Roundup: Bazball effect rubs off on Lancashire
Lancashire took the game at Taunton by the collar and gave it a good shaking. James Anderson kept on rolling, picking up another five-wicket haul, his 54th in first-class cricket, while a beefed up Saqib Mahmood collected his first wicket since he was ruled out with a stress fracture last summer. Somerset’s Tom Abell passed 150 for the first time, Jack Leach galloped to a happy-go-lucky 40 not out. Luke Wells teed off a Bazballing Lancashire reply and Keaton Jennings reached his first century as Lancashire captain.
Ethan Bamber, with four for 89, was the pick of the Middlesex bowlers as Ben Duckett muscled 177 for Nottinghamshire. The Middlesex openers reached fifty before being parted.
Hampshire’s James Vince lorded 186. Mohammad Abbas then trapped Northants’ Ricardo Vasconcelos with the first ball of the innings, and they later suffered a further crumple, losing three further wickets for one run. A final wicket for Abbas before stumps left the hosts in a hole.
At Canterbury, Nick Browne and Tom Westley reached centuries for Essex as the Kent bowling continued to suffer on a rain-affected day.
At Hove, Ollie Robinson made his first Championship appearance of the year. In he cantered and quickly had Yorkshire’s Finlay Bean dropped twice at leg slip. But the pick of the bowlers was Jack Carson, who grabbed three wickets with the close in touching distance. Earlier, Sussex’s last wicket pair of Carson and Henry Crocombe had irked Yorkshire with a partnership of 57.
At New Road and Sophia Gardens, they pulled the plug early.
And with Middlesex safely at four without loss, I’m going to have to withdraw to write up for first edition. Please do keep things going BTL.
