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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Will Macpherson at Chelmsford and Vic Marks at Taunton

County cricket: Somerset in charge against Middlesex as Hampshire dragged in – as it happened

Tom Abell of Somerset bats during the match against Middlesex.
Tom Abell of Somerset bats during the match against Middlesex. Photograph: Hunt/ProSports/Rex/Shutterstock

That's all folks!

Well, time to shut up shop. I will be back tomorrow, but probably not from Chelmsford, because there feels less on this game than others. Who knows, though?

Division One:

  • Essex 227 & 134-2 v Yorkshire 111
  • Somerset 236 & 159-3 v Middlesex 142
  • Warwickshire 188 & 0-0 v Hampshire 116
  • Surrey 201-8d & 79-0 v Lancashire 268

Division Two:

  • Durham 142-5 v Worcestershire 335
  • Northants 199-8 v Leicestershire 128
  • Nottinghamshire 108-5 v Sussex 565
  • Kent 302 & 98-6 v Glamorgan 229
  • Gloucestershire 47-1 v Derbyshire 460

Night all! Speak on the morrow.

Updated

And stumps at Edgbaston. Warwickshire 0 for 0, leading by 72. Went off a bit early for bad light, unsurprisingly.

So stumps at Wantage Road, where Northamptonshire are 199 for eight, leading by 71. One short of a vital batting point. They know that if they get more batting points than Notts, they stay up. It is currently in the balance whether Notts get a single one.

So Warwickshire are back out there with six second innings overs to see off!

Worcestershire need four Durham wickets tomorrow to secure promotion.

Stumps at Old Trafford! Burns and Stoneman reach 79 without loss, a led of 12.

Matthew Evans just emailed and made me laugh: “As a Surrey fan,” he snarks, “I would refer to Dom Sibley as Judas Iscarrybat.”

Hampshire are all out for 116. Confirmed that if they lose it will be them, not Middlesex, to drop to Division Two. Oh my goodness. Hampshire need all five points from a draw to survive.

Northants are seven down and in grave danger of making a right mess of this!

Hampshire nine down for 112! Jeetan gets Abbott.

Surrey have a lead, none down...

And bad light at Hove! Notts are five down for 108, with Billy Root on 31. They trail by 457...

Off for bad light here at Chelmsford. It’s pretty dark. Essex are 134 for two, leading by 250. Lawrence is unbeaten on 175, and Browne has 53.

Warwickshire are 102 for eight and Bailey has become Hannon-Dalby’s third! Still 86 behind...

Northants have lost a couple of quick ones and are 171 for four. Need to be careful and make sure they get their bonus points.

Stumps at Taunton! Somerset lead by 253, three down. Big old day tomorrow.

Middlesex will need more than 250 to win. And they need more than seven Somerset wickets before they can consider that...

Hampshire seven down! Berg gone to OHD! 93 for seven, still 95 behind.

I love Northants.

50 for Nick Browne!

Holland gone, Hampshire 81 for six! OHD with the wicket... Hampshire are five points from safety.

50 for George Bailey from 45 balls! Hampshire 81 for five.

Hampshire 64 for five. Dawson goes to Patel!

And there we have it. Busy day at Lancs, almost as if there’s a member’s forum this evening.

50 for Lawrence!

Samit gone! Notts are in deep trouble! 65 for five, and trailing by 500...

Confirmed:

Sixer! Dan Lawrence smacks Carver over long-on and he moves to 48. Browne has 42. 96 for two, leading by 206.

Worcestershire are two points from going up. They have Durham 31 for three.

Hampshire 51 for four! If they lose and Somerset win, they are down.

Updated

Lancashire lead by 67 on first innings. Having matched each other on bonus points, Surrey will be second if there’s a draw.

Ah.

News from Taunton, where it sounds rather flat now. Somerset three down, 215 ahead...

Kent 24 for four! Lead is 97...

Surrey have full bowling points! Dernbach gets Parry and Lancs are 264 for nine, 63 ahead.

Whittingham gets Pujara and that is a huge wicket! 38 for two...

Scurran gets Croft for 115! New ball does it first ball. Lancs 262 for eight, leading by 61. Declaration?

Hogan gets Northeast first ball and Kent are 23 for three! Crawley in – and survives – the hat-trick ball.

Updated

Northants have lost their first. Newton gone for 44, and there are 97 for one, just 31 behind.

Two batting points for Lancashire...

Denly made a ton in the first innings, but he has a duck in the second. 23 for two are Kent, leading Glamorgan by 96.

Somerset’s lead is 200 as Hildreth goes past 50 ... vry ominous indeed for Middlesex. They will have to chase something massive, or rely on Warwickshire to beat Hampshire, who are 28 for three.

100 for Croft at Old Trafford, and he’s done a great job for Lancs. 46 for the eighth wicket is the latest stand; curiously, Surrey have not taken the new ball yet. 249 for seven.

50 for stand for Browne and Lawrence, a very good one indeed. 57 for two, and the lead is up to 173...

Somerset’s lead has inched to 190...

Tongue dismisses Jennings – whose mind, you sense, might be elsewhere – and Durham are 12 for one...

Hampshire are 13 for three! Sidebottom got Adams and now Wright has a second, The Ashes’s James Vince ... 175 behind. They need five more points to survive. So any draw, basically.

Jennings having a bat in his final game for Durham.

Pujara and Samit big, big wickets.

Nottinghamshire are 2-1!!! Libby gone to Archer for a duck...

Hampshire 5 for 1! Alsop gone to The Other Ryan Sidebottom...

Underway after tea here at Chelsmford. 24 for two, lead of 140.

Wood gets the last, and Worcestershire are all out for 335. Three batting points. Bowled Durham out in 110 overs, and they are promoted.

Tea here at Chelmsford, where Essex have survived a testing 16-over mini-session to sit 24 for two, with a lead of 140. That’s probably enough!

Tea at Hove, where Sussex are finally all out for 565, and Billy Root ends up with three wickets. Now then Notts, what are you made of? Need full batting points in a high-scoring draw, you’d think. Not least because Northants are 62 without loss.

And Warwickshire all out for 188! Sibley carries his bat for 92, and Fidel ends with five for 49.

Glamorgan 229 all out. Kent lead by 73 on first innings.

Batting is mighty tough at the ECG right now. Yorkshire given nothing away, and Lawrence has 2 from 34. Browne is 15 and Essex are 23 for two in the 16th over.

A fourth wicket for Fidel Edwards. And with it, full bowling points for Hampshire. Full batting points would see them to safety.

Tea at Taunton! Somerset 70 for three, with a lead of 164. Again, 200 will be a filthy difficult chase.

Lancashire seven down. Scott Borthwick with the wicket! Bailey gone, and Surrey need two more for full bowling points. Lancashire lead by two.

Sibley is getting tucked in to Crane; he has 80 and it’s 180 for eight...

Lancashire have a batting point! And they trail by one, with four wickets in hand.

Warwickshire eight down as Edwards gets Wright. Sibley still there ... on 84. The score is 174 for eight. Hampshire need one more wicket for full bowling points.

Lancashire just eight behind Surrey now after a superb 50-run stand between Croft and Bailey. I really do wonder what declaration shenanigans we will see there.

Trescothick gone, Somerset three down! He’s lbw to Harris, and the lead is 153.

Maiden first-class wicket for Billy Root! He just got Chris Jordan out for a career best 147! Sussex 517 for eigh.

Worcestershire need three more points for promotion then.

Ashwin is out for 82, but Worcestershire have reached 300 for seven. Three batting points, with a bit of power to add.

Sussex have their 500 up!

Tres has guided Somerset past 50 two down with a lead of 146. Anything more than 220 to chase would surely be curtains for Middlesex.

Jon Short is not happy at all.

Essex, any chance of making the game last until Thursday. Hoped to go Uxbridge Day 2 weeks ago, but didn’t have swimming trunks. Hoped to go to Lords last Friday. Have the day off on Thursday so hoped to see the Trophy presentation at Chelmsford. Can we just go back to the 1980s 3 day games as most counties seem to be playing that way now?

Given 23 out of the 52 Division One games this year have been draws, I think three-day cricket is a very bad idea. Everything happens very fast in September...

Two in the over! Ravi gone, also lbw to Brooks! Westley might be needed sooner after all.

Wicket! Chopra gone, lbw to Brooks. Looked very out. 6 for 1. Lead is 122, and Ravi is in at No3. Westley didn’t field so I think he will have to wait a while before batting.

Hampshire have two bowling points...

Dizzy fights back!!

Here we go then. Essex lead by 116. Coad on 49 wickets for the season, by the way.

So Notts just got two bowling points (Sussex 472 for seven). That is good news for Northants, who are 9 for 0.

Yorkshire all out for 111! Carver leaves Harmer and been caught behind. Last four went down for 13 after Patterson went to Porter. Three each for Wagner, Porter and Harmer. Essex’s lead is 116.

Updated

Unwanted distractions from my vantage point in the press box about goings on in Bristol.

Here Byrom has gone hitting a gentle catch to mid-off from Stirling’s off-breaks. It was an unnecessary shot since Stirling is probably going send offer the odd runscoring opportunity; then Bartlett played a nasty premeditated sweep and was lbw to Patel. Its 26 for 2 which translates to a lead of 120.

Somerset 26 for two! They lead by 120. Ravi Patel has his eighth of the match!

Lancashire 140 for six, McLaren gone to Batty! Could Surrey snaffle a first innings lead after that declaration? Do Lancashire fancy a naughty declaration of their own?

Wicket! Yorkshire 99 for nine... Porter’s bowled Fisher.

Just a great reaction from Stirling. He is so tired.

Wicket! Brooks gone, to Harmer. 99 for eight...

Wicket at Taunton! Stirling gets Byrom... 20 for one, leading by 114.

Wicket! Patterson lbw to Porter, and Yorkshire are 98 for seven.

Leicestershire 128 all out! Five-fers for Sanderson and Gleeson, and that’s a superb effort from Northants. Now to bat well...

Sibley doing a job for Warwickshire. He has 64 and they are 100 for five.

Leicestershire nine down, so Northants have full bowling points.

More on England Women’s Ashes squad here.

Stirling opening the bowling for Middlesex!

So Sussex have zipped their way to full batting points. Northants could do with Notts not taking another three wickets...

Middlesex all out for 142! So Somerset lead by 94 and take one more bonus point from the game. Therefore, Middlesex need to avoid defeat to survive.

Updated

Proper bowler.

Here we come after lunch at Chelmsford. Yorkshire 90 for six...

Some good news for Durham at last. Former captain – and thoroughly good bloke – Will Smith is back.

Middlesex nine down! Harris gone, and with him, any realistic hope of getting more bonus points. Coverton with the wicket, bowled. So now, Murtagh and Patel need to add 122 to get them to 250, and more bonuses...

Selectors getting on with picking the Ashes squad. Announced tomorrow.

Back underway in the big one at Taunton... 127 for eight.

Right, you’ll have probably heard. Ben Stokes was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning and he and Alex Hales – who is assisting the police in their enquiries – will miss tomorrow’s ODI.

Anyway, back to the interesting stuff...

Lunch! Scores on the doors

Here’s where we are. Some beautifully poised games...

Division One:

  • Middlesex 127-8 v Somerset 236
  • Yorkshire 90-6 v Essex 227
  • Lancashire 84-5 v Surrey 201-8d
  • Warwickshire 79-5 v Hampshire

Division Two:

  • Glamorgan 101-5 v Kent 302
  • Sussex 389-6 v Nottinghamshire
  • Leicestershire 97-8 v Northants
  • Worcestershire 204-6 v Durham
  • Derbyshire 193-2 v Gloucestershire

Enjoy your sarnies!

Updated

Lunch here, and a wicket with the last ball of the session. Wagner gets Hodd lbw! Very full, as he has been all morning. 90 for five.

Lancashire appear to have lost four wickets for six runs.

Lancashire are now 75 for four! Clarke has three: Jones, Davies, Chanderpaul.

118-8 at Taunton after Stirling was stumped - his heel was up as he defended against Leach. Then Finn lbw to van der Merwe.

Finn gone at Taunton... 118 for eight.

Really is no way to go.

Essex are very much in to Yorkshire’s tail. Fisher in at No7.

Oh no. That’s no way to go when you’re trying to play for an Ashes place. Hodd straight drives, Wagner gets a touch and he’s out of his ground. Very unlucky. 74 for five, Ballance made 13.

Sibley’s leading a – sort of – recovery for Warwickshire against Hampshire. 66 for five, stand of 39 with Thomson, and he has 39.

Oh wow! That’s some way for Stirling to go!

Batty’s got Livingstone for 1 and Lancashire are 72 for two, 130 behind.

England’s women’s Ashes squad!

Hundred for Michael Burgess, and Notts will be getting worried. Stand of 92 with Jordan, and Sussex are 324 for six.

Lancashire have lost their first: Rob Jones gone to Rikki Clarke. 69 for one.

Wicket! Leaning gone, lbw to Wagner. Looked out. 54 for four. Essex are in great spirits.

Leicestershire 27 for seven!

Northants, maybe, can dare to dream. If Sussex beat Notts, and the game at Grace Road continues apace, a win will take them up.

Good stat.

Malan lbw Leach 38 playing around front pad 95-6.

Wicket! Lyth gone to Wagner! Quicker, full and moved away, taking the outside edge with it! A lovely 35, but that’s not much use. 48 for three.

So it did! Leicestershire 21 for six, and three each for Sanderson and Gleeson.

Well, Middlesex have avoided the follow-on. Excellent brisk 50 partnership between Malan and Stirling who are playing shots.

Updated

Ha! The fightback is on, and Leicestershire are 21 for five.

Good start for Lancashire up at OT. Surrey’s bonus point plan requires them getting wickets. 64 for none. Al Davies has 48; what a season he’s having.

Harmer strikes! Lees gone. Lyth swept his first ball for four, then hit a six down the ground, then a legbye. And now Lees has been caught behind! Very eventful over, and it’s not done yet. 40 for two.

Grievous Bodily Harmer is coming on fro Sam Cook. 29 for one.

Onions got Joe Clarke, and Ashwin is in. Worcestershire are 126 for four.

Warwickshire 28 for five! Ambrose gone...

It’s not a great shot, but it’s just done enough late enough.

Northants have Leicestershire 16 for five!

Wicket! Can’t keep Porter out of the game. He’s comprehensively bowled Brathwaite. It must have done a bit, because his off stump is out of the ground and he was trying to play through midwicket. 23 for one.

Stream if you want to go faster!

There are lots this week. Watch and enjoy!

Warwickshire 12 for four! Fidel gets Lamb...

And they say no one cares about county cricket?

As Vic says, not much turn or bounce involved in these two wickets.

Brathwaite off the mark! Took him 21 balls. 18 for none, and it’s weird, because Essex haven’t taken a wicket yet.

Oooh...

22 for five. Diabolical wicket. Simpson run out for a duck after a brilliant pick up and throw by Bess.

Voges gone. 18 for four. Caught by Abell at mid-wicket. No it didn’t turn and bounce ... a misplaced drive.

Hampshire have Warwickshire 5 for 3! Abbott at it again, and Hampshire need seven more points...

Already a wicket at Taunton! Bess gets Voges...

Warwickshire 5 for 2! Banks run out, Trott gone to Abbott.

Tom Westley has Paul Walter doing his fielding for him at the ECG.

Morning Stuie!

50 for Joe Clarke! Joyous scenes at New Road. Worcestershire 95 for three.

As Paul Frame points out, this is magnificent from the Essex groundsman.

Start at 10.40 at Taunton!

Kraigg Brathwaite is opening for Yorkshire. Fun.

Greetings from Taunton,
It’s grim and grey, tho barely raining; the covers have just been put back on so we will not start on time - “drizzle in the air”. It is a day pregnant with possibilities. Tension abounds with mumblings about the possibilities of points deductions or premature declarations. The locals are ruing the fact that with Somerset 206-4 just after tea such talk could have been banished for good. They batted poorly after tea, so they say. Apparently it’s turning a bit. Covers now off, stumps in. But no Quantocks visible.

Delayed start at Taunton.

Players on their way out here though, with the sun peaking through. Big hand for Essex as they take the field as champions for the first time. Porter to get us going.

Bowler’s morning here at Chelmsford. Floodlights not on yet, but they will be soon...

No toss at Grace Road: Northants to bowl first.

News from Taunton.

There’s been an announcement at Chelmsford: someone has left their lights on in the car park.

News of cricket: Hampshire, needing eight points, are fielding first without a toss against Warwickshire.

Warwickshire: Sibley, Banks, Trott*, Bell, Lamb, Ambrose+, Thomson, Patel, Wright, OHD, Sidebottom

Hampshire: Adams, Alsop+, Ervine, Vince, Bailey*, Dawson, Holland, Berg, Abbott, Crane, Edwards

Jennings turns down Durham contract to join Lancashire

Some breaking news to bring you: Durham’s one-day captain Keaton Jennings has turned down a new contract to join Lancashire on a four-year contract. He will become the latest high-profile player to leave the county at the end of the season.

Jennings cited his continued international ambitions and the need to be playing in the first division of the County Championship.

Durham have already lost their Twenty20 captain Paul Coughlin to Trent Bridge, with their record wicket-taker Graham Onions also moving on at the conclusion of the campaign, while Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick both departed for Surrey last summer.

Updated

Morning all it's the morning call!

Hello and welcome to the second day of the final round of County Championship matches of the summer. I’m Will Macpherson and I’m at Chelmsford to see if Essex can go unbeaten for the first time ever, while I’m delighted to say we have Vic Marks at Taunton for the relegation bunfight on a bunsen between Somerset and Middlesex. That’s not going to make the fourth day. We are hoping too for play at Edgbaston, while there’s lots at stake in Division Two too. Here are the overnight scores:

Division One:

  • Middlesex 18-3 v Somerset 236
  • Essex 227 v Yorkshire
  • Lancashire 17-0 v Surrey 201-8d
  • No play yet between Warwickshire and Hampshire

Division Two:

  • Sussex 230-5 v Nottinghamshire
  • Worcestershire 90-3 v Durham
  • Glamorgan 18-1 v Kent 302
  • Derbyshire 104-2 v Gloucestershire
  • No play yet between Northants and Leicestershire

Here is yesterday’s roundup. Read it!

I can be contacted!

We greatly look forward to hearing from you all. All that leaves me to say, as ever, is enjoy the cricket. It should be a belting day of action.

Updated

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