That's all folks!
Essex are very ... nearly ... there. Thanks for joining me. Here’s where we are.
Division One:
- Essex beat Warwickshire by an innings and 56 runs
- Lancashire 133 & 247-8 v Somerset 335
- Middlesex 162-7 v Hampshire
- Yorkshire 394 & 59-1 v Surrey 592
Division Two:
- Derbyshire 338 & 322-8 v Sussex 271
- Northants 310 & 42-1v Glamorgan 207 & 320
- Gloucestershire 385 & 67-0 v Kent 386
- Leicestershire 404 & 111-7 v Worcestershire 493
I’ll be back tomorrow. Thanks for joining me!
Another Middlesex wicket! Harris goes to Abbott for 0. 154 for seven!
Stumps at Taunton! Lancashire are eight down, 45 ahead...
Middlesex six down! Abbott gets Franklin for 0...
Middlesex five down, as Holland gets Holden.
Yorkshire 59 for one at the close, still 139 behind...
Wicket! Bess gets Parry caught at silly-point! Lead is 36, 19 minutes to go tonight...
Wicket! McLaren gone, that’s the big one! Caught at short leg off Leach!
Somerset plugging away, but Lancashire lead by 26...
Northants need 218 to beat Glamorgan. Big innings, that.
Livingstone gone! He’s been caught behind off Leach and he hates the decision. They are effectively 13 for six... 57 off 165 behind, then.
Yorkshire 24 for one... TKC gone to Scurran.
Ha!
@willis_macp Essex (almost) county champs, Windies chasing 300 and winning, WWIII on the horizon. It's 1984 all over again!!
— david pearce (@davidgpearce) September 14, 2017
Kent all out with a lead of 1!
50 for Livingstone...
Scores level at Taunton. Somerset will have to bat again...
Jon Short sends a nice stat...
An 8th Division 1 win for Essex this year – more than in all the previous years of 2 divisions put together – and more than most champions have achieved from 16 games
Right, apologies for my absence. It’s amazing how many people need talking to in this situation. Quite a lot has happened...
- Lancs are 12 behind, but five down.
- Yorkshire are following on
- There’s cricket at Uxbridge!
- The Lesters are in deep strife at the Woosters
Yorkshire 375 for eight at tea at the Oval. Still need 68 to avoid the follow on.
Rain again at Uxbridge!
Essex beat Warwickshire by an innings and 56 runs!
Brookes gets an inside edge on to his pad off Harmer and is caught at silly point! Essex win. Now we turn to Taunton...
Play due to start at 3.30 at Uxbridge!
Worcestershire all out for 493! That’s a lead of 89. Can they win? Callum Parkinson took eight for 148!
Patterson gone! He's been bowled by Meaker, 7. @YorkshireCCC 362-8 in the 114th over. Two and a bit to tea.
— Yorkshire CCC (@YorkshireCCC) September 14, 2017
Bold.
REPLAY: Here's a look at that Dom Bess LBW! Lancashire currently 158/3#SOMvLAN pic.twitter.com/PPSxPJBIvr
— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) September 14, 2017
Wicket! What a superb catch. Essex are one wicket from victory. Patel was playing a shot a ball and the latest shot has been caught at point by the running Lawrence, who started at gully. 105 for nine...
Right, so Chanderpaul is in. That’s a fairly sizeable wicket, no?
Wicket! At Taunton, Bess gets Croft! Still 51 behind...
STAT
Could be second successive season that a 'R Sidebottom' is the last wicket taken by a Championship winning team. #countycricketlive
— Tom Kingham (@tomkingham) September 14, 2017
Yorkshire are seven down, and still require 100 to avoid the follow on!
Bresnan gone!
Lovely piece of bowling from Gareth Batty sees Bresnan caught at slip for 25...6 down Yorkshire still 100 runs away from avoiding follow on
— Mark Church (@backandacross) September 14, 2017
Lancashire two down! It’s Hameed! Leach with the wicket, and still 58 behind. 144 for two.
He made 62 from 188 balls.
Wicket! Two to go ... Matt Lamb holes out to Harmer and Essex need two more wickets. He made 35 but that was a horrible slog. 82 for eight.
WICKET | ANOTHER ONE for @jamieporter93 who has 3 in the match and 64 @CountyChamp wickets for the season. #ESSvWAR pic.twitter.com/risGWhtPyF
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) September 14, 2017
Essex have been brilliant, but my word Warwickshire have been lame.
Rahman Sumit, another elated Essex fan, emails:
Yet another delighted Essex fan here, and I always love it when a non-Test ground county wins the title. I used to go to the Ilford Cricket School (a few years before Nasser Hussain’s dad started running it). The TCCB started to introduce 4 day championship games towards the end of our dominant period in the early 90s I think, and even though Essex were very strong over 4 days, they argued against it because the smaller number of fixtures meant fewer chances to go round the county. We stopped having the Ilford cricket week, which was a real shame – I’d have loved to see this side playing at Valentine’s Park.
My corner of the East London suburbs may have a double to celebrate, with local club side Wanstead and Snaresbrook CC playing the National Club Champs final on Sunday – at Chelmsford. And Graham Napier is excellent fun on Twitter. Great times for Essex cricket!
Great times indeed!
Wicket! Porter has another, Barker gone for a pair. Angled across, takes the edge, nicely done, on they cruise la la la.
Haseeb Hameed has a fifty at Taunton, and Lancs are 129 for one. 76 behind. They can’t, can they?
Updated
The never ending inspection.
An early Tea will be taken at 3pm at Uxbridge with a further inspection scheduled at the same time. #TeamMiddlesex
— Middlesex Cricket (@Middlesex_CCC) September 14, 2017
Wicket! Harmer gets one to turn, and it’s taken at slip! Mellor the man to go. 55 for six.
Northeast made 66, but he’s out. Kent are 210 for four.
Right, cricketers back on the field at Edgbaston. Porter to bowl at poor Warwickshire, who are 55 for five.
There’s a good catch.
Ben Foakes is having another great day with the gloves. Sam Curran gets Leaning! 🙌
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) September 14, 2017
WATCH LIVE ➡️ https://t.co/ed5KvERoeo pic.twitter.com/yevc4Su9P4
Livi smacks Bess for six. 89 behind...
Lancashire are within 100... 104 for one.
Restart at 2pm here.
Scurran gets Leaning! Yorkshire 302 for five, still 290 behind...
Back on at Taunton! Lancashire 93 for one, 109 behind.
Yorkshire are 302 for four. Still 290 behind...
Updated
2pm inspection at Uxbridge.
Inspection at 1.30 here at Edgbaston.
Covers starting to be peeled back, then...
Lunch! Scores on the doors
Bit all over the place given the rain today, but here is a list of current scores.
Division One:
- Warwickshire 201 & 55-5 v Essex 369-9d
- Lancashire 133 & 89-1 v Somerset 335
- Yorkshire 290-4 v Surrey 592
- Middlesex 76-3 v Hampshire
Division Two:
- Derbyshire 338 & 122-3 v Sussex 271
- Kent 169-3 v Gloucestershire 385
- Glamorgan 207 & 136-4 v Northants 310
- Worcestershire 434-7 v Leicestershire 404
Enjoy your sarnies.
Updated
Off for rain again at Taunton. Lancs 89 for one...
Oh, damn. It’s raining again.
REPLAY: Here's a look at that Jack Leach wicket!#SOMvLAN pic.twitter.com/UwnksaeR31
— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) September 14, 2017
Lancashire are still 120 back.
Back on at Somerset and there’s a wicket! Davies gone, Leach with the wicket. 82 for one.
Just popping down to get a sandwich. Speak shortly.
Covers being drawn back here, which is good.
Surrey have taken the new ball. 273 for four.
Rain at Taunton too! Lancs 82 for none. Suppose rain there suits Essex in the long run.
Worcestershire have parity - and full batting points - seven down. Can they charge on and force the win?
Lunch here confirmed. Quite a powerful shower, I’d say, but enough to bring the full covers on.
Fingers crossed indeed.
LATEST FROM UXBRIDGE: The umpires have announced that there will be a further inspection at 1pm. Now brightening up, so fingers crossed... pic.twitter.com/X9IRV05TXk
— Middlesex Cricket (@Middlesex_CCC) September 14, 2017
Lancashire have moved to 73 without loss. They are still 129 behind. And need to win to prevent Essex winning the title (provided Essex can polish off these last five wickets).
I think it’s about to absolutely bucket down!
And we are coming off, with Warwickshire 55 for five! That’ll be lunch.
Kit Jillings is following Essex from Canada!
Ilford-born son of Romford-born father here, so supporting Essex and West Ham are chronic inherited conditions. For three years (2013-15) we came third in division 2, so when it was announced that in 2016 only one side would be promoted I feared it was finally our year to come second (sorry Kent). This year, I was just hoping to avoid immediate relegation. I grew up following Gooch, Fletcher, Pritchard, Foster, Pringle, Hardie, McEwan, Lever, East, Turner et al, but I have enjoyed these last two seasons at least as much as I recall those from the early 80s. I really hope we can do it. If we do, big shout out to David Masters and Graham Napier for helping get us here.
Great point on Masters and Napier: they certainly pick up an assist.
Ballance run out by Stoneman! Yorkshire 243 for four.
Updated
I think we have had a missed stumping from Foster here. Harmer dragged it wide, Lamb got in a tangle, Foster fumbled, then took the stumps out, but Lamb was back. 50 for five.
Richard Astley writes:
As another West Ham and Essex fan, it’s a rare day when a team of mine looks like winning the most major trophy in their sport. I was a month into being 12 years old that last time Essex won the Championship and I know that another potential title means the world to their dedicated fan base. With the likes of Fletcher, Gooch, Hussain and Cook (and Andy Flower?) ... Essex have punched well above their weight over the last 25 years in helping England Test cricket, so it’s nice to see the county on the verge of some real red ball glory. Also worth noting this would be only the sixth time in 21 years that a county without a Test ground has won the Championship.
You should include Ravi in that list!!
My latest Essex email, from Martin Kane.
Apologies – I’m late to the Essex emails, but I share the sentiment expressed elsewhere. I was 13 when we last won it, and was horrendously blasé about the whole thing – we always won it. As an adult, didn’t think we’d do so again – delighted that stalwarts such as Foster, Ravi, Westley and, of course, Cook will pick up a Championship medal. Great overseas players, wonderful form from Porter, and fantastic captaincy from RTD. It’s been perfect. Will be upgrading from Playfair to Wisden for this season!
And thank god I’m recording the entire day’s play. Looks like it’ll be over by the time I’m home!
Drink it in!
Matthew Doherty is riffing on wicketkeepers:
On the subject of Chris Read and James Foster not getting many chances for England even when they were younger there was a call for Stratospheric batting. It seems that when it comes to choices in Wicket-keeping the best batter always wins, even Mike Brearley said as much.
This is true. But the superior batsmen who were picked – I’m thinking particularly of Prior and Bairstow – turned themselves into excellent keepers, too. Both were the right choice.
Farewell, Brendan Taylor. The landlords of West Bridgford will miss you.
@willis_macp Cheers B been a pleasure to meet you go well sonshine you will be missed (here's the Mrs with Brendan after a few ciders) pic.twitter.com/E6Dc9lRcdg
— YummyBear (@Beardo7) September 14, 2017
Oh no. Logistical issues with the open top bus tour.
How are they going to do that when the high street is pedestrianised?
— Paul Frame 🏏 👨💻 (@PaulFrame85) September 14, 2017
Surely!
@willis_macp will there be a bus parade on the streets of Chelmsford? Best thing to happen since Beyoncé ordered all the Nando's wings...
— Young Donkey (@youngdonkey) September 14, 2017
Wicket! Harmer’s first over does the trick. Woakes turns a turner to legslip, whether Ravi has taken a tidy catch. 47 for five. Not far off now...
Double change, with Harmer coming on.
Van den Bergh gets his third at the Oval. Can Surrey? Can they? 234 for three, which doesn’t sound great for the bowling side, but Yorkshire need 443 to avoid the follow-on, so there’s work to do yet.
Wagner replaces Porter. 45 for four.
Yeah, Chris Read could have the same grievances. But they’ve both had brilliant career and are very well loved.
@willis_macp Always felt sorry for Fozzy at Essex. Fine keeper, decent batsman and should have been given a decent run for England.
— david pearce (@davidgpearce) September 14, 2017
Leach on at Taunton. And so begins the game. Lancs 34 for none.
Dropped! Lamb nails it Westley at third slip, he dives low to his right and shells it. Next ball Cook raps Lamb on the pad. No dice. 32 for four.
Happy birthday Jezz Nash! He writes:
Another Essex man here. Was lucky enough to be at Lords in 79 to see our first trophy, but that, and the championship win that year, had been coming. This is a real bolt from the blue and will add to my 51st birthday celebrations if it happens today.
There’s an inspection at 12 at Uxbridge. And that might be the most exciting thing that happens all day.
DBD out at Bristol. It’s obviously Norwell. 104 for three, Kent. Northeast joins Denly.
Chris Key is full of praise for Silvers and the gang.
Full credit to Silverwood and the coaching staff . Porter has been turned into a slightly quicker version of David Masters and the signing of Hamer a masterful acquisition. At the beginning of the season I worried about our ability to take wickets which was shown at Lords first day when Middlesex feasted. But how wrong I have been!!! Go Essex what a great season!
Quite right too. They’ve been brilliant.
Wicket! Bell gone! Four down in 45 minutes. And it’s Bell gone ... It’s jagged back a mile from Sam Cook, he’s tried to leave it and got an inside edge. Foster, obviously, does the rest.
Stephen Pay is the latest Essex fan in my inbox.
If this *is* to be the day, it would be fitting to reflect on the career of one of James Savin Foster, as fine a servant as Essex Cricket has ever had. I understand this is to be his last season as a professional cricketer.
It is indeed. He has a job at Forrest School. What a way to sign off!
This is good news for Zimbabwe cricket. Go well, it’s been a pleasure.
BREAKING | Brendan Taylor to return to Zimbabwe with immediate effect. Full story: https://t.co/G4KJLcgSC2 pic.twitter.com/TmroHrasLa
— Nottinghamshire CCC (@TrentBridge) September 14, 2017
Callum Parkinson has five wickets for Leicestershire against Worcestershire! B-Dolly gone, and Woosters are 319 for six. Ashwin there with Ben Cox, and they are 85 behind.
Jon Short! Another Essex/West Ham fan starting to believe...
As a teenager in the 80s supporting Essex allowed the assurance/arrogance of winning a trophy nearly every season – and the Hammers even managed to win the FA Cup.
Having given up on any further success, especially since the introduction of the2 divisions, this year’s achievement has been phenomenal. As others have mentioned a great team unit appears to be in place but I feel the influence of Chris Silverwood has been huge.
I have one quandary for today though; do I want Essex to wrap it up while I am w**king/reading the Guardian or have Warwickshire set a little 4th innings target of about tomorrow as I could get up to Edgbaston to witness the title secured?
It’ll all be done today. It could rain, I suppose.
Wicket! Jonathan Trott has played on to Sam Cook, waftily driving and Warwickshiree are three down, still 148 behind.
Your streams!
Watch cricket! Watch county cricket!
- Warwickshire v Essex is on Sky
- Somerset v Lancashire is here.
- Surrey v Yorkshire is here.
- Glamorgan v Northants is here.
How good is that! Watch one of them, but do not close cc - live!
That would just be rude.
Underway at Taunton! Great news.
That is a very, very good shout.
@willis_macp Porter a Wisden cricketer of the year 2018 before lunch @the_topspin ?#CountyChampionship
— Daniel Forman (@dannyforman) September 14, 2017
So it’s 19 for two and Trott has played a lovely on-drive. Belly is 0 off 10.
An email from Paul Frame, another Essex fan.
“As 32 year-old Essex fan the past two seasons have been unbelievable and are certainly very special ones,” he writes. “However we haven’t won the competition yet so can everyone please stop tempting Hubris to Gatecrash the party? That Trott and Bell look like they’re booking in for bed and breakfast on this featherbed Edgbaston wicket.”
True. Must not jinx.
Another Essex fan! Dave Moon this time.
As a lifelong Essex fan I like many people would have been quite happy to see Essex just stay up! What has helped has been Cookie being available early doors, and Essex’s terrific signings Harmer, Wagner, and latterly Amir. What a revelation Jamie Porter has been - he was good last year, but has really grown up this year, and no one has been fazed by being promoted. The weather has even been in our favour so someone up there likes us.
I’m loving these emails: keep ‘em coming, guys!
Rob Mason describes himself as “yet another Essex fan...”
“Loving the recent work of two 24-year-olds from North East London: Jamie Porter and Harry Kane,” he writes.
Not bad, are they?
A lesser spotted wicket at the Oval!
Freddie van den Bergh has two, Marsh gone, stumped. 181 for two, and a long way to go to avoid the follow-on.
Indeed! Dream on...
and Ports amongst 'em early. Dream on dreamers
— Alan Gardner (@alanroderick) September 14, 2017
Wicket! The sun’s out and Warwickshire are two down! Hain gone lbw. Has it struck him outside the line? No! Hit him on the back pad, trapped on crease, and he’s gone! 14 for two, and the old gang back together - it’s Trott and Bell.
Play to start at 11 at Taunton. Good news for Essex...
Sean Ranson’s the latest Essex fan all up in my inbox!
Lifelong Essex fan here, although I now live nearer to Edgbaston than the County Ground! Just wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed this season. All my life I’ve had such low expectations, and living in another great cricketing county I’ve spent years countering arguments that we’re rubbish with ‘yeah but we’ve got Ali Cook’. Now it’s ‘we’re brilliant, and we’ve got Jamie Porter’.
He’s a gem, and has 62 wickets and counting...
They sure do Stuie! The Glosters need wickets.
@willis_macp morning! cmon glos! and essex would deserve title on evidence of what i watched on first day
— Stuie Neale (@MrNeale92) September 14, 2017
One thing that I’m quite looking forward to is Alastair Cook going full John Terry in whites for the celebrations. He’s here, and on comms I believe. I doubt he’ll go full John Terry, mind...
Wicket! Sibley nicks off to first slip and Essex are on the move! It’s taken four balls today and the only man who provided any real first innings resistance is gawwwwwnnnnn! 9 for 1!
Porter to bowl to Sibley to get us going. 7 for 0.
Chris Alton emails from Corrington in Essex!
I really can’t believe what has happened this season, at the start all I wanted was for us not to go straight back down again! I think the fact that we have a lot of homegrown players in our squad (I would even include the skipper in that), and seem to have built a good team spirit has seen us in good stead. Of course as I’m a West Ham fan until the larger lady has exercised her vocal chords I won’t believe it’s true!
All very true. It’s not quite done yet. Are you, like Chris, an Essex fan that can’t quite believe your luck? Tell me about it!
By the way, I don’t think there’s any chance that Essex will be presented with the trophy here. That’ll be at Chelmsford in the final week. That might be Yorkshire’s relegation party!
Well we are about eight minutes away from starting here at Edgbaston. Big day...
Oh no...
UPDATE: Start delayed due to wet outfield. The sun is shining here in Taunton#SOMvLAN
— Somerset Cricket 🏏 (@SomersetCCC) September 14, 2017
Oh no...
The umpires have reviewed conditions at @UxbridgeCC and have called an early lunch at midday as the wet outfield is unsuitable for play... pic.twitter.com/4SWrLNwVj9
— Middlesex Cricket (@Middlesex_CCC) September 14, 2017
Morning all it's the morning call!
Humans of Essex: is this day, 14 September 2017, your day?
It could well be. I’m Will Macpherson and I’m hotfooting it Birmingham to find out if Essex can beat Warwickshire. If they do that, and Lancashire do not beat Somerset, Essex are the Champions! That would bury any Warwickshire – YouBears – ambitions of surviving the drop, but would be a huge boost to Somerset in their fight for survival. Their direction of travel is northerly, while Middlesex and Yorkshire are drifting south, I’d say.
Both of those results are likely to happen. Essex declared boldly last night so Warwickshire are batting to save the game. So too are Lancashire, following on at Taunton. The sense is that if it doesn’t all happen today, it will all happen tomorrow. Fascinating. Bloody fascinating.
Some of the big losers out of all this are poor old Middlesex, who can’t get themselves on the park because Uxbridge is currently a very wet place. They’ve had 30 of the scheduled 192 overs so far against Hampshire. At the Oval, it’s probably an exercise in bonus point accumulation for Yorkshire; but badly today, and they could be in strife – the follow-on target remains a long way away.
Div Two is bubbling away, too. Cam Bancroft’s double-ton, and mighty 10th-wicket stand, has probably put paid to Kent’s promotion hopes. Maybe they’ll try to contrive? Brett D’Oliviera has a ton for the Woosters against the Lesters. That game seems likely to be drawn. Sussex need a superb day against Derbyshire to keep up their promotion hopes, while Northants are in charge – but not as much as they should be – against Glamorgan. So much going on! Scores:
Division One:
- Warwickshire 201 & 7-0 v Essex 369-9d
- Lancashire 133 & 28-0 v Somerset 335
- Yorkshire 171-1 v Surrey 592
- Middlesex 76-3 v Hampshire
Division Two:
- Derbyshire 338 & 31-1 v Sussex 271
- Kent 60-2 v Gloucestershire 385
- Glamorgan 207 & 63-1 v Northants 310
- Worcestershire 270-4 v Leicestershire 404
The report from yesterday is at the top of the liveblog. Read it, please.
I can be contacted! Usual three ways, here:
- Below The Line (play nicely)
- By email: will.macpherson.freelance@theguardian.com
- On twitter: @willis_macp
I look forward to hearing from you. Lurkers, do get involved, it’s fun. And all that leaves me to say, as ever, is enjoy the cricket. It might just be the day.
Updated
