Roundup: Lawrence sends message with century
On a sun-kissed Manchester day, Essex’s Dan Lawrence, excluded on Wednesday from England’s squad for the first Test against New Zealand, turned a shapely ankle towards the selectors.
From an awkward start, Lawrence, who has been out with a hamstring injury all spring, found his form with drives, nudges and speedy running between the wickets . He was missed on 77, edging Jimmy Anderson between first and second slip, the first of three misses off successive Anderson overs, which left Lancashire’s finest stalking menacingly back to his mark.
Lawrence reached his hundred in the penultimate over of the day, but not before running out Adam Rossington with a single that wasn’t there. Simon Harmer then gloved a snorter from Luke Wood’s first ball as the new ball continued to do its work.
Yet another hundred from Ben Compton, his fourth, gave Kent one of their better days, reaching 286 for two against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. Zak Crawley, off the mark with a haughty pull before edging just short of the slips second ball, made his highest championship score of the year with 62. Daniel Bell-Drummond marched to a steady 83.
Shan Masood’s race to a thousand runs before the end of the month was thwarted when the Derbyshire opener was caught for 18, his lowest score of the season. He needs 156 in the second innings against Nottinghamshire. There were a couple of wickets for Stuart Broad. At Lord’s, Durham’s Alex Lees rattled to 44, but Ben Stokes made just 15, before holing out to the young Middlesex leg‑spinner Luke Hollman.
It was a miserable day for Leicestershire under new red-ball captain Callum Parkinson, dismissed for 148 just after lunch. Azhar Ali passed 50 for the fourth successive time as Worcestershire took the lead by stumps at New Road. From 43 for four against Yorkshire at Headingley, Warwickshire recovered thanks to 96 from Michael Burgess. Hampshire rattled through Somerset at Taunton, hindered only by 44 from Craig Overton.
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Right, that’s it from me. The weather forecast for tomorrow is awful but I refuse to believe it, as the sun bakes the fertile Manchester soil dry. Thanks for your company, well played Dan Lawrence et al. Have a lovely evening.
And a third....
“Greetings Tanya,” Hello Ross Pickersgill.
“I believe the answer is Charlie Hallows (Lancashire) in 1928.All the runs were scored in May (only matched by W.G.Grace & Wally Hammond).”
Gold star for you!
The Lancs slip cordon, btw, have just dropped/missed two chances off Jimmy in as many overs. He doesn’t look delighted.
(yet) Another hundred for Ben Compton
Hundred number four for the late-comer. Nicely done, Ben.
After earlier letting a couple of catches through his fingers , Adam Lyth grabs Nathan McAndrew for 15. Warwickshire creep towards 200, eight wickets down. And with that, I’d better think about writing up for the paper. Let me know if I’ve missed anything!
Today’s Kent put on their dancing shoes. Compton heading towards yet another hundred, 85 off 202 balls, Bell-Drummond a nicely done 63. Kent 220-1.
Fifty for Dan Lawrence
After a hesitant start, Lawrence is starting to motor. He whisks a not-so-hot ball from Parkinson down to the fine leg boundary, to reach fifty. He is as scampish as ever, with a touch of - and use your imagination here - a young Gregory Peck. Essex 198-3.
The beauty of being a cricketer is that you spend the whole summer in elasticated trousers.
“Hi Tanya.” Hello Paul Frame.
“Glenn Turner’s 1,000 runs was all while playing for the 1973 New Zealanders, so that’s not the 1,000 in the championship either.”
Ah!
Just popping out to get a few minutes sunshine, enjoy your cuppa.
Tea-time-ish scores
Six ahoy! Craig Overton gets stuck into Liam Dawson - a couple looping over the rope in his first over.
Leicestershire have been put out of their misery - 148 all out. Barnard 3-45. Warwicks and Somerset are six down. At Taunton, Davies is still there unbeaten on 27. Nice to see him congratulating Jake Daniels - Davies walked down the same path 12 years ago.
Seen lots of comments saying this is no big deal, and I have to say they are right. It’s not a big deal, it’s a HUGE deal! Congratulations @officialjakedaniels !!! 👏👏 https://t.co/TV4BuVROyY
— Steve Davies (@SteveDavies43) May 16, 2022
And a possible Covid-19 angle to England’s run of stress-fractures:
Could the effects of coronavirus lockdowns be a contributing factor to England's spate of stress fractures?
— Rory Dollard (@thervd) May 19, 2022
ECB research shows bowlers lose significant bone density while inactive - comparable to effect on astronauts in space.https://t.co/mG6Tn5hSGV
“The reason Romeo’s teaser ain’t so simple,” muses Geoff Wignall, “is presumably because Hick’s 1000 included two innings against MCC and one against the touring West Indies. I suspect the answer is Glenn Turner but I wouldn’t stake anyone’s mortgage on it.”
Vilas at short point somehow manages to hold onto a buxom shot from Browne that is slammed into his body. Essex 136-3. Poor Browne, that was a super innings for 71.
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Romeo has sent me a teaser, it’s not, he promises me, as simple as it looks.
“Shan Masood still needs 154 to reach 1000 runs before the end of May.
“Who was the last player to score 1000 runs in the County Championship
before the end of May?”
At Lord’s, Stokes is in, and has hit two fours in his 15 not out. And something to mull over before the first Test. Back to the eighties.
Only three members of England's Test squad to face New Zealand average more than 30 with the bat 😬#NZvENG pic.twitter.com/LMcsmX4vhH
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) May 18, 2022
In Division One - Essex are moving along, Dan Lawrence is showing signs of this being his first game back after a hamstring injury. Essex 124-2 and Anderson is back.
Kent 138-1, Compton 49 not out, Crawley not able to make that look-at-me hundred, out shortly after lunch for 62.
Somerset 95-5, a return to the norm. Abbott and Abbas practising latin verbs.
Warwickshire 122-5, Lamb has just gone for 45, Rhodes 27 not out. A couple of wickets for Revis, a couple for Patterson. Yorkshire dropping more catches.
And to complete the peek at Division Two, Derby have reached 130-4, with Guest reaching 51 before being bowled by Stuart Broad. Du Plooy 37 not out.
A first, and a second, wicket in a Worcestershire pullover for Matthew Waite, as Leicestershire, oh Leicestershire, slide to 98-9.
At Lord’s, Michael Jones has followed Alex Lees back to the pavilion, Durham 107-2. Incidentally, Ethan Bamber was presented with his county cap at lunch. Selve looking remarkably dapper.
🗞️ | ETHAN BAMBER RECEIVES COUNTY CAP AT LORD'S TODAY
— Middlesex Cricket (@Middlesex_CCC) May 19, 2022
Today, at Lord's, on the outfield in front of the Lord's Pavilion, @etbamber was presented with his county cap by Club President, Mike Selvey.
Congratulations, Ethan!
READ MORE ⬇️ | #OneMiddlesex
I think I spot a tear in Hassan Ali’s eye.
And here is Dan Lawrence, another who didn’t make the Test cut.
And there’s the wicket! Westley gets onto one knee to sweep, top edges Parky and Salt performs a near rugby tackle on Westley to get in front of the stumps and take the catch. Essex 102-2. Undone, says Law, by the bounce.
If you’re at a loss as to which match to listen to, Stuart Law is as excellent as you’d imagine on Radio Lancs. Good on Parky’s omission: fair enough as a “horses for courses” pick, just as long as the communication has been there. You have to do your time - Andy Bichel twelfth manned for Australia more times than he actually played.
Parky continues, hoping his bowling WILL MAKE A POINT to the England selectors. And lo, he drops short and Browne whallops him through the covers - 58 not out. Essex 102-1, with the sun out and wind dropped.
Er, Leicestershire? Losing five for 13 is going some, even by your standards. Time to stretch my legs. Back soon.
Lunchtime scores
DIVISION ONE
Old Trafford: Lancs v Essex 74-1
The County Ground: Northants v Kent 87-0
Taunton: Somerset 58-3 v Hants
Headingley: Yorks v Warwicks 58-4
DIVISION TWO
Lord’s: Middx v Durham 81-1
Trent Bridge: Notts v Derby 89-3
New Road: Worcs v Leics 62-6
And as the sun follows the moon, a pre-lunch over for Parky.
Fifty for Zak Crawley
Take that ye doubters in a Kent-haven’t-lost-a-wicket-yet shock morning. Kent 85-0.
I love the Gareth Batty theory that Pope will do well at No. 3 because he has spent so much time watching Amla bat there. pic.twitter.com/brBdKAi3BU
— Kit Harris (@cricketkit) May 19, 2022
My uncle writes from Lord’s and reports that the wicket is “virtually in the Mound Stand.” But that it is lovely to watching some “slow cricket”. Durham 80-0, with Lees celebrating his place in the Test squad with 44 not out. It’s a flat track so the Lord’s crowd will have to wait to see the new England captain walking out to bat.
Some more details on the forthcoming Ben Stokes documentary (https://t.co/K1HCJGdVP6) https://t.co/cZKQxAJAuF
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) May 19, 2022
Fruit cake has arrived, huge slabs of it, and it is the perfect pick-me-up for this weary Thursday morning. Thank you so much Mike Birtwistle. Perhaps Warwickshire should have ordered some, now 41-3 as the out-of-nick Yates follows the openers. A second for Patterson.
The party stand is up at OT in preparation for the Blast, which starts with the Roses match next Friday. Opposite, the old red rose suite continues to be a building site. Essex 41-1 and playing the new Dukes ball and the experienced Lancs attack well.
“With Glos not playing (thank goodness - no chance of a disastrous loss this week!), which team should I support this weekend?” asks Andrew Benton.
“The Somerset - Hants and Northants - Kent games look the more evenly matched, and I’m all for a gripping contest, so maybe Hants for a blootering win over Somerset? Which team would you recommend?”
Andrew, how to mark your card without being accused of jinxing? If I were you I’d flick between streams to watch Brook bat for Yorks, Somerset v Hants for entertainment value, and Hassan Ali bowling at Old Trafford for the last time before flying home.
Shan Masood is OUT. And for his lowest score of the season. That’s (grabs calculator) 156 runs needed in the second innings if he wants to bag the thousand for the first time since Graeme Hick. Derby 32-1.
And another bad start by the County Champions: Alex Davies gone for the usual cameo - this time 19, and Sibley lbw to Patterson for 9. Warwicks 37-2.
And an email lands on the desk with a thump. Good morning Ruth Purdue!
“Terribly sad news about Archer. Doesn’t this just put a spotlight again on the injuries to quick bowlers? Most of them go through bad injuries don’t they because of the strain they have on their bodies? Cummins, Steyn and Akhtar for example have had issues throughout their career.
Hope all that Mahmood et al get well soon.”
Well said. Fast bowling is a ridiculous thing to do with your body, unnatural strains and stresses everywhere. But the sheer number of fast bowlers getting stress fractures is worrying. I’d like to think England/counties are having another look at how best to manage them - though a good point BTL that in ye olde days of lore, bowlers with stress fractures would have just drifted out of the game.
And there we have the first wicket at OT - Cook snaffled low behind the stumps by Salt off Tom Bailey. A sliver of an edge, but enough. Essex 15-1.
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Thanks to Paul Edwards for pointing out that Cook has survived more balls from Jimmy than Root did at the second innings at Headingley.
A wicket for the new Dukes: at New Road- where Hassan Azad is lbw to Pennington for a single. Leics 14-1. Wicketless elsewhere, as I type, Shan Masood 18 runs into the 174 he needs to make a thousand.
Cooks gets off the mark to his thirteenth ball with a single to midwicket off Jimmy. And so it starts. Let’s take a glimpse round the grounds...
Slightly distracted by Lancashire doing running repairs to the shattered press box window. Imagine someone parcel taping a church window and you can appreciate the fingernail down blackboard noise.
Tom Bailey does physical jerks and prepares to bowl with a ball from the new Dukes batch delivered to the counties before this round. Now then bowlers, what can you do with these ones?
In the light of the Jofra Archer news, thanks to Ken Grime for pointing out this
Number of first-class/List A/T20 overs bowled between the ages of 20 and 24:
— Andrew Samson (@AWSStats) May 17, 2022
Stuart Broad 2357
Jimmy Anderson 2032
Ollie Stone 795
Saqib Mahmood 591
Matthew Fisher 549
Mark Wood 412
an interesting debate underneath the tweet too. It feels like something is wrong - if the fittest cricketers of all time keep falling by the wayside with potentially career-ending injuries.
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Jofra Archer out for the season
Wretched news for Archer: after being diagnosed with a stress fracture to the lower back, he’s been ruled out for the season.
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I’m sure you all saw the Test team: Ben Stokes (Durham, captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Foakes (Surrey, wk), Jack Leach (Somerset), Alex Lees (Durham), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Potts (Durham), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire).
On the basis of early season form, Crawley is lucky; on the basis of red-ball practise, Bairstow is lucky. But presumably this team bears the stamp of the new captain, who has spent enough time around the squad to know what he likes.
Hassan Ali has just been presented with his county cap by Jimmy Anderson in a rather sweet ceremony in front of the members - what a triumph his signing has been for Lancs. Here at OT, Essex have won the toss and will bat - which means Cook against Anderson and Hassan.
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Division Two table
Middx (5) 93
Notts (5) 84
Glamorgan (6) 81
Durham (6) 79
Derby (5) 79
Worcs (5) 66
Sussex (6) 53
Leics (6) 45
Division One table
Surrey (6) 105
Lancs (5) 85
Hants (5) 81
Yorks (5) 76
Warwicks (5) 62
Somerset (5) 56
Essex (5) 54
Northants (5) 54
Kent (5) 40
Gloucs (6) 35
Sounds like poor Jofra Archer has had yet another injury setback.
Unfortunately hearing that we might get news that Jofra Archer has suffered a significant setback in his return from injury today
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) May 19, 2022
Round 6
DIVISION ONE
Old Trafford: Lancs v Essex
The County Ground: Northants v Kent
Taunton: Somerset v Hants
Headingley: Yorks v Warwicks
DIVISION TWO
Lord’s: Middx v Durham
Trent Bridge: Notts v Derby
New Road: Worcs v Leics
Preamble
Good morning! Like the rusting Lilacs, we’ve tipped over into the second half of May and today start the final round of this opening set of Championship matches. We’ve already got a fairly good idea of who is in the running for silverware (Surrey, Lancs and Middlesex, Notts) and who is not (Kent and Leicestershire) - though we’ve no further clue of what County Cricket will look like next year, and how promotion and relegation will work - if there is any any. Still no news on the Yorkshire enquiry either. But the County Championship presses on regardless. Right - what are the games to watch?
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