Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Will Macpherson at Trent Bridge and Mike Selvey at Scarborough

County cricket – as it happened

North Marine Road
A picture of North Marine Road that shows off the tea room’s lovely roof. Photograph: Daniel Smith/Getty

Cheerio - what a brilliant round of games

That is that.

Thanks for your company. Selve and I have both watched fine games and it’s been great fun telling you about them.

Here’s your results:

In Div One:

  • Notts drew with Lancs
  • Middlesex beat Yorkshire
  • Durham drew with Hants

In Div Two:

  • Worcestershire beat Leicestershire (somehow)
  • Essex beat Kent (eventually)
  • Northants and Derbyshire was called off as a washout

I’ll be back next week at the Oval, to tell you about Surrey beating Yorkshire (hur hur hur).

The first big match, however, is Will Macpherson v the M1. Wish me luck. Speak Monday, and thanks again.

They’ve done it! What a win for Worcestershire, by three wickets! What a chase.

Joe Clarke goes. Run out for 123. Magnificent effort. Worcestershire bat very deep...

Magnificent game of cricket.

My word, Worcester.

That is that at Trent Bridge. 11 overs remained, but with Lancashire 106 ahead and nothing doing - there were five helmetted men round the bat for Tahir’s final over - Steven Mullaney offered a hand to Steven Croft, and the match was drawn. Against the odds, a decent final day emerged. Good game given the state of the pitch.

Notts take 13 points, Lancs 9, which is enough to slip them ahead of Warwickshire in second by virtue of having won one more game. They are tied on points.

It is indeed.

The lead is 100 here at Trent Bridge as Croft drives then edges fours. With 12.4 overs left in the game, we’re close.

All four results still possible at New Road...

Very much looking forward to Selve’s report of this.

Jordan Clark has gone. Gurney’s got one to stay low and he’s played on. Lead is 89. Three wickets left. It’s a bit murky. Can they?

Pretty close to this definitely being a draw I’d say; Tahir - who bowled much better in the first innings - returning for one last go at the Pavilion End.

As soon as I enter that, Whiteley - probably the key - is gone. Five wickets remain. 151 required. 25 overs in the game.

Can Worcestershire do this? Can they?

9 down at Scarborough.

A reminder that Middlesex go top if they can force the win at Scarborough.

Time starting to run out for Notts. Need wickets soon - Lead is 69, 29 overs in the game. Four wickets left.

Sons and brothers doing well for Notts 2s.

News from Scarbados....

50 apiece for Clarke - who has been given out once already - and Whiteley at Worcester. Leicester chasing a win.

This game’s been put out of its misery. Durham and Hampshire draw and take 12 points each.

That is a brilliant catch by Brendan Taylor at short leg to dismiss Brown. It’s gone low and hard to his left and he’s dived and plucked it. Lead is 63.

We’re rather well-poised going into this final session of the week then, aren’t we?

The games that Selve and I are at are both finely poised with the Roses teams trying to save the game. At Worcester, there has been some controversy - Joe Clarke was recalled by umpire Lloyds - as Leicestershire push for a win. Raining at Durham, where nothing was doing anyway.

At a quarter to three, when Andrew Gale edged Ollie Rayner’s off break to John Simpson, the game looked as if it might be up for Yorkshire. The scoreboard read 89-5 and Middlesex were ploughing through them. Since then there has been dogged resistance from Tim Bresnan and Will Rhodes that saw them to tea with no further loss. At 13 for three, they still require 39 runs to avoid an innings defeat, and there are 33 overs remaining to play. The last session could be a nail-biter.

Middlesex have done well to play themselves into a winning position. At lunch two wickets had already fallen and during the afternoon, we saw Alex Lees caught from a rebound by short leg, Gary Ballance caught behind of the opening delivery of a spell from Steve Finn ( the angle of attack, from round the wicket, should be the default setting for pace bowlers to him), and Gale then to Rayner. Bresnan had played very well though, although beaten consistently by Roland-Jones in particular and has 37.

Tea time... here's where we're at

In Div One:

  • Lancashire 276 & 249-4 v Notts 474
  • Hampshire 472-9d & 174-4 v Durham 421-9d
  • Yorkshire 406 & 132-5 Middlesex 577

In Div Two:

  • Essex 569 & 9-0 beat Kent 207 & 370 by 10 wickets
  • Worcs 349 & 170-4 Leics 407 & 307-3d
  • Derbyshire v Northants ... MATCH ABANDONED sadly

It’s tea here. I was wrong about there being seven overs left. It’s the last day of course, so we go at 3.40. Lancs lead by 51. There are 37 overs left. It is on a knife edge.

With seven overs until tea, Gurney is replacing Hutton. Croft and Brown working very hard. Lead is 50.

Don’t quite know why they are having tea now, but it matters not because the cricket is dull.

Careful Cozzie...

Oh wow. Interesting scenes at Worcester. If I was an umpire I would never give Clarke out because I love watching him bat.

Action in a really boring cricket match

Oh dear, Dr Livingstone. Oh dear. It’s Hutton’s second over of the spell, and he’s just lofted straight to mid-on. Notts have gone mad. That looked to me rather like Livingstone was trying to be a bit clever. Half the wickets down, the lead is 35.

Remarkable stat.

24 hours and 10 minutes later, Hameed is gone. Hutton’s first over draws the edge. Caught behind. Four down. Lead of 33.

Liam Livingstone, I presume.

Alright fellas, don’t get ahead of yourself.

Tough ask, this.

Ah, shame.

Essex have another. Kent six behind with one to go.

Leicester have another. Worcester miles behind with six to go.

Jeez, that game at Durham sounds boring. Sorry if you’re there.

A WICKET IN CHELMSFORD. THIS IS NOT A DRILL

We’re on the move elsewhere, too. Worcestershire are three down, with Clint McKay getting two for Leicester, as per. Clarke and Pepsi at the crease, Fell gone.

And Yorkshire are in all sorts at Scarbados.

Oh wow. Petersen flicks his first ball through square leg for four, then, two later, shoulders arms to Broad and it’s smashed into middle and off three quarters of the way up. Nipped back slightly, kept a little low? Maybe. But that is a terrible, terrible leave.

Something to reveal: Ashley Giles stepped into the press box a ball before Procter went. Now we’re here. Lancashire fans, you can stop blaming me! You have a new man to blame.

Lancashire *effectively* 15-3.

The new ball has done it, as Broad gets Procter leg before from round the wicket. Could have struck him outside, but I had given him. Lead is just 11, so no time for a collapse, this.

New ball taken at Trent Bridge.

That was a fun morning. Well it was if you are a Middlesex supporter. First a century ninth wicket stand between Toby-Roland Jones and Tim Murtagh and then two wickets for Roland-Jones, including the important one of Kane Williamson. Suddenly, in a game that had draw all over it, Middlesex have a sniff.

The R-J ( for the sake of brevity)- Murtagh partnership was exhilarating, of a kind that generally gets interpreted as bowling for a declaration. 107 runs came in 35 minutes, roughly the time it took Lancashire to add 100 fewer at Trent Bridge. Sixes rained down- 6 of them in the space of seven balls at one stage- to the Pavilion end and the short square boundary on the North Marine Road side, so that the terraces were peppered. R-J , who hit a century against Yorkshire last year, was unbeaten on 79 by the time Adam Lyth, a bowler of last resort, collected the last two wickets- Murtagh for 47 from 38 balls, and Steve Finn- with successive deliveries. It took R-J 51 balls, and he hit 6 fours and as many sixes.

To great Yorkshire regret, R-J was dropped by Patterson, in front of the pavilion at long leg, when 18, and the score was only 479. They added a further 98.

Batting a second time,171 behind, Yorkshire made a steady start against Murtagh and Finn, and after 10 overs James Franklin turned to R-J from the Trafalgar Square end. His first ball move away from Lyth and he edged low to third slip. The wicket of Williamson involved excellent bowling, the batsman beaten twice outside off stump before edging to the keeper in the same over. So cause for Yorkshire reflection at lunch: at 48-2 they are still 123 runs shy of an innings defeat.

Dern Back, baby.

Haseeb Hameed has a hundred and Lancashire have the lead, all in the final over before lunch. He punched Tahir down the ground then wristily late cut him, both for four, to bring up a ton from his 237th ball. He’s put on 55 with Procter, too. Well batted Haseeb, you’re class. All class.

Lancs lead by eight and something needs to happen very soon if we are going to avoid a 5pm handshake.

Lunch time: scores on the doors

In Div One:

  • Lancashire 276 & 206-1 v Notts 474
  • Hampshire 472-9d & 94-2 v Durham 421-9d
  • Yorkshire 406 & 48-2 Middlesex 577

In Div Two:

  • Kent 207 & 337-7 v Essex 569
  • Worcs 349 & 42-0 Leics 407 & 307-3d
  • Derbyshire v Northants ... No play on day 1, 2 or 3, sadly

FYI:

Tricky Tredders!

The lead is 365.

Exactly this: so patient, waits and waits for bad ball. Like Trott, has a method for life between balls - he walks to square leg and looks very zen-like. So impressed.

Speaking of the Trent Bridge live feed, you can get it here.

And tons for both Cosgrove and Horton. The latter is going nuts now. Lead is well over 300 and a declaration surely imminent.

Tricky Tredders chasing his ton. 63 behind still, but what an effort that is.

There it is, finally. After 59 minutes of plugging away this morning - and 249 in all - Notts have a wicket. Smith always looked more likely to go first, and Gurney just got one to pop up at him slightly and he edged to second slip where Mullaney took a fine low catch. Smelling blood, Notts now have five round the bat for Procter. Lancs still 43 behind, but you fancy Notts need at least two more before lunch for this to be a game.

Hampshire’s run rate is 1.53. Gripping stuff.

Unlike Scarborough, we’ve just had our first bad ball, and first four, of the morning. A Tahir full bunger flicked insouciantly through square leg for four by Hameed. Men round the bat now and, at the other end, Wessels is standing up to Broad. Took 36 mins to get that boundary.

Updated

Errr

Toby Roland-Jones loves batting against Yorkshire. Won’t forget the ton he made at Lord’s last year in a hurry. Anyway, he’s 77 off 50 and Middlesex lead by 165.

Batted

Five overs in and nothing doing for Notts. Again, they’ve bowled well. Again, they’ve been dead-batted nicely.

Scarbados is looking its sunniest finest this morning. The mobility scooters were out in force, having thoroughly enjoyed the Bingo session in my hotel last night.

It will take more than a bit of sunshine to inject some life into the match however. Middlesex will try and crack on and then charge in against the Yorkshire batting. Already Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh have thrown the bat. Roland-Jones has just been dropped at long leg, top edging a hook, a wicket that would have given the persevering Jack Brooks a career-best, with the batsman compounding things by belting the next ball over mid off. Currently Middlesex are 491 for eight, a lead of 85.

Luke Fletcher - who has been bowling again this morning as he looks to return from a groin injury - turned to Stuart Broad last night and, in that gruff Bulwell bark of his, said: “Broadeh, can you just do one of them spells tomorrow?”

It’s what Notts need. An outstanding session, or session and a half, to skittle 10 Lancs wickets and leave themselves something chaseable in the second half of the day, to record a win - their second of the season - that looked a good chance at lunch yesterday. Broad or Imran Tahir, who will surely bowl constantly from one end, look the men with the tools to unlock Lancashire, if anyone can.

Haseeb Hameed and Tom Smith were in magnificent form as the pitch died yesterday, however, and Notts need to get them before they can consider pushing for a win. There is some cloud cover, and that will cheer them.

Morning all it's the morning call

Well hello. It’s Wednesday, so the last of this round of games, with the exception of Derbyshire’s game with Northants, which has been washed out again, due to Chesterfield’s soggy outfield. What a shame.

It’s myself and Mike Selvey once more, at Trent Bridge and Scarborough respectively. I imagine we’ll both be sad to leave come the close of play, although odds on results in either game seem to be slimming, sadly.

Anyway, here’s where we’re at across the five and a half active games:

In Div One:

  • Lancashire 276 & 128-0 v Notts 474
  • Hampshire 472-9d & 9-0 v Durham 421-9d
  • Middlesex 470-8 v Yorkshire 406

In Div Two:

  • Kent 207 & 252-7 v Essex 569
  • Leics 407 & 172-2 v Worcs 349
  • Derbyshire v Northants ... No play on day 1, 2 or 3, sadly

Enjoy the cricket, and lots of comments, please.

Updated

Morning all,

Today we’re back with Will Macpherson at Trent Bridge and Mike Selvey at Scarborough. Here are their reports from yesterday:

Nottinghamshire v Lancashire

Yorkshire v Middlesex

Enjoy the cricket

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
SNL Was Forced To Change A Sketch At The Last Minute And Complained About It On The Air
Fear. Rage. Chaos.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Woman sees her favorite singer started following her on Instagram and jumps with excitement. Then she opened their account: ‘This is humiliating’
TikTok creator Paloma (@whor3chata_) is sparking a massive wave of sympathy (and second-hand embarrassment) on TikTok with her recent grwm story. The creator shared the “before and after” of being followed by one of her favorite singers on Instagram. Sadly, the “after” is humiliating.
The Mary Sue
The Mary Sue
Harry Styles, fake stage invaders and a censored Peter Mandelson joke: the biggest moments at the Brit awards
The ITV censors had their work cut out in a protest-filled, relatively edgy ceremony that hosted ultra-expressive performances from Rosalía, Wolf Alice and more
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Meet the Gen Z college students who turned Excel into a competitive esport—they’re competing in spreadsheet challenges and it’s helping them land jobs
Microsoft-backed spreadsheet competitions are turning Gen Z college students into job-market standouts.
Fortune
Fortune
As Jennifer Lopez’s Kids Turn 18, An Insider Drops Claims About Their ‘Atypical’ Childhood
The kids are alright.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
I Somehow Forgot That One Devastating Harry Potter Book Scene Wasn't Shown In The Movies
I remember the scene from the book so clearly ... too clearly.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play