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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Mike Selvey at Scarborough, Vic Marks at Taunton, Will Macpherson at Trent Bridge and Adam Collins at Bristol

County cricket – as it happened

Steven Finn
Middlesex’s Steven Finn appeals to the umpire during day one of the match against Yorkshire. Photograph: Daniel Smith/Getty Images

That's all folks...

Thank you ever so much for your company today. All four(!) of us ATL have enjoyed it thoroughly.

Here’s the scores:

In Div One:

  • Lancashire 273-9 v Notts
  • Warwickshire 345-6 v Surrey 273 (day 2)
  • Hampshire 319-6 v Durham
  • Yorkshire 291-5 v Middlesex

In Div Two:

  • Essex 107-2 v Kent 207
  • Leics 299-7 v Worcs
  • Sussex 227-3 v Glamorgan 335

In the tour game:

  • Pakistan 324-5 v Somerset

And England women beat Pakistan by 68 runs.

Have a great evening folks, and see you in the morning!

That’s stumps at Trent Bridge where Notts have pegged this back well but could not quite get the final Lancashire wicket. Broad bowled beautifully, Tahir improved steadily and Gurney looked zippy. 273 for nine makes it Notts’ day, for sure.

Mmmm Trotty....

Livingstone skies Broad to Samit at point and Lancashire have lost three in three overs and four against the new ball. Nine down with 253 on the board. Looking like Nottinghamshire’s day...

Extraordinary wicket at Trent Bridge: Gurney bounces Wagner, it hits him on the helmet, he hits the deck, and the ball rolls onto his stumps and a single bail fell off. The medics were called on to assist Wagner from the pitch, but he looked steady enough. 251 for eight.

What. A. Catch.

Fabulous from Stuart Broad, as Jordan Clark goes caught and bowled. He tried to climb into a short ball that was quicker than he thought, and his heavy clump was flying down the ground at head height. Broad stuck two hands up to his left and took it. Brilliant. 250 for seven, and I fancy Broad might bowl til the close.

Really, really like Jamie Porter. Proper pace.

It speaks volumes about the size of England’s total earlier that Pakistan have been thrashed by 68 runs yet registered their own highest score against the hosts in the format. England’s bowling performance wasn’t as sharp as they would have liked, highlighted by the fact that four of their wickets came from full tosses. But with the sting completely out of the fixture, the one-nil result was already assured. Of note, 17-year-old spinner Sophie Ecclestone was tidy on debut, claiming 1/21.

Ed Joyce finally goes.

Congratulations to Dave Bracegirdle, BBC Nottingham’s excellent commentator. Raise your bat, sir.

Here at Trent Bridge, that new pill has done the trick. Karl Brown has been extremely watchful for his 36, but Gurney just got one to move away a touch, and Empty Wessels snaffled the edge. Jordan Clark and Liam Livingstone batting together now ... could be fun. Broad bowling nicely from t’other end.

The new ball has been taken at Trent Bridge. Honours about even as things stand.

Some things never change:

There are not many in county cricket who send stumps cartwheeling like Stuart Meaker.

Well done Sophie Ecclestone!

Exciting. Rabada v Cook.

Middlesex clawed their way back into things during the afternoon. The pitch, sluggish in the first session, appeared to gather a bit more pace, assisted by some cloud cover perhaps, and the ball began to do just enough to keep the batsmen honest. Tim Murtagh bowled an excellent post lunch spell from the Pavilion end, during which he removed Alex Lees for 63, caught low down at second slip.

There was a wicket too for Toby Roland-Jones, who had Andrew Gale lbw for a long-windowed 7, although the bowler appears to be struggling a little for rhythm.

Steve Finn, on the other hand, came encouragingly hard down the slope from Trafalgar Square, generated some excellent pace and bounce and disconcerted Gary Ballance at times. Ballance though has hung in well, scored solidly off his legs when given the chance, and reached a half century,from 121 balls immediately before tea. With him is Tim Bresnan, who has hit some pleasant drives in his unbeaten 32. Yorkshire were 183 for four at the interval.

Right, sorry Lankys, I did Smith good and proper at tea. He’s gone for 70, with Lancashire one shy of a batting point (which they’ve since earned). He skipped down to his 200th ball, which Tahir slid past his outside edge. Wessels did the rest, and it wasn’t even close. Very well batted that man.

Teatime! Scores!

In Division One...

  • Lancashire 192-4 v Nottinghamshire
  • Warwickshire 215-4 v Surrey 273
  • Hampshire 196-2 v Durham
  • Yorkshire 183-4 v Middlesex

In Division Two...

  • Sussex 133-1 v Glamorgan 335
  • Leicestershire 203-3 v Worcestershire
  • Kent 207 all out v Essex

In the tour match...

  • Pakistan 182-4 v Somerset

And in the women’s T20i....

  • England made 187-5 (their highest score ever in the format)

Updated

A flurry of wickets in the final over matters not a jot, England clocking their highest T20 score, 187-5. Beaumont and Winfield put on 147 from just the 95 balls. That’s the biggest stand for England in a T20 internationals as well. Both openers could have knocked off Lottie’s 92 and pushed on for a ton, but fell to false strokes after so many boundaries. Carnage.

Tea at Trent Bridge and I’d say it’s about honours even. Three wickets for Notts in that session - they bowled much better, but have found an immovable Tom Smith shaped wall. He was on exactly 50 for 25 balls and has had many an appeal against him. Still there, though. 192 for four.

At Guildford... Bell and Trott have shared 100. Mmmm. That makes me feel warm inside.

England women are on fire.

Division Twoers in great form:

  • Neil Dexter, who is currently churning more runs out against Worcester
  • Ed Joyce, who has 75 against Glamorgan, in far fewer balls than it has taken Chris Nash to get to 31

Feels like Alex Blake should be added to that list; he’s dragged Kent to 163 for eight as his team-mates have done diddly-squat.

There have been a couple of wickets at CLS, and how Durham needed them.

News from the Women’s T20i in Bristol!

A couple of weeks ago Tammy Beaumont had never made a half century for England. It seems remarkable to think after a record 342 in the ODI series. She’s on track for another big one today bringing up her half century in just 30 balls. She’s the complete modern player, very happy to use her use her feet to go straight (her one six over long off would have cleared any rope), but then compulsively reverse sweeping. No one has ever made more than 92 for England in a Wt20i (that was Lottie, obviously); Beaumont looks set to break another record...

England in complete control, 86-0 just short of half way.

Updated

Tahir, who is ticking now, took a second wicket here, as Croft prodded forward and was struck on the pad. Looked good from my vantage point. Crowd enjoying Immy lots, especially when he consecutively saved two runs, running miles round the boundary from fine leg - off the bowling of Gurney.

After 17 overs straight either side of lunch, he’s now gone off. Hitman Hutton, as they call him in these parts, on in his stead.

Jimmy Neesham plays his cricket in Dunedin normally. Both times I’ve been there it’s been cold and wet. Outfield must have been bad at Chesterfield. Derbyshire-Northants in the T20s is off.

Misbah caught at third slip off his second ball 132-4 from Groenewald. Trego has shrewdly taken himself off. We might see Amir batting soon perhaps ... snappers on red alert.

Poor Adam Lyth.

This is an important and at times emotional read that I urge you to get stuck into. Trescothick: what a guy.

Van Meereken has a second wicket. Azhar Ali caught behind from a neat away-swinger. 129-2. Only captain Trego leaking runs; must be the burden of captaincy. Just bumped into Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan manager and a very spritely 74. Wished him a peaceful tour and ended up - inevitably - wondering how many more wickets he would have taken with DRS. Sadly can’t go BTL without contacting “my administrator”, not something I’ll undertake on a Sunday - of course this may have been the case for several weeks... Whoops 132-3 - Masood lbw to Groenewald.

Updated

A fine rearguard from Blake.

Broad took a wicket here a short while ago, Petersen caught behind via the ol’ legside strangle. Thing is, Broad - and this happens very rarely - didn’t think it was out, and Petersen certainly didn’t. The rest of the Notts mob appealed, mind. It’s 135 for three and Broad has both Smith and Croft struggling.

Updated

The @countychamp account’s emoji use continues apace.

Adam Collins is the Guardian’s man at Bristol for the WT20i today. Here’s England’s team. New cap for Sophie

Ecclestone is England’s first debutant in the format since March 2014....

Big breakthrough for the Yorkies. Who else but Tim Murtagh?

Hampshire are going very nicely indeed up at Durham. Will Smith back at his old stomping ground.

Mark Footitt’s fit again, and he’s in the wickets, which is great to see.

Tahir bowled horribly before lunch, but - in partnership with Broad - he’s done better since the break, and with the final ball of his seventh over, Procter has tried to heave him to cow, and his off bail has gone. Terrible shot. 119 for two.

News here is that Jimmy Anderson was having a very light bowl in the middle during lunch. Notts have rested Jake Ball in the anticipation of his Test debut at Lord’s a week on Thursday.

Lovely stuff.

All is tranquil at Taunton. 79-1 at lunch. Mohammed Hafeez was bowled by a new Somerset bowler, Paul van Meekeren, who is from Amsterdam. He has been impressive on his debut for the county. Naturally I was curious about van Meekeren, who is about six and a half feet tall and bowls at a fair pace. I immediately thought of Andre van Troost, who decorated Somerset sides of the Nineties and who probably terrified more batsmen than he dismissed.

“Is he quicker than van Troost”, I asked. “No”. “Is he more accurate”. “Yes”. To be honest that did not enhance my knowledge greatly. Here van Meekeren has bowled nicely under the shrewd guidance of Captain Trego. As did Josh Davey, the Scottish bowler.

Davey went for 16 in his eight overs and 12 of those came in two balls in the same over when he decided to bang the ball in short to Hafeez. Otherwise Davey bowled an impeccable length and he beat the bat several times. There is enough grass on the pitch to encourage bowlers, which means that there is a good test for Pakistan batsmen seeking to acclimatise. Shan Masood and Azhar Ali have been watchful and someone will have mentioned to them that batting usually gets easier in the afternoon at Taunton.

It has been a decent morning for Yorkshire and some hard graft for Middlesex, who after Tim Murtagh took Adam Lyth’s wicket with the first ball of the match, managed only one more before the lunch interval.

Instead, Alex Lees and Kane Williamson added 85 for the second wicket before Williamson, against the run of play and certainly the quiet manner in which he was bedding himself in, was caught at the wicket. Both Lyth and Williamson had made the ‘leave’ the danger strategy, both of them edging an indeterminate attempt to let deliveries from Murtagh and James Franklin respectively pass harmlessly by.

Lees has played robustly well though, reaching an accomplished half-century with an off-driven six, well caught in the back row of the terraces adjacent to the press box, and is currently 59 not out, having faced 86 balls, with 7 fours and two sixes, the second swept off Ollie Rayner. At lunch Yorkshire are 96-2, with Gary Ballance, still the scourge of spell check, just off the mark with a cover driven four.

Lunch: scores on the doors

Div One:

  • Lancashire: 109-1 v Notts
  • Warwickshire 78-1 v Surrey 273 (Day 2)
  • Yorkshire 96-2 v Middlesex
  • Hampshire 95-0 v Durham

Div Two:

  • Leicestershire 100-1 v Worcestershire
  • Kent 88-5 v Essex
  • Sussex 26-0 v Glamorgan 335 (Day 2)

Tour game:

  • Pakistan 79-1 v Somerset

FYI - we will have updates from Adam Collins, who is at Bristol for the women’s T20 between England and Pakistan this afternoon. Four people ATL! Lovely.

Enjoy your lunch.

A view of the County Cricket Ground in Somerset, showing St. James’ Church in the background.
A view of the County Cricket Ground in Somerset, showing St. James’ Church in the background. Photograph: Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images

Updated

That’s lunch at Trent Bridge. Lancs are 109 for one, having chosen to bat and, Stuart Broad and occasionally Brett Hutton (who got the one wicket to fall, Hameed) aside, Notts have bowled poorly. Procter, having zipped along, has overtaken Smith, and both take lunch in the 40s. Imran Tahir has been particularly poor - with a couple of half-trackers in each of his five overs.

Interesting first over from Imran Tahir, here. It involved two no balls and three half trackers, conceded two boundaries behind square on the offside and cost 13. Mmmm.

Good news from Guildford!

At Trent Bridge, Lancs are going well. Smith, ever so correctly, and Procter, oh so crabbily are picking off bad balls - there’s been a fair bit down the legside. 80 for one now.

There’s more! Selve’s had a bat this weekend!

Here’s some Rudolph hightlights. So many gags, yet I just can’t quite find the right one.

Meanwhile, Kent in big trouble at Essex... Four down.

Well, well, well. Englad are looking for a seamer for the Lord’s Test, aren’t they?

Shame to see Glamorgan’s innings end like this, but certainly better safe than sorry. Looks a good score on what sounds a sporting pitch. Rudolph back in the runs, too.

What is wrong with this country? *Insert-recent-politics-gag-here*

Essex going very nicely at the ECG...

I suspect that might be the end of a very fine, if rather luckless, spell from Stuart Broad. 8-3-9-0 for him, with plenty of bats beaten. I say plenty of bats, but there are only two bats, aren’t there. Those two bats were beaten plenty of times.

And there’s a wicket! Hutton, who’d be looking rather loose, has it, and Hameed is on his way. He’s inside edged onto his pad and it’s plopped up to gully, while Hutton appealed for leg before. Procter in, Lancs 34-1.

Ravi!

Just as I was saying Stuart Meaker might be catching the attention of other counties, I was alerted to this (thanks Luke Robison on the twitters). That’s that then, and sensible business from Surrey.

Stuart Whittingham is looking a very good find for Sussex...

Here’s Vic’s lovely report from the rather one-sided ODI in Cardiff yesterday.

A wicket at Guildford brings Lord Ian of Bellington to the crease. So good to see Meaker bowling well. Could be some interested parties as I believe he is out of contract at season’s end...

If you can’t make it to Trent Bridge - which quite a few have, to be fair - why not watch their live stream? Outstanding service this.

Oh blooming heck, Ben Stokes is playing for Durham. Just as a batsman. Stoneman captains as Colly has a thumb problem.

Speaking of Durham, anyone fancy a job?

It’s a hefty drive for me to Scarborough but worth it. I love this place although it must be a couple of decades since last I was here. I played here maybe half a dozen times for Middlesex, and during the Festival, and it has a special atmosphere. Already there is a good crowd sitting on the terraces. I look for familiar things. The press box is still where it was behind the arm. Upgraded now, the labyrinthine access would still flummox the uninitiated who could see the final destination while quite unable how to fathom a way in. Tradition has it that no one in the press box offers any help in that regard.

It looks as if the pavilion roof has been done since last I was here, for there is no sign of the single tile that replaced the one broken by Bluey Bairstow during his memorable ( still talked about) hundred in adversity and heavy defeat against Middlesex. It was here too that I found out I was going on that winter’s tour to India, Sri Lanka and Australia.

So it really is a trip down memory lane, with the Middle Saxons back. They had a toss and Yorkshire decided to bat first. Not the best of starts either as Tim Murtagh’s opening delivery caught Adam Lyth in two minds as to whether he should leave the ball, and, half cock, he succeeded only in edging to the keeper. Not more success since then, with Toby Roland-Jones coming down the slope from the Trafalgar Square end, and Steve Finn waiting in the wings.

Greetings from Taunton, where the church bells have just stopped ringing and the Quantocks are easily visible. So let the Pakistan tour commence. To the slight dismay of snappers and newshounds Pakistan are batting. This means that any glimpse of Mohammed Amir will be delayed.

However I gather that many of 200 schoolkids who came down to the ground yesterday had a good look at him. The Pakistan players, who have been billeted at the Ageas Bowl over the last fortnight, participated in a relaxed coaching clinic with the youngsters and signed countless autographs. It was, by all accounts, a very successful afternoon and Amir happily played a full part in proceedings.

Somerset are playing most of their first choice batsmen, but not so many of their bowlers – there are no Overtons for example. The senior citizens of Pakistan are all there and they have several of those in the dignified form of Misbah, the captain, Younis Khan and Mohammed Hafeez. Pakistan chose to bat upon winning the toss in contrast to the plan they used when touring here in the Sixties. Then they mystified the home side by opting to field first on a belting Taunton track. The plan was soon revealed “You bat for one day; we bat for two”.

So the news from Trent Bridge, then. I’m taking my first look at BTL darling Haseeb Hameed, who hardly lived up to his burgeoning reputation as a blocker by squirting his second ball through point for four. Broad and Gurney are bowling, and Imran Tahir is awaiting the chance to do so, while Greg Smith is also back in the side because Chris Read’s hand is still not quite right. Lancs are a more settled side.

I notice Adam Lyth fell in the first over after Yorkshire chose to have a bat, while Hampshire opted not to have a toss and then were put in anyway by Durham, who are captained by Mark Stoneman in Collingwood’s absence. Kyle Abbott is playing his first game for Worcestershire. Handy signing that.

Updated

Morning all it's the morning call!

Well good morning! My apologies, we have had a couple of technical issues that have now been overcome, so here we are! There are three of us - all in particularly lovely places. I’m at Trent Bridge for Notts v Lancs, Lord Selve is at Scarborough (lucky him!) for Middlesex’s visit to Yorkshire, and finally Victor Marks has trotted down from Cardiff to Taunton to take a first look at the Pakistanis. He is, I suppose, on Amir-watch, if you like.

Anyway, there is loads going on. Stuart Broad, one of four Notts changes, is currently bowling in front of my eyes, while Ali Cook is in the field for Essex against Kent, who have Kagiso Rabada in their side.

Unquestionably the most welcome return, however, is that of Tom Fell, batting first drop for Worcester after telling cancer exactly where to shove it. Welcome back Tom. Great to see you playing. And great to see this...

Enjoy the cricket, folks! Lots of comments please!

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