Tanya Aldred's roundup
There was an inevitability about Hashim Amla’s slow march towards his century, hauling Surrey with him in their crucial Championship game at the County Ground. Northants had collapsed in the morning session, losing six wickets for 90, though not before Rob Keogh reached 123 - a fifth wicket for the speedy Kemar Roach, as Surrey collected three crucial bowling points. None of the Surrey top order could stick with Amla, 97 not out at stumps, until he found some ballast from Cameron Steel on his birthday.
George Hill was caught from the last ball of the day in a guitar-string tight game at Headingley. Yorkshire finished with a lead of four over Essex, with eight wickets in hand. After a frustrating summer of injury, Dan Lawrence had jigged to the the only fifty of the match and, assisted by a free-wheeling Shane Snater, given Essex a first-innings lead. Jordan Thompson gathered for four for 60.
England’s Matthew Potts swung and sped his way to six wickets, running through Leicestershire’s defences before lunch. Callum Parkinson then grabbed three Durham wickets, including opener Michael Jones just three short of his century
Another tense game unrolled at Edgbaston with relegation waiting through the trap door. Somerset finished the day just on top, after Jack Brooks’ four for four in 27 balls, helped scroll through the Warwickshire tail. Sam Hain had earlier passed 1000 runs for the season in his 67.
A dapper hundred by Jake Libby put Worcestershire in a promising position at Hove. On a day spent darting between the showers, Libby, unbeaten on 142 at stumps, put on 195 for the first wicket, before Ed Pollock fell for 98, and 54 with Azhar Ali. Sussex off-spinner Jack Carson, out all season with injury, took both wickets to fall.
In the gloves-off promotion game at Lord’s, Mark Stoneman hit a dominant century as he and John Simpson took Middlesex to two batting points and a lead of 72 over Glamorgan.
Lancashire were docked six points after the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Committee found them guilty of two breaches of the code of conduct. The “gut-wrenching” strike removes any remote hope of a Championship run.
• The headline of this article was amended on 14 September 2022 to correct a misspelling of Hashim Amla’s last name.
Updated
So Amla didn’t quite make the hundred, but near enough. Time to give the dog a quick walk while the light lasts – it won’t be long. See you tomorrow, bye!
