Tanya's roundup
A hat-trick from George Balderson snatched Lancashire victory and 19 points from a match played at triple-speed and with the foot down, door slammed shut and locked in just over four sessions at Chelmsford. Lancashire, who had started the day at 25 for six, slippered their way to 73, setting Essex a seemingly gettable 98 in as much time as they had to spare. But Essex slipped from 24 without loss to 59 all out, losing 10 wickets for 35 runs, as Balderson’s five for 14 and Will Williams’ four for 24 dislodged bails here and provided catching practice there. Shane Snater, who finished on the losing-side despite taking six for 10 in Lancashire’s second innings, had the consolation of a county cap. Essex were left to lick their wounds and give the pitch a long hard stare.
Surrey sleep with the Championship Trophy in touching distance after making Yorkshire follow-on at the Oval. Only Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Jonathan Tattersall could do much about Surrey’s imposing seam attack, consisting – for the first time this season – of Daniel Worrall, Tom Lawes, Jamie Overton and Kemar Roach. Following on, Finlay Bean got a snorter, and George Hill was done by some extra bounce from Overton just before stumps, leaving Yorkshire in a large hole.
If Surrey win, Hampshire would have to beat Kent to take the title race into the final round – but that looks unlikely after another chaotic day at the Rose Bowl. Jack Leaning kept Kent in the match with his second hundred of the season as the pitch flattened out. As dusk began to fall, Felix Organ, nightwatchman Keith Barker and Nick Gubbins joined Ian Holland back in the pavilion, leaving Joe Weatherley, unbeaten on 54, looking, weeping, at a mountainous 273 more runs for victory.
Gloucestershire’s Tom Price sliced through Warwickshire’s top-order as they were reduced to 58 for five in the battle of the Division One stragglers at New Road, while Craig Overton’s four for 25 left Northamptonshire in tatters at Taunton.
In Division Two, Glamorgan captain David Lloyd reached 313, the highest first-class score ever by a Welshman, and Nottinghamshire found themselves in the unfamiliar position of following on against Worcestershire.
Night-time at The Oval. A preposterous win for Lancashire, Surrey closing in on victory, Hampshire relying on a miracle, a triple century for David Lloyd and Notts following on against Worcestershire – just an average CCLive! day. Thanks for joining in, see you tomorrow – good night!
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Stumps at The Oval – hand-slaps and back-claps for Surrey. Lyth and KC trudge away, 89 for two, still 65 behind.
Just popping back to say Hampshire have lost their nightwatchman, Keith Barker. Hants 94 for three, 284 still needed. Advantage, Surrey.
Hill throws his bat into the air in disgust after giving Ollie Pope another catch off a snorter from Joverton.
Bright sunshine now at The Oval, though the umpire’s shadow at square leg stretches half the way to the pitch. Rory Burns gives the ball a good shining on his hindquarters. Yorkshire 57-1. While Hill and Lyth bat on, I am going to retire to write the round-up. Chat on, BTL.
Glammy also hugely on top after Lloyd’s 313 not out. Derbys 113 for five. It’s that time of year. And plucky, plucky Leicestershire from 66-5 to 237-8. Sixties for Swindells and Scriven and now just 60 behind.
In Division Two: Durham have a lead of 241 – enough now. Jones 96, Borthwick 82 and Maddinson 90.
Organ and Weatherley have taken Hampshire a seventh of the way there: 45 for one.
A fourth wicket for Tom Price at Bristol as Warwicks slump further to 36 for five.
Northants clinging on for dear life to Will Young who has 82 out of 155 for five. They still trail Somerset by 234.
At 62 for four, Notts have not had a good day. Three wickets for Ben Gibbon of Worcestershire. Has still there, 25 not out.
And a snippet from the press box: the cheapest you can buy a flat for in The Oval’s new development in the gasometer is £750,000.
Warwickshire also in the swamp in this topsy-turvy round – 20 for three in their second innings – Yates, first-innings centurion Sibley and Hain all re-tracksuited with a brew in one hand. The lead 39.
Bails flying – Bean and gone twice in the day. Yorks 10-1.
Patterson swallowed up by Ollie Pope at second slip, and bobs your uncle – Yorkshire to follow on, 154 behind. As the rest of the players go up the pavilion steps – Roach and Worrall stay behind and hoof up the ground . More than 30 overs potentially still left in the day.
A Lawes yorker does it for Coad. Yorkshire still six short of that follow-on target. Bad-light approaching.
Key event
Some consolation for Shane Snater – a county cap:
“You win some and you lose some but that’s cricket,” Snater said after Essex’s 38-run defeat. “ It was a good performance from the bowlers all-round.
“I thought the pitch was alright, obviously it was doing a bit but nothing out of the ordinary. Obviously with the early start and under the lights, the ball is going to do a lot more than it normally does.
“Early on in my career here, I struggled a bit but the coaches trusted in me. To now be awarded my cap is such a privilege and such an honour. It is the highlight of my season. I’ve really enjoyed the season, it would have been nice to finish at Chelmsford with the win and to have been challenging for the Championship title.
“We still have one more match this year but hopefully next season, we can come back stronger.”
One down at the Rose Bowl already – Holland lbw for three.
Poor Ben Mike.
Notts are following-on
Curiouser and curiouser. Pennington 4-31; Barnard 4-26.
Tea-scores
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Lancashire 131 and 73 BEAT Essex 107 and 59 by 38 runs
Bristol: Gloucestershire 74-4 v Warwickshire 274– still playing
The Rose Bowl: Hampshire 57 v Kent 165 and 269. Hampshire need 378 to win
Taunton: Somerset 389 v Northants 73-4
The Oval: Surrey 333 v Yorkshire 158-7
DIVISION TWO
The Riverside: Durham 344-4 v Sussex 162
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 550-5 v Derbyshire 67-4
Grace Road: Leicestershire 183-5 v Middlesex 297 – still playing
New Road: Worcestershire 390 v Nottinghamshire 128
Tea scores to follow – as is a presentation to Micky Stewart on The Oval outfield. Season-ticket holder at 14 in 1947, player, captain, coach, president and now 90 years young! A lovely, and prolonged, standing ovation rings round the ground.
Elsewhere:
Congratulations lads great win 🌹🌹 https://t.co/WZTookVmMR
— Hassan Ali 🇵🇰 (@RealHa55an) September 21, 2022
Hampshire need 378 to win!
Wickets spread around and about at the Rose Bowl– Mohammad Abbas picking up his fourth wicket in Nathan Gilchrist. So, Hampshire, what can you do now?
Yorkshire 148 for seven after a pre- tea wobble with 184 the follow-on target.
Right, round the grounds: Leaning 111, has taken Kent into unfamiliar territory – a lead of 358. I can’t really see a way out for Hampshire here.
TKC has reached his fifty here at The Oval, and batting really nicely – hitting some golden form in these last weeks of September. Yorks 139-4.
Andrew Sampson never lets you down
The last first-class match with 40 wickets and 1 or 0 scores of 25+ before Ess v Lancs today was
— Andrew Samson (@AWSStats) September 21, 2022
Warwickshire v Derbyshire at Birmingham in 1967 (HS 22).
Meanwhile, Tattersall and TKC making Surrey’s attack look mid-market. Yorkies 118 for four.
I enjoyed this thoughtful interview with Alex Hales by Andy Bull in Pakistan.
Ashes squeeze
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Brilliant battling by Jack Leaning (whose dad, I am told, is former goalkeeper Andy Leaning) who has somehow cobbled together 89 in Kent’s second innings of 228 for seven. The Abbott-Abbas bus is briefly unstuck. Hampshire staring up at an imposing lead of 337.
I’ve had the pleasure of bumping into Gary Naylor, a very happy man. He asks, incidentally, if any club has ever won from a position of seven for six. I said I’d ask CCLive!
From seven for six to a 38-wicket win: a very happy @garynaylor999. pic.twitter.com/kpBABdgXUD
— tanya aldred (@tjaldred) September 21, 2022
Essex lost nine for 35.
An email that I’ve picked up a bit late – apologies to David Tetlow.
“So far 6 of the 8 Essex wickets to fall today have been bowled. Can’t these players get their pads in the way?”
It seems not!
Those match-stats in full: Lancashire 131 and 73 BEAT Essex 107 and 59 by 38 runs.
Highest score: 40 (Alastair Cook)
Number of ducks: nine
Hat-trick: Balderson (Cook, Lawrence, Critchley)
Match five-fers: Harmer five for 41; Bailey five for 36; Shane Snater six for 10; Balderson five for 14
Lancashire win by 38 runs!
Cock-a-hoop! Hugs, handshakes and a very large whisky.
Oooof! An inside edge giggling past Sam Cook’s leg stump. Essex 57 for eight.
Fifty-five for eight – hat-trick ball for Wiliams…
Ooof, I think that could be curtains for Essex – I though Harmer would take them home. pouched by Wells at first slip. Essex 55 for seven.
A triple-hundred for Davie Lloyd!
A casual six for the triple hundred – a pinch-yourself moment for David Lloyd. Just Steve James (309 not out) and Sam Northeast (410 not out) lie ahead in the Glamorgan pantheon.
Harmer edges between the slips for four and that target drops below 50.
George Hill gone for 28: Yorkshire 60 for three and it feels three figures will be an achievement from here.
Make that 46 for six: Balderson 4.5 overs, three maidens, four for five.
A delicious feta salad and falafel from The Oval kitchen – though I am told it costs £7.10 a pint out in the concourse. But enough about my stomach – how are Essex doing? Another wicket down – this time Khushi bowled for one. Essex 46 for five – need 52 to win.
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsford: Essex 107 and 34-4 v Lancashire 131 and 73 Essex need 64 to win
Bristol: Gloucestershire 74-4 v Warwickshire 274
The Rose Bowl: Hampshire 57 v Kent 165 and 153-6 Kent lead by 261
Taunton: Somerset 362-7 v Northants
The Oval: Surrey 333 v Yorkshire 49-2
DIVISION TWO
The Riverside: Durham 177-1 v Sussex 162
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 504-5 v Derbyshire
Grace Road: Leicestershire 66-5 v Middlesex 297
New Road: Worcestershire 390 v Nottinghamshire 12-1
A wicket! On the cusp of lunch – Lawes leaps high into the air after bowling Bean for 12. Yorkshire 49 for two – lunch scores to follow.
A Balderson hat-trick!
Cook, Lawrence, Critchley (both stumps out of the ground). Essex slip from 24 for 0 to 28 for four.
Updated
Essex 28 for two – Cooke and Browne both out. But they’re just toying with us – aren’t they?
This is an interesting read (open to non subscribers at the moment). Basically – the HPR to suggest the trial of the Kookaburra ball in at least a portion of the season, and ball- tracking technology to help judge whether teams should be docked points for dodgy pitches – a bit late for Chelmsford and the Rose Bowl.
Ball-tracking technology could be used to judge which Championship pitches are sanctioned as part of attempts to improve pitches
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) September 21, 2022
Kookaburra ball could also be piloted in the championship https://t.co/QTJYEgspfm
On the bright side, it’s not a bad start by Lancashire standards: Leicestershire 38 for four as Roland-Jones and Murtagh start their work.
And Browne and Cook slowly munching up the Lancs target: 21 on the board, just 75 to win.
Kemar snaffles Lyth with one which flies through to third slip where Ryan Patel nods and accepts in front of his eyebrows. At the other end Finlay Bean gestures for new gloves. Yorkshire may need more than that: 14 for one.
This was Simon Harmer’s view of yesterday’s pitch at Chelmsford:
“For 26 wickets to fall in a day is unprecedented, but I think if you look back at some of the dismissals a lot of them were batter-error. So it wasn’t all down to the wicket. Sometimes bowling first at Chelmsford is a blessing in disguise, especially if the wicket flattens out on days three and four. It has been an extremely dry summer and the wickets are quite slow. But it’s been an eventful day and there’s still a lot to do tomorrow.
“I think if you look at when the lights came on, Alastair Cook was batting extremely well – he’d got 36 runs and as soon as the lights came on he struggled to score, which I think says a lot. Overhead conditions played into their hands as well. We had them up against the ropes, but the lights took it away from us. We had to bowl spin [because of the light] when our seams were doing extremely well. But I think Tom made the right call bringing a premature end to the day, so we can come back tomorrow when the ball’s still hard and really get a few more wickets.”
Thank you to Romeo for pointing this out – 237 not out to David Lloyd in Glammy’s magnificent 443 for five against Derbyshire.
@tjaldred https://t.co/oVsgtIWVHb
— Romeo Romeo Tango Ψιτιζεν οφ Νοςηερε (@RomeoCCLive) September 21, 2022
Essex need 98 to win...
…as Parky is lbw to Harmer. Snater 6 for ten; Cook 3 for 46. The final chapter.
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Elsewhere: a third wicket for Sam Cook as Lancashire stagger to 72 for nine and a lead of 96. While Bell-Drummond and Leaning have reminded everyone at the Rose Bowl how to bat – Kent 88 for four, a lead of 196 over hapless Hampshire.
Yorkshire surviving the new ball.
Also adding this to the conversation from the very wise Jon Hotten:
Men's and Women's Ashes in period 16 June - 27 July. A franchise competition is now the most important part of the ECB summer. That is said without prejudice, just how it is now.
— Jon Hotten (@theoldbatsman) September 21, 2022
Next: the sale of the franchises.
Next year’s schedule below, which includes a five-day women’s Ashes Test – fabulous stuff. Surrey watchers, incidentally, raving about Lawes and his beautiful away swing and talent with the bat.
And there we are, after a few overs of slappage, Worrall is caught on the deep mid-wicket boundary and sprints off the pitch to prepare for Yorkshire’s demise. Surrey 333 all out.
Men's Ashes 2023: Edgbaston (from 16 June), Lord’s (28 June), Headingley (6 July), Old Trafford (19 July), Oval (27 July)
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) September 21, 2022
Women's Ashes 2023: *5-day* Test at Trent Bridge (from 22 June), T20s: Edg (1 July), Oval (5), Lord's (8), ODIs: Bristol (12 July), Ageas (16), Taunton (18)
And another one down at Chelmsford: Lancashire 44 for seven.
And another – Kemar Roach’s stumps a kimbo for two. An in-snorter. Still one run needed for the bonus point – one wicket left.
Well that took slightly longer than I was expecting – and Surrey have lost two wickets in the first 14 minutes – with three runs needed to the next batting bonus point.
Scores on the doors
DIVISION ONE
Chelmsoford: Essex 107 v Lancashire 131 and 25-6
Bristol: Gloucestershire v Warwickshire 255-8
The Rosebowl: Hampshire 57 v Kent 165 and 20-3
Taunton: Somerset 271-4 v Northants
The Oval: Surrey 292-6 v Yorkshire
DIVISION TWO
The Riverside: Durham 54-1 v Sussex 162
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan 380-3 v Derbyshire
Grace Road: Leicestershire v Middlesex 293-8
New Road: Worcestershire 297-7 v Nottinghamshire
Tuesday's round-up
A pinch-yourself 96 wickets fell in a cap-gun day in the County Championship. On a ropey Chelmsford pitch 26 batters came and went, Lancashire finishing the day 25 for six in their second innings – a bold improvement on seven for six, thanks to a nerveless 18 from debutant George Bell, and a lead of 49 over Essex. The only man to pass 24 in the whole bewildering day was Alastair Cook, who scrambled 40 in Essex’s 107.
At the Rose Bowl, where a mere 23 wickets fell, second-placed Hampshire were dismissed for 57, with Matthew Quinn grabbing six for 23. Kent lost three wickets in the eight balls before stumps, to give them a lead of 128 to take into what will surely be the final day.
With Hampshire’s season in danger of being flushed away in a few hours leaders Surrey strode onwards, Ollie Pope making a touch-perfect 136 at the specially renamed Micky Stewart Oval. It was as tactile as the fur of his favourite fox-red Labradors, and he moved through the 90s and on to a hundred with a ramp for six with bent knees and a reverse-sweep for four. He was out, for a 131-ball 136, bowled by Yorkshire’s departing former captain Steven Patterson, who finished with four wickets.
At Sophia Gardens, the Glamorgan captain, David Lloyd, was strolling to his highest first‑class score, 203 not out, and at Bristol Dom Sibley was propping up doom‑ladened Warwickshire with an unbeaten 105, a dug-in affair that hauled the 2021 champions from the doldrums of 138 for six. Gloucestershire’s Zafar Gohar bowled 32 overs to take four for 59.
A century for Tom Abell helped Somerset build a respectable 271 for four against Northamptonshire, on the day James Hildreth opened the new James Hildreth Stand.
Matthew Potts and Paul Coughlin bowled Sussex out for 162 under lights at the Riverside; a sixth‑wicket stand of 169 between Brett D’Oliveira and Gareth Roderick delayed Nottinghamshire’s promotion party at New Road and at Grace Road, promotion-chasing Middlesex stashed 293.
Preamble
Hello! It’s an overcast London morning, a touch of cigar smoke and a dab of leaf mulch rising from the pavements. I’m hot-footing it from north London to The Oval where Ollie Pope reigned supreme yesterday - while at Chelmsford and The Rose Bowl the world turned upside down.
While I run for the tube – here is Lancashire’s head coach Glen Chapple on yesterday’s wicket-fest which left them temporarily seven for six:
‘In no way is that good enough.’
— BBC Lancs Cricket (@BBCLancsCricket) September 20, 2022
🏏26 wickets fall on the opening day @CountyChamp at Essex.
Lancashire’s head coach Glen Chapple with his take on the condition of the pitch in Chelmsford. #bbccricket pic.twitter.com/bHuVWakrkK
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