County round-up
As days go, the double centurion Darren Stevens could hardly have wished for better. Aged 43, he was told in July that he would no longer be required by Kent after 15 years at Canterbury. Now, after a special week, he is pretty much the first name on their team sheet and forcing a rethink.
In a game significant only in the battle for third place in Division One, Stevens played the key role in helping Kent recover from 39 for five against Yorkshire to a preposterous 482 for eight. His career best 237 off 225 balls came hot on the heels of a first-innings 88 and 10 wickets in last week’s win over Nottinghamshire and surpasses his previous best of 208 in his lengthy career.
Stevens shared 346 with Sam Billings, who could be nominated for best supporting actor with his 138 off 209 balls. It smashed records aplenty, including the highest sixth-wicket partnership ever at Headingley after Duanne Olivier had claimed four early wickets.
Somerset, too, the Division One leaders, will be pretty happy with their day’s work. While their bowlers were running through Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl, second-placed Essex were frustrated by bad light and drizzle at Chelmsford until just after 2pm. By the time Essex got going against Surrey, who closed on 137 for four, they were already under pressure having done nothing wrong. It will have been of some frustration to see Hampshire slip to 88 for seven. Hampshire recovered to 196, thanks to Liam Dawson’s 103, before Somerset closed on 30 for two.
It was a batting day at Trent Bridge, where centuries from Steven Mullaney and Joe Clarke helped relegated Nottinghamshire post 425 for six against Warwickshire.
There were wickets aplenty in Division Two, where all five matches affect the promotion race. Northamptonshire, second in the table, restricted Durham to 37 for four in reply to 217, including Adam Rossington’s 82. Third-placed Gloucestershire bowled Worcestershire out for 221 at New Road before reaching 87 for four.
Sussex, coming up on the rails, bowled their hosts Derbyshire out for 138 before replying with 116 for three. Lancashire, helped by scores elsewhere, secured the title with 259 against Middlesex and reducing the visitors to 39 for six at Old Trafford. Glamorgan closed on 300 for four against Leicestershire at Cardiff.
Well, with some writing up duties for the paper, that’s me done for today on the blog. This game continues to amaze me. I thought I’d be giving this game little prominence due to the title battle involving Somerset and Essex. How wrong I was. Darren Stevens, take a bow. Catch up soon folks. Enjoy the rest of the day.
Jamie Porter and Sam Cook have two wickets apiece for Essex, who have restricted Surrey to 116-4, while Somerset are frustrated by some bad light at Hampshire. Somerset, replying to 196, are 23-2.
Darren Stevens has fallen for 237, caught at deep mid-wicket off Ajaz Patel, leaving Kent at 385-6 and ending a 346-stand with Sam Billings, whose 112 not out has almost been a footnote in the day. That’s how well Stevens played. That is the highest partnership in Championship cricket this season.
Updated
Stevens reaches his fourth career double hundred off 202 balls. Truly remarkable. Kent are 342-5 in the 70th over.
Sam Billings has reached his first hundred of the season off 157 balls with 12x4s and one six. Kent are now 334-5. Wickets falling in Division Two. Lancashire are 223-7 against Middlesex at Old Trafford, Northamptonshire are 183-8 against Durham and Worcestershire have been bowled out for 221 against Gloucestershire. Division Two continues to enthral.
Hampshire are all out for 196 against Somerset, while Surrey are 58-2 against Essex. Here at Headingley, Darrenn Stevens is playing probably the best innings I’ve seen all season. He is 172 not out from 292-5. He and Sam Billings have shared 253 and counting, the highest sixth-wicket stand ever posted on this ground.
Darren Stevens has his first century since May 2017, off 129 balls with 12 fours and three sixes. Kent are 206-5. Meanwhile, Liam Dawson and Keith Barker are holding Somerset up in similar fashion to here. They have taken the Hampshire score from 88-7 to 156-7. Dawson has 74 of them. In Division Two, David Wiese has struck three times for Sussex to reduce Derbyshire to 75-6. Sussex coming up on the rails in the promotion race.
Darren Stevens is doing all he can to win himself a new deal at Canterbury. Ten wickets in the match and a first-innings 88 as Kent beat Notts last week, he is now 90 not out out and steering their recovery from 39-5. They are now 190-5 in the 48th over. Sam Billings is 67 to boot.
Play is due to start any moment now at Chelmsford, where Surrey have won the toss and elected to bat against second-placed Essex, who have done nothing wrong but are immediately on the back foot given Somerset’s dominance of Hampshire (135-7).
Century for captain Steven Mullaney, back in the side for Notts over the last couple of rounds after his mid-season knee injury. He is 121 not out, with Notts 186-2 against Warwickshire at Trent Bridge.
I often think this is a wonderful, but weird, stage of the season in Championship cricket. You look at the scorecards and see plenty of names you don’t recognise and then others where counties have parachuted in locum overseas replacements, including two on show here at Headingley in Ajaz Patel and Faf du Plessis. Another is West Indian opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who is unbeaten on 30 for Glamorgan as they reach 98-1 against Leicestershire at Cardiff. Sam Billings has just reached 50 off 81 balls for Kent. They are now 159-5.
Around the grounds. The majority of games have reached lunch…..
Division One
Essex v Surrey, Chelmsford - A delayed start due to bad light and drizzle is frustrating title-chasing Essex.
Hampshire v Somerset, Ageas Bowl - What a morning for the league leaders Somerset, who have restricted Hampshire to 75-6, including three wickets for Lewis Gregory. Is the title heading to Taunton?
Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire, Trent Bridge - Something to cheer for relegated Notts. Finally! Steven Mullaney is unbeaten on 90 out of 136-2. Joe Clarke is 32 not out as a torrid personal summer comes to a close.
Yorkshire v Kent, Headingley - Early success for Yorkshire saw Kent slip to 39-5, including four wickets for Duanne Olivier. Kent have since reached lunch on 112-5. Sam Billings has 33 and Darren Stevens 51. He reached his fifty with a straight six.
Division Two
Derbyshire v Sussex, County Ground - A delayed start, but Derby are 34-1 in the 10th over against promotion hopefuls Sussex.
Glamorgan v Leicestershire, Cardiff - A solid start for the Welsh county, who remain in the promotion picture despite a recent wobble in form. They are 82-1.
Lancashire v Middlesex, Old Trafford - Lancashire need a maximum of five points for the title. They are 92-3.
Northamptonshire v Durham, Wantage Road - Both sides can go up, so this is a key fixture. Northants 75-1. Ben Curran, brother of, is 22 not out.
Worcestershire v Gloucestershire, New Road - Gloucester are another county in the promotion shake-up. Worcester, who aren’t but were expected to be back in April, are 63-4.
An early lunch has been taken at Chelmsford due to “poor visibility”. In the Division Two promotion race, Gloucestershire, who were third at the start of play and holding the last promotion place, have restricted Worcestershire to 47-3 at New Road, with two wickets for Ryan Higgins. The fact he signed a long-term deal to remain with the county recently is a huge thing for them.
Hampshire six down (63-6), with Aneurin Donald the latest to go to Josh Davey. Here at Headingley, Sam Billings and Darren Stevens have steadied things somewhat. They have shared 43 to take Kent to 82-5. Stevens, particularly, hasn’t been afraid to play his shots. He hasn’t been gung-ho by any stretch, but there’s definitely a hint of ‘there might be one with my name on it’ about his batting.
Two wickets in as many overs for Middlesex at Old Trafford courtesy of James Harris and Miguel Cummins. They have removed openers Alex Davies and Keaton Jennings respectively, and Lancashire are 49-2. I heard a great tale from Old Trafford last week. John Gwynne, their PA announcer and he of Sky Sports darts coverage fame, ended up announcing Billy Godleman’s fifty off ONE HUNDRED AND EIGGGGHHHHTTTTYYY balls!
There is still no word of a start at Chelmsford, where around an hour ago Essex, via their Twitter account, reported bad light and light drizzle. There are still no wickets in Division Two either. Here at Headingley, Kent are 54-5, while Hampshire are 32-5 against Somerset. Relegated Notts have made a healthy start against Warwickshire at Trent Bridge, with Durban-born debutant Ben Compton bowled by Will Rhodes - 62-1. Steven Mullaney has 53 of them.
Gary Naylor has published his weekly take on all things county cricket:
Crikey. Hampshire are 18-4 against Somerset. Sam Northeast and James Vince have fallen to Lewis Gregory. In the meantime, it’s a delayed start between Essex at Surrey at Chelmsford due to bad light. There has yet to be a wicket in Division Two. Solid starts with the bat for Glamorgan, Lancashire and Northamptonshire.
That battle is won by Duanne Olivier, who bowls his former international captain for a four-ball duck through the gate. Leg-stump is rocked back, and Kent are 8-3. Hampshire are also 10-2 at the Ageas Bowl, with Josh Davey bowling Tom Alsop. Elsewhere around the country, it’s been a fairly quiet start, with a few delayed starts due to bad light and damp outfields.
Duanne Olivier has removed Zak Crawley and Ollie Robinson in the third over, both trying to leave alone. Crawley was lbw and Robinson caught behind off an under edge. Kent are 8-2 after three overs, and it’s now a battle between the South Africans, Olivier and Francois du Plessis.
Updated
Early success for the Division One leaders at Hampshire, who are 1-1 after an over having elected to bat first upon winning the toss. Felix Organ has been caught at first slip, trying to force off the back foot, against Lewis Gregory. Somerset are up and running.
Preamble
Good morning from Emerald Headingley for the penultimate round of the season. It’s a bright start to the morning. The sun is yet to burn through, but we’re all set to get going at 10.30am BST.
The drama of the international summer may have finished, but there’s plenty more to come in the last fortnight of Championship action across the two divisions.
This round will provide a mixture of games which mean everything and others which are more of a fact-finding mission. Here at Headingley for example, Yorkshire will hand a debut to 17-year-old top order batsman Matthew Revis given Will Fraine is on the sidelines having dislocated his knee last week.
The White Rose v Kent is nothing more than a battle for third place, so it seems a bit strange that both counties are fielding overseas debutants. New Zealand left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel is playing for Yorkshire, while South Africa captain Francois du Plessis is making his red ball bow for Kent having played for them in the recent T20 Blast.
The only Division One matches which contribute to prizes are those involving title rivals Somerset and Essex. Leaders Somerset travel to face Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl holding an eight-point lead over Essex in second, who host outgoing champions Surrey at Chelmsford.
Bottom side and relegated Nottinghamshire face Warwickshire at Trent Bridge.
The weight of ‘live’ matches comes in Division Two, without a doubt.
Runaway leaders Lancashire are promoted and require a maximum of five points from their home clash with Middlesex to secure the title. But, realistically, there are five other teams chasing the other two promotion places.
With 48 points available during the next two weeks, Northamptonshire are second on 161 and Glamorgan are sixth on 136. Gloucestershire, Durham and Sussex are sandwiches in between. Even Middlesex, Derbyshire and second-bottom Worcestershire aren’t mathematically out of the equation for a top three finish, but it would take something remarkable to see them playing in the top flight in 2020.
Derbyshire host Sussex at Derby, Leicestershire visit Cardiff to tackle Glamorgan, Northamptonshire host Durham at Wantage Road and Gloucestershire have made the short trip up the M5 to New Road to face Worcestershire.
It’s going to be a hectic and no doubt nervous four days, and it wouldn’t even surprise me to see a contrivance or two along the way. Enjoy the day and the next few as well.
Updated
