Lancashire dominate Hampshire as Yorkshire fortunes revive
The grass was brittle-dry at Southport, a hot-fire outfield begging for quick runs. And it was Lancashire who made the most of the conditions, first bowling Hampshire out for 142, with three wickets each for Will Williams and Tom Bailey, and then letting fly with the bat. Phil Salt, opening the innings for Lancashire for the first time in red-ball cricket, eyed up the Championship’s best attack and advanced. He was dropped on four in the first over, off the hard working Keith Barker, and then pounced, combining flambéed attack with, as stumps approached, watchful defence. Lancs finished the day just three runs behind, with the loss of only George Balderson, to the approval of more than 1500 spectators in fold-up chairs and sunhats.
At Canterbury, Jordan Cox turned Kent’s day upside-down with a sparkling century, transforming a miserable 41 for five into a respectable 301 all out. Wes Agar then took two early Surrey wickets to further twist the tale. Sam Billings was left out of the Kent side after “mutual discussions about form.” Alastair Cook, an old-fashioned knight in a sudden surfeit, reached his 74th first-class century accompanied by heat and a welcoming Chelmsford pitch. He was joined in the three-figures club by Matt Critchley, whose gung-ho hundred wearied the Somerset attack. New Taunton signing Shoaib Bashir, a 19-year-old off-spinner, was put through his paces, fizzing down 29 overs.
Yorkshire, winless in the first tranche of Championship cricket, had a good day. Perhaps buoyed by their T20 Blast successes, they filleted Derbyshire for 111, Matt Fisher picking up a career-best five for 30, Ben Coad three for 28. By the close, Yorkshire were already 161 ahead, with five wickets in hand. Shan Masood collected his highest score of the season, Dawid Malan unbeaten on 76. Elsewhere, Sussex fought back against Worcestershire, rain again haunted Gloucestershire, and a century from Sam Hain put Warwickshire in a strong position against Nottinghamshire. Kiran Carlson conjured up another bewitching century, his fourth of the season, as Glamorgan were all out just a sneeze short of 400 at Durham.
They’re pulling on the covers at Southport, the sun still out, the shadows long. Two and a half hours left of daylight. Glorious.
The Hampshire coach Adrian Birrell was brutally honest afterwards: “Lancashire obviously read the pitch very well and they bowled very well to put us under pressure straight away. We looked at the stats and it was very hot and the pitch looked quite hard so we thought if we batted very well it would set it up for us spinning them out on the last day. It didn’t materialise for us with the bat so we are in a bit of a hole and we’re going to have to fight to salvage a draw or a remarkable win.”
Thanks for hanging about and all your messages on this surprise Sunday start. See you tomorrow – good night!
