiff. Feels more tilted to Somerset than that.
Raf is underwhelmed.
11.15 start at Edgbaston
With four overs lost. Things are about to sprout into action elsewhere.
“Now then, Tanya!” Hell0 there Tim Maitland.
“I’ve started several different emails to you over the last few weeks wondering why Yorkshire are struggling. One was about how the seamers, with the exception of George Hill, haven’t been supporting the parsimonious Jack White. Note: White bowled 16 overs at 1.75 an over in that disastrous second Warwickshire innings.
”Another was touching on Adam Lyth who hasn’t come close to replicating his form this time last year. In his first 10 innings of 2025 he was averaging 61.1, including 185 at Chelmsford, but just as importantly, a contribution of at least 20 on all but one occasion, which meant that Yorkshire were always getting some sort of foundation to build on.
”Lyth’s had his moments this year – a match-saving 97 at Glamorgan, a 76 while wickets clattered against Hampshire – but his last few innings have been 2 and 4 in this game at Warwickshire, 6 against Sussex when, perhaps tellingly, nos 2-to-4 scored 105, 101 and 96 and a six-ball duck in the second knock against Hants. 226 runs in 9 innings and an average of 25.1.
”The batting against Warwickshire though has been worrying, looking like a unit rapidly losing confidence. James Wharton, like YJB in the first innings, getting bowled attempting a leave hints at scrambled brains, and I wonder whether captaining a struggling side explains Bairstow’s seemingly distrait batting. You could have a moan, as if the folk of God’s own country ever need an invitation to do that, at Harry Brook’s dismissal driving, but by his own standards his caught and bowled at the hands of teammate-turned-tormentor Jordan Thompson wasn’t particularly rash. I’ll be surprised if they survive the morning session today.”
I know this is heretical, but I was wondering if YJB’s eyes might not be as razor sharp as they once were – though tbf he doesn’t seem to have any issues behind the sticks, at least not that I’ve noticed.
Correction from Edgbaston, no-one is yet warming up so the start could be a while away.
Just in from Ali, that they may even start on time at Edgbaston.
Ali Martin
G’morning from Edgbaston, where around an hour of tropical rain now sees the groundstaff beavering away on the covers, sweeping away the excess water. It is brightening up overhead, so there may not be too long a delay. Yorkshire 98 for five, still 451 runs shy of their notional target, have it all to do to save this match.
Greenest Ground competition 2026
If your local cricket club is taking steps to become greener, making space for nature, do enter the Cricketer/Ortus Energy Greenest Ground competition. There is a £500 prize for the winner – judges are naturalist Mark Cocker, Russell Seymour from BASIS and writer Roger Morgan-Grenville.
(Pls excuse the plug as I’ve been involved with this competition since the beginning – though I’ve never been a judge. I’m always blown away by the absolutely inspiring work that clubs have managed to do.)
An Australian prodigy? Excellent.
Sunday’s round-up
A memorable three-wicket over from Naavya Sharma, sailing in from the Brian Statham end, whippy action and fast arm, knocked the beans out of Lancashire, who slumped to a high-drama six-wicket defeat against their promotion rivals Middlesex after being sent packing for 84.
Sharma’s first ball of the morning was nibbled to slip by Matty Hurst, then a flat-footed Tom Hartley parried the next behind. Tom Bailey survived the hat-trick ball but survival was brief as he fenced the final delivery also to slip. Sharma polished things off in his next over to finish with best bowling figures of four for 17.
Ryan Higgins also banked four, including the bizarre dismissal of Mitch Stanley, who lost his leg bail despite the ball brushing off stump. Not even Jimmy Anderson could defend 117, and Ben Geddes put his foot down, slamming three sixes on the way to a match-winning 73 not out. It was Middlesex’s first win in a Championship game at Old Trafford since 1996.
Durham swept to victory against Worcestershire after they too collapsed like a too-eager pile of bedside books. Worcestershire lost nine for 38 and were all out in a session, with Ben Stokes picking up a couple of late-order snifters. A flamboyant Ben McKinney and careful Emilio Gay made the chase of 143 look easy.
Essex became the third team to wrap up a three-day victory when they chased down 177 against Hampshire, thanks largely to 90 not out from Matt Critchley. It was third straight defeat for Hampshire.
At Trent Bridge, where Surrey and Nottinghamshire have exchanged big run-heavy blows, Gus Atkinson was hit twice on the helmet in two overs by Josh Tongue (4-89), and retired with delayed concussion. He will miss Surrey’s next match under concussion rules. Reece Topley subs in. Dan Lawrence’s 104 was his third century of the spring.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 273 and 178-4 BEAT Hampshire 235 and 214 by six wickets
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 229 and 140-5 v Somerset 354 and 157 Glamorgan need 143 to win
Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 415 and 99-1 v Surrey 449
Hove: Sussex 430 v Leicestershire 328 and 154-4
Edgbaston: Warwickshire 147 and 553-6 v Yorkshire 152 and 98-5
DIVISION TWO
The County Ground: Derbyshire 604-7dec v Northamptonshire 228 and 66-2
Bristol: Gloucestershire 325 and 251-9 v Kent 327
Old Trafford: Middlesex 169 and 117-4 BEAT Lancashire 201 and 84 by six wickets
New Road: Durham 268 and 143-1 BEAT Worcestershire 308 and 102 by nine wickets
Preamble
Good morning! Welcome to day four of this fifth round of Championship games. Three were polished off yesterday with victories for Middlesex, Essex and Durham – including two mega collapses by Worcestershire and Lancs. More fun in store today, with immediate attention to Sophia Gardens, where Somerset are hungry, and Edgabston, where Yorkshire are toast. Play starts at 11am, do join us.